[Tax Season] First tax return, tips for immigrants - Choose your filing status wisely

I've always heard that IRS is the least favorite government agency. Not only do they take money away from us, we also have to fill a bunch of forms we have no idea where to start with.

After moving to US, recently I did my first tax return on my own. As an immigrant, I don't get to begin from my tax-101, instead, I have to deal with moving expenses, dual status alien, first year choice, treaty exemption, foreign income, ITIN, etc. Since Turbo tax won't help with these non resident alien related scenarios, I just think that, well, how hard can that be? I can read the IRS docs myself. It's just filling forms. It turns out that I spend my entire weekend reading through IRS instructions, googling my situation, trying to figure out which forms are necessary to fill. Yes, I don't even know what I need to fill. The instruction tells me if you need to claim this, you will probably need to fill that unless blablabla, you will have to jump to chapter 5. It's just one exception after another. I try really hard not to get lost, but as a non-native speaker, I have to say it is so d*** confusing!

After some quality googling time, I find some useful Q&A. Hopefully, it will do others some good. 

1, [Dual Status Alien] Can I file as "married file jointly" if I am a dual status alien?

Technically, only full year resident can choose to file jointly return, but you can choose to be treated as resident alien if certain criteria is satisfied.
Therefore, basically we have 3 choices for our filing status as dual status alien.

a) File as non-resident alien, single
If you didn't meet any of the substantial presence test or green card test listed on IRS website (Determining-Alien-Tax-Status), you have the choice of filing as non-resident alien. It is recommended if you have considerable non-US source income, (e.g. global investment).
Pro: 
(1) You can claim treaty exemption if there's any.
(2) Only US source income is taxable.
Con:
(1) No standard deduction unless otherwise agreed between your country and US. (e.g. India Students)
(2) Non-resident alien can only file as single. Therefore, you can claim no dependent. In other word, only 1 personal exemption is allowed.

b) File as part year resident
Please refer to IRS link (First Year Choice) to see if you're qualified to make the first year choice. 
This is recommended if you (or your spouse) have worldwide income. 
Please note that there seems to be a mistake in IRS publication. Hope that they will correct it soon.
Instead of meeting substantial presence test for 2013, it really should be 2015. 
If you do not meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test for 2013 or 2014 and you did not choose to be treated as a resident for part of 2013, but you meet the substantial presence test for 2015, you can choose to be treated as a U.S. resident for part of 2014. 

If you do not meet the substantial presence test before 2015/04/15, you can always choose to file an extension.

Pro: 
(1) On your non resident part of the year, only US source income is taxable.
(2) Personal exemption can be claimed for dependents and spouse.
Con:
(1) No standard deduction available, but itemized deduction is allowed.
(2) You cannot file a joint return.

c) Choosing resident alien status (only available if married)
If you take your first year choice, then you're a part year resident for 2014 (assuming you're preparing 2014 return). Therefore, at the end of 2014, in other words, 2014/12/31, you're a resident alien. You can go one step further from here. Giving that your spouse is married to a resident alien at the end of year, your spouse can choose to be a resident alien for the entire year if you both agreed and sign a statement on it. 
See IRS pub for details: Choosing resident alien status

It is only recommended if your spouse do not have significant worldwide income. Although we can claim foreign income exclusion/deduction/tax credit on your foreign income, but still the foreign income would be stack at the bottom of your tax brackets, meaning that even it can be excluded 100%, it still raise your tax brackets significantly. 
Do your calculation before rushing into the decision.

Pro:
(1) Now you have the option of filing a joint return.
(2) You can claim standard deduction, dependents, etc.
Con:
(1) Worldwide income is taxable now.
(2) You might lose your treaty exemption depending on the terms of the treaty. 

2, [Moving Expenses] What if I bought a round-trip ticket to my new work location but never used the return trip? One-way ticket is usually more expensive than round-trip.

In this case, it seems that only half of the purchasing price can be deducted as your moving expenses.

That's all for today. 
Hope you have a good tax season and get your tax return real soon.

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Disclaimer: All Q&A listed above are summarize from IRS doc or Internet. It's only accurate to the extend of my best knowledge. I'm not legally responsible for any of the above content. Consult an accountant or lawyer if necessary.