Tax Break: Get Married Dec 31???

[f1ape 0]

Hey all, my finance is coming to the US from the PRC on Dec 27... the original plan was to get married sometime in February but then she suggested maybe it would be a better idea to visit city hall on December 31 to register our marriage and get a nice tax break. Since she has no taxable income in 2010 I thought, by JOVE, maybe this is a good idea?!?!?! Any insight on this guys? Is this a good idea? As she is an immigrant will I still get the same tax break??

Thanks in advance!

Edited December 16, 2010 by f1ape

[US_SL 2]

Hey all, my finance is coming to the US from the PRC on Dec 27... the original plan was to get married sometime in February but then she suggested maybe it would be a better idea to visit city hall on December 31 to register our marriage and get a nice tax break. Since she has no taxable income in 2010 I thought, by JOVE, maybe this is a good idea?!?!?! Any incite on this guys? Is this a good idea? As she is an immigrant will I still get the same tax break??

Thanks in advance!

Yes you can. Important issue is for you to have the SSN before the year end. If you have a SSN only you can claim.

[f1ape 0]

Yes you can. Important issue is for you to have the SSN before the year end. If you have a SSN only you can claim.

Ahhh... good point. I doubt three days (dec 27 arrival) is enough for this.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You don't have to file until April. That's when you need the SSN by. You're fine.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Getting married before the end of the year is like having a kid at the end of the year for tax purposes--you get to claim the deduction for the whole year. You will need the SSN for when you file the taxes and depending on the SSA office near you that may or may not happen, but as long as you are getting a refund or pay the taxes due you can file for an extension until the SSN comes in.

I am planning on getting married the 30th of December as it is one year after I proposed. The Fiancee is arriving this Sunday so I cannot wait. And I will be filing my taxes as married filing jointly as it reduces my taxes by some $8500. I would check out the difference between filing single and married filing jointly for you tax bracket, but you are going to find that filing as a married couple will benefit you finacially, plus it is one more piece of evidence for the AOS packet.

Good luck and congrats on your fiancee arriving.

Dave

[pushbrk 12,096]

Ahhh... good point. I doubt three days (dec 27 arrival) is enough for this.

You only need the SSN when you file taxes. Don't need it to get married. I don't know where people get these strange ideas.

[Yagisama 93]

You only need the SSN when you file taxes. Don't need it to get married. I don't know where people get these strange ideas.

I think the assumption here was that they had to be married before Dec 31 in order to be able to file jointly for the current year.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I think the assumption here was that they had to be married before Dec 31 in order to be able to file jointly for the current year.

They do, but they don't need to get the SSN before December 31. They just need to get the SSN before they file the tax return. My wife and I married on December 29, but we didn't go to the SSA office until January. We filed a joint return for 2009 without any problems.

[f1ape 0]

Getting married before the end of the year is like having a kid at the end of the year for tax purposes--you get to claim the deduction for the whole year. You will need the SSN for when you file the taxes and depending on the SSA office near you that may or may not happen, but as long as you are getting a refund or pay the taxes due you can file for an extension until the SSN comes in.

I am planning on getting married the 30th of December as it is one year after I proposed. The Fiancee is arriving this Sunday so I cannot wait. And I will be filing my taxes as married filing jointly as it reduces my taxes by some $8500. I would check out the difference between filing single and married filing jointly for you tax bracket, but you are going to find that filing as a married couple will benefit you finacially, plus it is one more piece of evidence for the AOS packet.

Good luck and congrats on your fiancee arriving.

Dave

I am in the same boat as you.. plan on saving several thousand. I figure hey why not save a couple thousand and get married on the 31 if we already know we are going to get married anyways. Great, thanks again for the help everyone! much appreciated!

[Yagisama 93]

They do, but they don't need to get the SSN before December 31. They just need to get the SSN before they file the tax return. My wife and I married on December 29, but we didn't go to the SSA office until January. We filed a joint return for 2009 without any problems.

Oh, I see the distinction now. Thanks for the clarification.

[sciencenerd 56]

You also don't need an SSN to file taxes - my wife and I got married last December and she didn't yet have an SSN, so we applied for an ITIN (individual tax ID number?) and filed joint taxes that way. It was pretty easy. It doesn't seem like it will be necessary in your case, but it is a possibility. Also, some states require a waiting period before getting married (it's 3 days in Oregon, but you can get that waived if you pay an extra $10 fee or something). You should find out since you'll have to apply for the marriage license in time to be married on the 31st. Getting married in December and filing joint taxes earned us $6,000, so it was definitely worth it timing-wise (of course, this is different if your soon-to-be spouse has an income, but my wife didn't).

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Marrying at the end of the year can change the filing status for the USC. It may be a good thing or it may not. You need to report your joint income ( hers and yours ) and you may end up owing more from your income. Non resident foreign spouse joint taxes info If you made a lot more than her it may exclude her from some credits. In our case we did marry before the end of year , as he was unemployed most of the prior year and even when he was he made only a small amount. If you do elect to choose this option don't forget the statement that he is electing to be treated as a resident alien ( you aren't resident until after AOS )

[Tunc 0]

Just remember that when you file joint tax return she needs to report her all her income worldwide, which includes her income in China during 2010 tax year. She probably did not have to pay any tax on this in China. It may not be always advantageous to get married before year end if it means you have to pay more taxes.

[pushbrk 12,096]

Just remember that when you file joint tax return she needs to report her all her income worldwide, which includes her income in China during 2010 tax year. She probably did not have to pay any tax on this in China. It may not be always advantageous to get married before year end if it means you have to pay more taxes.

Unless she made more than eighty thousand US dollars in China during 2010, all her foreign income is exempt from US taxes anyway. You report it, but not tax is due. It's a non issue for nearly all people.

[March2010 2]

Unless she made more than eighty thousand US dollars in China during 2010, all her foreign income is exempt from US taxes anyway. You report it, but not tax is due. It's a non issue for nearly all people.

pushbrk, if one has income in the US and overseas for any particular year, does the income from overseas become also taxed? or does the 80k rule still exempt the overseas earned income?