What is required for someone to meet the citizen or resident test for tax purposes?

For tax purposes, the citizen or resident test is primarily concerned with whether an individual has the legal status to be considered a U.S. taxpayer. In this context, being a resident of Canada or Mexico does not fulfill the requirements of the test for U.S. taxation. Instead, the test focuses on whether a person is a U.S. citizen, a green card holder, or meets the substantial presence test.

A U.S. citizen is someone who has citizenship automatically based on birth or through naturalization. Under the rules governing taxation, any person who meets the criteria of a U.S. citizen or resident, which is defined by specific IRS guidelines, is required to file taxes in the United States. Thus, the correct understanding involves either citizenship status, legal residency, or a sufficiently significant presence in the U.S.

To clarify, person status as a resident or having citizenship impacts their tax obligations. In the taxation framework, filing taxes in itself does not determine someone's residency status. Consequently, the requirement for meeting the citizen or resident test does not correlate with filing tax returns but rather hinges on citizenship, permanent residency, or presence criteria established by the IRS.

This understanding highlights why the focus is on citizenship (or the substantial presence) rather than residency in neighboring