U.S. Residency Starting and Ending Dates: Day-Counting Records for Dual-Status Years

Checked against IRS Publication 519 and IRS dual-status sources on August 18, 2026.

The U.S. Substantial Presence Test answers one question. Starting and ending dates answer a different one.

IRS Publication 519 says a person can be both a nonresident alien and resident alien during the same tax year. That usually happens in the year the person arrives in or departs from the United States.

Short answer: if a U.S. tax year can split into resident and nonresident periods, track the first U.S. presence date, last U.S. presence date, green-card status dates, possible excluded days, and the facts your tax professional needs before deciding the filing position.

Jetseen helps you track days - always consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.

What is a dual-status year?

The IRS says a dual-status individual changes tax status during the current year from nonresident to resident, or from resident to nonresident.

In practical terms, the year has a line in it.

Before that line, one set of U.S. tax-residency rules may apply. After that line, another may apply. This guide is about the records behind that line, not about choosing a filing position.

Why the starting date matters

Publication 519 says that if you are a U.S. resident for the calendar year but were not a U.S. resident at any time during the preceding calendar year, you are resident only for the part of the year that begins on the residency starting date. Before that date, you are a nonresident alien.

That is why first presence dates matter.

Track:

• first U.S. presence date in the year
• every later U.S. entry and exit
• whether the Substantial Presence Test is met for that year
• whether green-card status applies
• whether any starting-date exclusion is being reviewed
• the source and date checked

The record needs exact dates. A month-level summary is not good enough for this question.

Substantial Presence Test starting date

Under Publication 519, if you meet the Substantial Presence Test for a calendar year, your residency starting date is generally the first day you are present in the United States during that calendar year.

There is an important caveat. Pub 519 says up to 10 days of actual U.S. presence can be excluded for determining the residency starting date if the person establishes a closer connection to a foreign country and a tax home in that foreign country for those days.

Those excluded days still count when determining whether the Substantial Presence Test is met.

That creates two separate records:

Do not treat this as a shortcut. The 10-day rule is conditional and belongs with a tax professional.

Green-card starting date

Publication 519 says that if a person meets the green-card test at any time during a calendar year but does not meet the Substantial Presence Test for that year, the residency starting date is the first day in the calendar year on which the person is present in the United States as a lawful permanent resident.

If both the Substantial Presence Test and green-card test apply, Pub 519 says the starting date is the earlier of the first day present under the SPT or as a lawful permanent resident.

For records, keep:

• date lawful permanent resident status began, if relevant
• first U.S. presence date as a lawful permanent resident
• SPT first-presence date for the same year
• prior-year U.S. resident status
• any abandonment or rescission records, if later relevant

This guide does not interpret green-card status. It tells you which dates to keep visible.

First-year choice uses its own date logic

Publication 519 also describes first-year choice.

The high-level recordkeeping point is this: first-year choice can depend on a 31-day consecutive U.S. presence period and a 75% presence calculation from the first day of that period through year-end. If the choice is made, Pub 519 says the residency starting date is the first day of the earliest qualifying 31-day period used for the choice.

Keep this separate from the ordinary SPT starting-date rule.

Before professional review, organize:

• every U.S. day in the current year
• each possible 31-day period
• absences after the first day of the selected period
• exempt-individual or excluded-day notes
• following-year SPT status
• statement-related notes from the IRS source

For the fuller version, read Jetseen's guide to U.S. first-year choice day counting.

Last-year residency and termination dates

Publication 519 says that if you were a U.S. resident in the year but are not a U.S. resident during any part of the next year, your residency termination date is December 31 unless you qualify for an earlier date.

Pub 519 describes earlier dates tied to:

• the last day you are physically present in the United States, if you met the SPT
• the first day you are no longer a lawful permanent resident, if the green-card test applied
• the later of those dates, if both tests applied

The earlier date can be used only if, for the rest of the year, your tax home was in a foreign country and you had a closer connection to that foreign country.

That is a lot to prove from memory. Keep the departure date, tax-home facts, foreign home or work facts, and U.S. return trips in the same file.

The 10-day rule can also appear at the end of residency

Publication 519 has a de minimis presence rule for termination-date purposes too.

If a person is a U.S. resident because of the Substantial Presence Test and qualifies to use an earlier termination date, Pub 519 says up to 10 days of actual U.S. presence can be excluded in determining the residency termination date. Those days still count for the SPT itself.

This is the same practical lesson as the starting-date rule: one trip can matter in two different ways.

Track:

• last physical U.S. presence date
• short U.S. return trips after departure
• whether the total excluded presence is 10 days or fewer
• tax-home and closer-connection evidence after departure
• statement notes from the IRS source

Where Jetseen fits

Jetseen includes U.S. Substantial Presence Test tracking. It can help you keep the presence record clean before your CPA reviews the tax result.

Use Jetseen to:

• log U.S. trips with exact dates
• track the SPT formula separately from starting-date questions
• add notes for possible excluded days
• keep visa and travel records near the trip history
• export CSV records for accountants, advisors, or personal records

Jetseen does not decide dual-status filing, make first-year choice, interpret green-card status, file IRS forms, calculate tax liability, or replace a qualified tax professional.

If U.S. residency timing is part of your year, Try Jetseen Free for 14 Days and give your advisor a cleaner record to work from.

Jetseen helps you track days - always consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.

References

1. 1IRSPublication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
2. 2IRSTax residency status examples
3. 3IRSDual-status individuals