Green Card Holders and U.S. Taxation

In the year in which you receive your green card, whether or not you became a US Citizen, you are considered a tax resident and must report your entire income for the whole year, even before your green card was received.

As soon as you acquire a green card, you are automatically classified as a United States tax resident and must report all of your income, whether earned abroad or domestically.

Unlike holders of green cards, holders of non-immigrant visas may or may not have to report income and pay taxes to the United States Government. Holders of non-immigrant visas only become tax residents if they spend at least 183 days of the current year within the United States..

If you have been in the United States for a total of at least 183 “weighted” days during the prior three years in the United States, then you are also a tax resident, unless you spent less than 30 days within the US during the current year.

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