One is the green card test,

The second is the actual residence test.

1, green card test: If the year you get a green card does not meet the actual residence test, then you have two options. One option is to count as a tax resident from the first day you get legal resident status. Of course, if you get a green card that year, you can also choose to become a tax resident to file tax returns all the year round.

2. Actual residence test: If you don't get a green card and become a permanent resident. Then the way to test whether you are a tax resident is to calculate the number of days you stay in the United States. As long as the following two conditions are met at the same time, they are tax residents:

1) You stayed in the United States for at least 3 1 day that year;

2) The number of days you spent in the United States in the last three years (including that year) exceeded 183 days according to the following algorithm:

I. All the days of the year, plus

II. the number of days in the previous year multiplied by one third, plus

III. Multiply the number of days in the previous two years by one sixth.

3. Take two examples. Mr. Wang, who has no green card, lived in the United States for 20 17 years 120 days, 20 16 years for 60 days (multiplied by one third equals 20 days) and 20 15 years. Mr. Wang has stayed in the United States for120+20+30 * *170 days in recent three years, which does not meet the requirement of 183 days. Therefore, Mr. Wang can only be counted as a non-resident in the tax return for 20 17 years, so he needs to use1044 when filing tax returns.

What if Mr. Wang got a green card in 20 17? Mr. Wang got a green card in September and became a permanent resident of the United States. In the last example, according to the actual residence test, Mr. Wang was a non-resident, but since he got a green card in 20 17, he can choose two ways to file tax returns:

1) He can choose to be dual status and file tax returns with a dual identity. Before becoming a green card resident in September, it was counted as a non-resident, and after becoming a green card resident in September, it was taxed according to tax residents. This operation is very complicated and needs professional accountants to help you deal with it.

2) Since Mr. Wang got a green card, he can also choose to be a tax resident all year round to file tax returns. In this case, the handling is relatively simple. But if Mr. Wang has a lot of assets in China, he also needs professional accountants to plan them well. After all, once you get a green card, you will have to bear the obligation of filing tax returns on American global income.

Therefore, it is really a good thing to get a green card and be free to enter and leave the United States, but as long as you think about the tax system of American global tax returns, you will have a headache. It's not easy to get a green card, and it's not easy to become a green card flyer with legal tax returns.