The Green Card Test (GCT) is a criterion used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States to determine whether an individual qualifies as a "resident for tax purposes". The GCT asks whether, during the calendar year, an individual spent at least one day in the US as a

lawful permanent resident A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

(i.e. possessed a green card). In particular, it is not required to possess a green card when the individual files a return. The GCT is used alongside the Substantial Presence Test; specifically, an alien is considered a "resident for tax purposes" if they pass either the GCT or the Substantial Presence Test. Residency for income tax purposes is different than immigration purposes, i.e. an individual may be considered a resident for income tax purposes, but non-resident for immigration purposes.

Exceptions

There exists an exception to the Green Card Test if an individual stops being a lawful permanent resident during the calendar year. Specifically, if an individual voluntarily renounces and abandons resident status by writing to the

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturalizati ...

(USCIS), if the USCIS administratively terminates the individual's immigrant status, or if a US federal court judicially terminates the individual's immigrant status, then the individual no longer holds US resident status, and moreover fails the GCT.

Providing documentation

Form W-9 Form W-9 (officially, the "Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification") is used in the United States income tax system by a third party who must file an information return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).Internal Revenue ...

is used to inform the withholding agent that an individual is a "resident for tax purposes". Passing the Green Card Test guarantees that an individual will be treated as a "resident for tax purposes" for the entire year. However, a withholding agent must wait until receiving an official document from the Immigration and Naturalization Service to treat the individual as a "resident for tax purposes".

Residency for tax purposes does not imply permanent residency

It is possible to be a

resident for tax purposes The criteria for residence for tax purposes vary considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and "residence" can be different for other, non-tax purposes. For individuals, physical presence in a jurisdiction is the main test. Some jurisdictio ...

in the United States but to ''not'' be a permanent resident of the United States. A non-citizen can be a permanent resident of the United States only if he/she holds a

Green Card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

. On the other hand, people on non-immigrant visas may well be treated as residents for tax purposes if they pass the Substantial Presence Test.

Similar tests in other countries

* Statutory Residence Test in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Physical presence test In international taxation, a physical presence test is a rule used to determine tax residence of a natural or legal person. It may rely on having a place of business in the jurisdiction (for legal persons), or remaining in or out of the jurisdicti ...

, used to determine the tax status of US citizens and permanent residents who lived or earned income abroad.

References

{{reflist Internal Revenue Service