Dual-Status Tax Year: When You Are Both a Resident and a Nonresident Alien
Published November 7, 2026
Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, explains how to file if your tax residence changes during the year. Chapter 6 covers the dual-status tax year. This guide summarizes that chapter. It is general information. It is not advice about your case.
What a dual-status tax year is
You have a dual-status tax year when you have been both a resident alien and a nonresident alien in the same year. The term describes your tax residence in the United States. It does not describe your citizenship. The publication says the most common dual-status years are the years of arrival and departure. The rules for residence are in chapter 1 of the publication.
Different rules apply to each part of the year. The part of the year you are a resident is taxed one way. The part of the year you are a nonresident is taxed another way.
Income for the resident part of the year
For the part of the year you are a resident alien, you are taxed on income from all sources. Foreign income is taxable if you receive it while you are a resident. That is true even if you earned it while you were a nonresident alien.
Income for the nonresident part of the year
For the part of the year you are a nonresident alien, you are taxed on income from U.S. sources. You are also taxed on certain foreign income that is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. Foreign income that is not connected with a U.S. business is not taxable while you are a nonresident, even if you earned it while you were a resident.
U.S.-source income is taxable whether you receive it as a nonresident or as a resident. The exception is income specifically exempt under the Internal Revenue Code or a tax treaty. Treaty provisions generally apply only to the nonresident part of the year. In some cases they may apply while you are a resident. Chapter 9 explains treaties.
Restrictions on the return
The publication lists several restrictions for a dual-status return. You cannot use the standard deduction on Form 1040 or 1040-SR. You can still itemize any allowable deductions. You cannot use the head of household column of the Tax Table, or the head of household worksheet. You cannot file a joint return, unless you choose to be treated as a resident alien under the rules in chapter 1. A married person who is a nonresident for all or part of the year, and who does not file jointly, uses the married filing separately column or worksheet for income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business.
How the tax is figured
Income for the resident part, and effectively connected income for the nonresident part, is added together after allowable deductions. That total is taxed at the rates that apply to U.S. citizens and residents. Income that is not connected with a U.S. business during the nonresident part is subject to the flat 30% rate, or a lower treaty rate. You cannot take deductions against that income.
Social security benefits follow their own rules. During the nonresident part of the year, 85% of U.S. social security benefits is subject to the flat 30% tax, unless it is exempt or a lower treaty rate applies. During the resident part of the year, part of the benefits may be taxed at graduated rates. The publication says to use the Social Security Benefits Worksheet for that part. The Social Security Administration sends one Form SSA-1042S for the whole year. Keep records that show each period.
Credits
As a dual-status alien, you can generally claim credits under the same rules that apply to resident aliens. The publication lists limits. You cannot claim the education credits, the earned income credit, or the credit for the elderly or the disabled. The exception is a married person who chooses to be treated as a resident for all of 2025 by filing a joint return with a spouse who is a U.S. citizen or resident.
Which form to file
The form depends on your status on the last day of the year. If you are a resident on that day, you file Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Check the Other box at the top, and write Dual Status Return on the entry line. Attach a statement that shows income for the nonresident part. Form 1040-NR can serve as that statement. If you are a nonresident on the last day, you file Form 1040-NR, check the Other box, and write Dual Status Return. The statement then shows the resident part. The publication also says dual-status taxpayers cannot e-file their 2025 return.
What to do next
Write down the dates you became a resident and the dates you became a nonresident. List each income item and the date you received it. Keep the social security forms for the whole year. Then read chapter 6 before you choose a form. For the rules that decide residence, see The Substantial Presence Test: Basic Residency Rules. For the 30% tax on U.S. income of nonresident aliens, see The 30% Tax on U.S. Income for Nonresident Aliens. For the choice between the standard deduction and itemizing, see Standard Deduction or Itemizing.
Sources: Sources: IRS, Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, chapter 6 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf) This is general information, not advice about your specific return.
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