If we elect to treat my nonresident spouse as a resident, do we get the standard deduction automatically?
I am a U.S. resident married to a nonresident spouse in Spain. We are considering the resident-spouse joint-return election because our U.S. income is about $132,000 and my spouse only has around $18,000 of foreign freelance income. I know nonresidents normally do not get the standard deduction, which is one reason the election caught my eye.
The missing piece is whether that deduction is really available once the election is made, or whether there are extra conditions hidden in the background. I do not want to sell the idea to my spouse based on a benefit that disappears once we file.
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