I am wondering if I need to go to my HR office and change my W-4 forms now that I am married, or if I only change filing status from "Single' to 'Married, filing separately' when I fill out my tax return. What did other people do?

Morning Pattu:

Your W4 can reflect what you wish it to as far as your withholding from pay check, what counts is your actual filing with IRS and after speaking with Tax Accountant this week, he said "Status of December 31, 2007" meaning married, and so that is the one thing that must be accurate. Have known many employees that worked for me over the years to turn in W4 showing single to withhold more money etc, whatever reasons, but they are married.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays!!!!

Single on your W4 forms means they will withhold more taxes. If you change it to married, they will withhold a little less.

I believe you can request a tax ID for your husband and file "married filing jointly", and then you'd get a much bigger tax return.

i was just advised to get the tax number for him by another member also and my w4 still shows single many people alter the withholdings with the intent of getting a bigger refund

Pattu Rani,
When you file your 2007 taxes, you must file as married since you were married at the end of 2007. You have the choice of 2 filing statuses, "Married filing jointly" or "married filing separately". Which choice you make there depends on your particular situation. If your hubby made lots of money in Nepal, then you wouldn't want that taxed in the US, so you would go Married filing separately (he would not be required to file since he is not a US Resident for tax purposes).

If your husband made little to no money, then you will probably benefit by filing jointly as it will give you a bigger return. Now, to file jointly, since your hubby doesn''t have an SSN, what you do is fill out your appropriate tax return form (1040) and a W-7 (Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). Attach the W-7 to the 1040 and sent it to the IRS Austin Service Center (oh no, another service center) to ITIN Operations. They will issue an ITIN for your hubby and process the return. The attached return is now required to insure that people just aren't randomly requesting unneeded ITINs.

As for the W-4 at work, that only has to do with withholdings. It doesn't really matter, you can leave it as it is, and you will get a bigger return or owe less money if you owe money. Change it to include your hubby and you will have less withheld so you will get a smaller return. Some people claim extra exemptions because they don't want the gov't holding their money interest free until return time, then they owe money on April 15th. In this case, they are getting the interest free loan until April 15. This strategy comes with the risk of being too short for 2 consecutive years, which can result in penalties. Others who cannot save money on their own and want to see a big return because it makes it easier to put some aside will claim fewer exemptions then they are allowed to bolster their return. Bottom line is that this is not all that important as in nothing is really required to be done. You might make some choices here based on other factors, desires, and circumstances.

W4 is for adjusting the amount withheld for taxes. How you file is only loosely related in that you could end up with more or less of a refund or need to write a check for more.

The proper way to file is to file as married filing jointly but since your husband doesn't have SSN, you file a W7 with your return to get him an ITIN. (a tax number that doesn't allow working). The Catch 22 is you would need his passport in hand to do that.

What I did is go ahead and file as single. After my wife got here we filed the W7 with an amended return and got some more money back.

Yes, my wife presented my 2005 tax return with the I-134, showing he single status even though we married in 2005.

Thanks everyone, I'll leave my W-4 alone since my tax refund will be paying for my plane ticket to Nepal. I wasn't sure if there was anything I needed to do by December 31 -today is my last day at work until New Year's - woohoo! Will deal with getting an ITIN for Govi when I file my return.

pushbrk,
You don't need the original passport in hand to get an ITIN; a certified copy of an unexpired foreign passport will do if original is not available for filing. Also, there are other documents that can be used instead of a passport altogether.
From: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html


Cheers,

I found this page very helpful after I was married. I'm not sure how current the information is since it was over a year ago that I was here. I do come back time and again to review certain information. Hope everyone is doing well.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=109

Urge or anyone who knows,

I spoke with the person in charge of where I get my taxes completed about adding my wife with an ITIN number to my 2007 taxes. He told me that the laws have changed and if the spouse has never been in the USA then he/she must reside in Mexico or Canada to be on my taxes.

For accuracy, can anyone verify this for sure?

Hey, anybody who can arrange an acceptable combination is welcome to do so, if they want to go to the trouble. It would have delayed my filing and refund. Since I used the refund to finance my second trip to China, delay was not an acceptable option. We had no problems with our solution. It's a common one.

I am not aware of any such change. You and your wife can elect to have her treated as a US Resident for tax purposes for the full tax year if you like, even if she has never been to the US, Mexico, or Canada. Of course, I specialize in corporate here. I will check with people more knowledgeable on personal and post back later.

If I am able to get the ITIN for Govi will it also make it easier to add him to my checking account? In other words, does the ITIN substitute for an SSN(not for work purposes of course, but for financial) if he doesn't have one yet? We will not have any conjoined financial resources at time of filing except that I have designated him as my life insurance beneficiary(which does not require an SSN/ITIN) - am hoping we could have more at the time of interview.

Nit got her salary slips (she only worked from Jan-May), we are declaring her income, and filing jointly.

Regards,

David and Nitadyah

My wife was added to my checking account as soon as she got her ITIN but that was after she got here. They wanted two pieces of ID. The passport could be one but for the second, they wanted a piece of business mail showing the same address as mine. Since I had called them in advance and no mention was made of a second ID, I talked them into using the visa in her passport as the second ID.

You'd have to talk to your bank about whether they would put him on without him being there to sign and show ID but you could make him beneficiary more easily.

I spent a few hours today digging through IRS forms today and here's what I found out....

You can file a joint return if your spouse is a non-resident alien but you must petition the IRS to have your spouse treated as a resident alien for tax purposes. The instructions for doing this are in IRS publication 519 under the section titled "Nonresident spouse treated as resident". You aren't allowed to file a joint return if one person is a non-resident alien unless you specifically request to have the non-resident treated as a resident. Those filing as non-resident aliens need to file using the 1040-NR if they have taxable income in the US.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf

You also have to file for an ITIN for your spouse (if they don't already have one) along with your completed tax return using form W-7.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf

If all goes well they grant your spouse's ITIN in 4-6 weeks and then process your return.

In my case my wife has no income (she's a student) so it makes sense for us to do this since I go from owing money to getting a huge refund. The downside is that if your spouse has income and you elect to have them treated as a resident for US tax purposes their income becomes taxable in the US. I think that's what it means anyway. Since my wife has no income I didn't research this that much.

Another option, as mentioned earlier, is to file as single and then file an ammended return later. For me, doing all the paperwork up front is the better option since it gets me a refund.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a tax professional. I'm just a guy that had some time on my hands today so I decided to look all this stuff up. If anyone sees where I've made a gross error, please spank me and send me to bed without supper.

US Residents for tax purposes are still allowed to exempt foreign income from US taxes up to the exclusion amount. This amount can vary by tax year, for 2007, that amount is $85,700. You claim that exclusion by filing form 2555 along with the 1040. So again, the decision to declare a spouse a US resident for tax purposes for tax year 2007 is an individual decision based on individual circumstances of income of both spouses.

Edp333, on your previous question, no one I asked about the US, Canada, Mexico question and ITIN is aware of such a change for 2007.

Hello! I really appreciate all this information about how to file and include my spouse on my return. This is very helpful as I had NO IDEA what to do. Thanks
Tomeca

Wow Pattu was thinking along the same lines as I was, after it just hit me, tax time is coming soon.
Technically I was married in March 2007 then the visa filing started in April.
Still reading through the IRS related info above, but anyone have thoughts on how I should handle the W-4 at my workplace?
I just had open enrollment and I used this oppurtunity to add my wife to my medical/dental/vision coverages and added some more head room to my FSA for anticipated added costs once she is here later this year (by April 2008 I hope). For those wondering, I did this now even though marriage usually allwos for these changes anytime because the evidence for it would get a bit complicated as the marriage was technically in March 2007.

Anyways, should I change my W-4 now? As I definately am taking on more deductions now with a dependent (my wife) added to my medical/dental/vision.
Or should I just allow the Tax Filing handle this? Eventually I should change my W-4 though correct? When is the question... now or later. Perhaps others have their thoughts on this. Thanks a bunch.

Thanks for researching this information Urge.

Thanks guys. Perfect timing. Its that time of the year and I was just thinking about this.

I think I'll be filing as single then just have it ammended when my wife gets here. This seem to be th easiest way.

Pushbrk, Do you know if there's a time deadline or limit on when I have to file my ammended return?

Many Thanks

As long as it won't create a problem at interview time when I need to show my 1040 for the Affidavit of Support(does anyone know about this?), I plan to file as single too, since I am counting on my refund to be here by March or so to pay for my next trip to see G and frankly don't know how to deal with him having to get a copy of his passport notarized, etc. - too much to deal with and I haven't even filed the I-130!!!

noel877, generally, you have to file a 1040X (amended return) within 3 years of your original filing or within 2 years after the date you paid the tax if you owed money, whichever is later.

Thanks Urge. This is the info I was looking for. I hope they approved my wife's K3 within 3 years. LOL

It sounds really simple until you start thinking about how you are going to include a US Notary's signature attesting to the fact that the passport copy is a true one. In our case, I filed early as single, used the refund to finance my second trip to China and then filed an amended return for a bigger refund after she arrived. We weren't about to risk mailing a passport between the US and China.

Per the instructions to the W7:

U.S. notaries public are available at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. Foreign notaries are acceptable as outlined by the Hague Convention.

I don't know about how one would utilize a foreign notary but at least in China, the services of a US notary in an Embassy or Consulate are only available to US Citizens. So, it's not like my wife could have walked in and gotten it done. The distance was too great anyway.

There are also IRS offices in some countries. The passport can be authenticated there as well.

For some, the available options will be practical. For others, not so much. I'm just saying it sounds simple until you start dealing with the passport copy issue.

Any thoughts on my W-4 related question?

We went through a week and many dollars to do this while wife was still in China..We had to take her passport to a Chinese Notary to have a booklet made in Chinese and English, then (I) had to take all this to the GZ consulate to have a page added and another US notary added their stamp to the booklet..True she can't have an american consulate put a notary seal..Maybe it's different in other countries but in China thats how we had to do it..Hes right it's simple until you deal with it..Even with all that done proper and legal the IRS would not accept it for the year 2006..They simply said you need to call us beforehand..Rules change all the time they told us, don't take printed pages as religion not even on their website..So says IRS..

This is what I am thinking of doing(because I need the refund for exactly the same purpose!!!) I would never have G mail his passport to me - at one time last year the Nepali gov't was not issuing passports because there was too much instability - don't want to run the risk of him not being able to get a replacement should it get lost in the mail. That would really put a snag in our visa journey!!!

I see this as purely a personal choice. My philosophy is I'd rather pay a little than get a lot back. If you don't adjust the W4, you'll be letting the IRS use more of your money than if you do.

This may be a dumb question but I really do need the answer. Is the $85,700 our combined income or just his foreign income?

$85,700 of foreign income is exempt from US income tax. Additional foreign income is taxed. Domestic income is taxed.

Thank you!

I have a few questions that are related as well. My wife is a Canadian citizen. She is originally Chinese but has been a Canadian citizen for just over 1 year. We filed our case in November 2007. I sent in our I-130 and we are still waiting for our receipt. As it is getting close to tax time, I am getting nervous. My W-4 status is married. My wife has not worked in a year and a half. Currently, she is China. Our son was born three weeks ago. I just returned last week. However, my wife will not return to Canada for several months. My first question is,

Can the two of us go to the Beijing consulate or embassy and get her Canadian passport certified or notarized (as I am an American Citizen) for the purpose of obtaining the ITIN?

Secondly, could I currently file my taxes as Married filing Single or does she need a SSN or ITIN for this as well? and lastly,

I know the Married filing Joint tax return with the ITIN needs to be mailed. But, what about the Married filing Single? Could this be done without mailing?

I am just so confused by this. I will not see her again before mid-may and therefore we have no way to get the passport certified or notarized and obviously then it will be past the tax deadline. Any and all help that any of you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.