Could anyone tell me? I got married last May in Bosnia. I lived over there a few months and came back. My husband worked on a US based cruise ship Jan-June then returned to Bosnia. He has never lived in the States. He has no income in Bosnia for 2007. How do I file my taxes? Can I file married filing jointly if he has never lived here?

Might be best to go here.
As with DHS what was today
might not be 2morrow.

Live Telephone Assistance
When calling, you may ask questions to help you prepare your tax return, or ask about a notice you have received.

Telephone Assistance for Individuals:
Toll-Free, 1-800-829-1040
Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. your local time (Alaska & Hawaii follow Pacific Time).

Telephone Assistance for Businesses:
Toll-Free, 1-800-829-4933
Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. your local time (Alaska & Hawaii follow Pacific Time).

Telephone Assistance for Exempt Organizations, Retirement Plan Administrators, and Government Entities:
Toll-Free, 1-877-829-5500
Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Time. Some specific services are not available during the full hours of operation. Exceptions are as follows:

Complex tax law calls are answered Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Central Time.
Basic Employer Plans (EP) tax law calls are answered 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time.
Telephone Assistance for people with hearing impairments:
Toll-Free 1-800-829-4059 (TDD)
Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. your local time (Alaska & Hawaii follow Pacific Time).
For further information, see Tax Topic 102.

Telephone Assistance for people who live outside the United States
Hours of availability vary by location. Please see our International Services page.

Face-to-Face Assistance
In certain areas, IRS also has local offices you may visit to receive assistance.

This is an IRS question rather than an immigration one, and I'm not an accountant, so you should do your own research. However, I've been going through the same thing.

You qualify to file married filing jointly. You should run the numbers and determine whether it's better to file "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately/head of household." There's some information on the IRS web site on exactly this situation. If your spouse had no income at all, it'll probably be better to file jointly. You need to report the spouse's worldwide income on your 1040, under "other income" but it is not taxable under a certain amount.

You need to apply for a tax id for the non-resident spouse using the W-7 form and this requires a certified copy of your spouse's passport. The W-7 has a line for "non-resident spouse of a US resident/citizen" which is the category that qualifies your husband for a tax id.

You need to get your spouse's signature on the W-7 and on your 1040, so don't wait until April to get things kicked off.

From what I can tell, you should be able to file the 1040 with a photocopy of the W-7 and an explanation if you don't have the tax ID before filing your taxes. However, if you are in a hurry to get some part of your refund before you get all the paperwork back from your spouse, you could always file your 1040 as married/separately and then use a 1040X to amend your return when you get the spouse's signature.

I have been filing as married filing joint. You need to apply for a tax payer ID number for your spouse through a form W7 when you file your tax return. I sent in my spouse's passport copy, birth certificate and marriage certificate (notarized at the local US embassy where my spouse resides). Make sure it is notarized at the local US consulate or by a US notary. Otherwise IRS sends you a reminder to get it notarized by a US notary and the process extends to 3-4 months which is what happened to me. Hope this helps.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP. DO YOU GUYS KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE TO AMEND THE FILING IF I FILE MARRIED FILING SEPERATELY THEN AMEND TO JOINT WHEN HE GETS HERE?

Does it apply just for her case or for any of us since we all have foreign spouses who do not live here in USA

Assuming the probable case that you'll be owed a refund when you amend your return, you have however long the IRS allows to claim a refund on previous tax years. Once upon a time, that was 2 or 3 years. I haven't checked recently.




To the other question, "married" status applies to anyone who is married, regardless of where your spouse lives.

if you look on the IRS site, there are places in certain countires where the spouse can go to get an ITIN. My wife will be going next week

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/intern...d=96690,00.html