UKRAINIAN TAX HELP PLEASE!

[honestlyspkng 0]

My wife is a waitress in Kiev Ukraine, and of course she has tips which are not reported.

I wanted to file a joint return, and report them the best we can, but with a tax treaty with Ukraine, will it be known in Ukraine that she has this unreported income and will she get a visit from the tax man?

Would it be better for me to file married separrate and do an ammended return when she is here? This is my first time at this and any help would be appreciated.

Thanks all

Edited February 28, 2009 by honestlyspkng

[YuAndDan 153]

No need to report foreign income especially that of a foreign citizen, they are NOT a resident of the USA yet.

You can file a joint return but will need an ITIN from IRS to do so. OR it is easier to file separate return and amend it later.

[honestlyspkng 0]

No need to report foreign income especially that of a foreign citizen, they are NOT a resident of the USA yet.

You can file a joint return but will need an ITIN from IRS to do so. OR it is easier to file separate return and amend it later.

I am told not so.. All I have read also tells me that if we file joint, which is what the embassy will want to see as part of the established mariage, she must sign a declaration requesting to be treated as a resident for tax purposes for 2008 even though she is not in the country, with the w-7 app and we must report wworldwide income for us both. She has been told by someone who works in the tax office that she does not have to report tips because nobody knows how much she really has, and of course most people do not, but that does not make it correct. Because of the tax treaty we have with Ukraine, I only wonder if this info will be shared with them because of the joint return.I think I am going to be honest with everything and take my chances. She works without documents at the restaurant, so as far as they are concerned she is not an employee. In Ukraine the employer is responsible for reporting income and payment of taxes. If a person does not have other income than that of the employer, they need not file a return. Trouble is I have already told USCIS that she worked there before I understood all of this and it is on her 325A so there is no changing employment history.