Quick background: Aidan (non USC) moved here on November 8, 2005. We were married November 19, 2005. Aidan has a SSN, but no EAD yet, so no US income. He did, however, have income in N. Ireland.

Thanks to VisaJourney, I've got my head around a lot of tax problems. I've decided to file married/joint, even though I only made $6,000 last tax year because I was in Ireland for seven months (not working). I've also decided that although Aidan is technically a non-resident alien, we're going to file him as a resident alien for tax purposes.

I know now that I must fill out the 1040 (why can't I do 1040EZ?) and use form 2555-EZ because Aidan made less than $80,000 last year.

But, one quick question. How do I fill out the 2555-EZ? Does Aidan (non USC) fill it out for himself and then I send it along with my taxes?

Also, how should I set up the statement saying that Aidan is a resident alien for tax purposes?

What additional documents do I need to submit with my tax forms? Do I need a cover letter?

And finally, can you see any mistakes with my filing this way...or can you offer any additional advice?

Thank you so much to everyone who has helped so far! We really appreciate it!

You're filing the exact way we did: 1040 for each, 2555-EZ for both (Our Irish wages), written statement declaring me a resident alien for tax purposes and Rob's W2's. That was it, no cover letter or additional info. Everything was sent off in the one envelope for Federal.
And we have just received a very nice cheque lodged into our account

The written statement was basically 1 sentence stating that we wished me to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes. It was written in formal letter format and included our address, SSN's and signatures.

Post it off and get it out of the way! Good Luck

Amanda

Uh-oh..wait...I need a 1040 for Aidan as well? Two 1040's?

Thanks for your help!

Hello Amanda,

Is it good to have income in home country for filing taxes in the US? Does it make a difference if you had income there or not? Also what would the effect of your foreign income have on tax refunds? If you had income in your home country...that means you paid all taxes related to that income. Would they tax it second time now? And what if you do not have any proof that you worked in home country?

Can you please enlighten me on this in detail?

Thank you.

No 1040 EZ because you have to attach the Form 2555..

You don't need two 1040's. If you're filing jointly, you only need one.

Yes, Aidan fills out the 2555. Since you're filing jointly, it's both your tax returns... meaning both of you get to file on one form. Both of your names will be on the 1040 as well as your SSN's.

The way it works is that you include Aidan's income with yours and include it on line 7. With the Form 2555, you exclude the Irish income by putting it as a negative number on Line 21.

No 1040 EZ because you have to attach the Form 2555..

You don't need two 1040's. If you're filing jointly, you only need one.

Yes, Aidan fills out the 2555. Since you're filing jointly, it's both your tax returns... meaning both of you get to file on one form. Both of your names will be on the 1040 as well as your SSN's.

The way it works is that you include Aidan's income with yours and include it on line 7. With the Form 2555, you exclude the Irish income by putting it as a negative number on Line 21.
[/quote]

Thank you so much!!!

You might also want to consider writing a note explaining the breakdown of line 7, and also mention the exchange rate used.

I'm assuming you mean line 7 of the 2555EZ? Do I need to attach any supplemental evidence proving that Aidan made what he did in 2005?

no, line 7 of the 1040. However, now that I think about it, the reason why I did it last year was because I had 3 additional items on line 7 that was not on a w-2, so it did need further explaination.

I don't think I sent in anything proving how much I made in Canada, other than the amount.

Thank you!

Dunno if I'm posting this in the rigth place...but I had to thank Monigue (gimygirl) for reposting the tax post. I was freaking out and confused, but followed the instructions exactly...

What do you know - while I was in Oz, my newly HUGE tax return (yay for filing joint) was deposited in my account...It is our downpayment on Stewart's new car were going to get.

So - my point...thanks for the help and just follow the instructions here. VERY helpful AS ALWAYS