@dac10012 ,
What I get from your multiple posts ( thank you ) is :
(a) you a US person is married to an NRA adjusted to US person ( GreenCard) in Aug 2025.
(b) you were married in 2024
(c) for 2024 you filed MFS and considering amending to MFJ
(d) for 2025 you wish/plan to file MFJ
(e)Spouse was ( for 2024) and is ( for 2025 ) employed by an international organization, wages not taxed by the US and treated as NRA till status adjustment in Aug 2025
(f) Spouse has personal investment income ( for 2024 and 2025 ) and generally reported on 1042-S.
Assuming above is substantially correct ( or correct me , if I mis-understood ) :
1. Take on board the following - > Employees of foreign governments or international organizations | Internal Revenue Service
and -> Employees of a foreign government or international organization - How to report compensation | Inter...
2. Note that the "exemption" covers only compensation i.e. active earnings and NOT personal investment / passive incomes. NRAs are taxed on US sourced income while US persons are taxed on world income. There is however one nuance - NRA's US tax-home file form 1040-NR and generally are taxed just like normal - the 30% flat fee on passive income is mostly applicable for purposes of form 1042-S but not necessarily for actual tax return - depends on actual facts and circumstances.
3. Since spouse had personal income prior to becoming Resident ( GreenCard) - US sourced - these are still subject to US taxes. Thus I see no reason / justification to recognize ONLY those personal incomes actually taking place post status adjustment - recognize all non-wages / passive and US sourced income for the whole calendar year and Wages only post status adjustment.
4. SE taxes are due on wages earned as Resident.
5. Absent a request ( signed by both of you ) to treat spouse as Resident for the whole calendar year ( and thus exposing ALL wages for the whole year to US taxes ), there is no way to file MFJ and thereby use the standard deduction for the whole year. My sense is that you would be better served ( tax liability wise ) to file MFS for the 2025 and from 2026 go the MFJ route. However, I would also suggest that you try it out both ways to see which gives you the better outcome.
Does this make sense ?
Is there more I can do for you ?
pk