J2 dependent - taxes!!! (Advice from J-visa holders appreciated <3 )

[ciistai]

Hi everyone,

I've popped my head onto this board a few times over the years. I'm very grateful for all help so far - my husband arrived last February (2018) on a J2 visa, received his EAD in early May, started working in late May - happy happy all around! We couldn't have done it without your help. 

Well, now it is TAX SEASON. International students at UMichigan are given free tax software via the international centre but not much in terms of support for how to go about filing. Dependents get absolutely zilch from the same office. My husband has been working for a US subsidiary of a larger UK company and needs to file his taxes, but he doesn't even know what forms he needs, nor what kind of questions he should ask to find an accountant who can properly handle his filing this year. We're very scared of the IRS and want to do everything correctly!

Could anyone who is a J2 dependent or HAS a J2 dependent share your experience with filing? Was it complicated? What kind of forms did you need? Did you see an accountant? What should we look for in an accountant - do we need a CPA or someone more specialized, a tax attorney, etc?  (If it helps - I'm Canadian, he's British - I got here in 2016 so we're still non-resident for tax purposes.)

Any help super appreciated. I've emailed the international caucus of my union to see if they can put me in touch with any Js kicking about, but most international students here are on F visas, so I'm not hopeful.