Filing taxes as married

[xelance 31]

just found this from turbotax live community, seems to make sense to me.

"If you are filing jointly, you need to add a statement to your return that you are making the choice to treat your husband as resident alien. AS long as one of you has earned income, you would be eligible for the $800 if you file jointly. If you don't make the choice/add the statement you cannot file jointly. "

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Thank you, I didn't know that it didn't qualify as excludable.

I also saw someone say that you couldn't take the Making work pay credit, however, turbotax is applying the credit. Just wondering if anyone has the actual answer to this?

If you make the election to treat your wife as a Resident Alien then you should be able to claim any deductions and credits that other citizens are entitled to claim.

[mr2fyre 3]

If you make the election to treat your wife as a Resident Alien then you should be able to claim any deductions and credits that other citizens are entitled to claim.

This is what I thought, but i saw a post about it earlier so i wanted to see if anyone thought differently.

Thank you for your help. I think i can finish up the Fed and start on the State now.

[xelance 31]

are you going to do the state via turbotax as well? I am done with the Fed, but not sure what to do about the state.

[hindustani24 7]

are you going to do the state via turbotax as well? I am done with the Fed, but not sure what to do about the state.

get extension and wait till your spouse comes to US because at the interview they only look for Federal return and not state

[xelance 31]

thats what I was thinking hindustani, great idea

[mr2fyre 3]

are you going to do the state via turbotax as well? I am done with the Fed, but not sure what to do about the state.

I am going to let turbo tax do its thing and then if I can get the ITIN in time I will file the state, otherwise I guess I will file an extension until i get ITIN.

I am due too much money back to want to wait 3-6 months more to get it. So I am hoping to get filed and my returns as soon as possible.

[Cybele 0]

Carlos, you are just plain wrong. The default is single when one spouse is a nonresident alien, and you can OPT IN to married filing jointly, but please read IRS document 519 before you post more stuff acting as an expert.

Why is this so hard--the instructions may be full of IRS jargon, but they are pretty simple.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p519/index.html

That link you posted for Publication 519 (2009), is the U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens - not US citizens.

[Cybele 0]

That link you posted for Publication 519 (2009), is the U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens - not US citizens.

Sorry got cut off...

This guide says 'aliens' others say 'immigrants' is there a difference when we are doing ANYTHING with USCIS, NVC, or the IRS? Trying to keep up with the different steps of a CR1 process is very confusing and many times I find information and read it multiple times to make sure that it is actually for ME and my circumstances and not another type of visa or process.

[raj1975 10]

Sorry, I didn't understand your original question. If your wife is not in the U.S. then of course she would not have an SSN or A-Number. You would just not put any number for her in the election statement. The declaration is only necessary if you want to file a joint tax return with your wife right now. As I stated in another post you could file a return as Married Filing Separately but you would not be able to claim her as a dependent. Once your wife comes to the U.S. and gets an SSN then you could amend your 2010 tax return to file as Married Filing Jointly. I hope this answers your question.

i still don't believe you that a declaration statement is necessary to joint file with your foreign spouse? are you 100% sure about this?

Edited March 3, 2011 by raj1975

[dvs98 2]

i still don't believe you that a declaration statement is necessary to joint file with your foreign spouse? are you 100% sure about this?

I am wondering this as well. Wife went in to the IRS office today and filed our our taxes and applied for her w-7 there. IRS person looked over everything said all was good took the return and sent her on her way no word of a statement. Worried now :/

[frenchphenom5 0]

Hi all. I, like many of you, have a foreign spouse. I recently got married, December 2010. I'm definitely going to file jointly, but my only issue is that I'm a lowly Assistant de Langue in France and I've made like 3,000 euros in France in 2010. I'm not entirely sure how the Feds look at this. But from what I've read it's going to be exempted anyways. I just want to make sure I get it right. Does turbotax 2010 walk me through this?

Thanks.

Btw- I think I'll file for an extension for my state taxes... gonna wait for the ITIN number to come.

[Miami_Boy 9]

The USC was married in 2010 and should NOT file single. The status will generally be "married filing separately" if he doesn't want to file jointly. Filing jointly will be an advantage tax-wise. You will have to do a couple of extra steps this year.

•You will complete your joint tax return leaving a blank where a SSN or itin would go for your spouse. The 2010 UK income will be converted to US $$ and reported (under less common income on TurboTax). It is self reported as is the conversion rate. Form 2555 or 2555EZ will be filled out for the foreign income exclusion. They want to know worldwide income, but then you get to exclude up to $91k-ish.

•You will write a statement saying you are a US citizen and he/she was a non-resident alien on the last day of 2010 and you both elect for him/her to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes. That's required for him/her to file jointly with you as he/she is not a resident yet by immigration rules. But for the IRS, the statement will allow him/her to be considered a resident as far as filing taxes goes. Otherwise a non-resident can not file a joint return. You both sign the statement and each list you name, address, and id number (SSN and A-number). Staple it to the end of your return.

•You complete a FORM W-7 ticking reason "e" and giving your name and SSN on the line beside it. You must provide identity with the w-7 and his/her passport will be enough. The IRS says this "If you submit an original valid passport (or a notarized or certified copy of a valid passport) you do not need to submit any other documents. If you do not submit a passport document, you must provide a combination of documents (at least two or more) that are current and that (1) verify your identity (that is, contain your name and a photograph), and (2) support your claim of foreign status."

•Mail you tax return (signed by both), the statement, the W-7 and identity document to

Internal Revenue Service

ITIN Operations

P.O. Box 149342

Austin, TX 78714-9342

NOTE: This a special division and not where you would normally file your return. They will process the itin in Austin and add the itin number to the tax return you sent with it. Then the tax return will be processed. It will take a little longer.

LPR spouse and own child(Not adopted) can eligible to file Joint return?? How can I add my minor child at joint return since it says EIC/child credit has to be living in USA for 7/12 months period. Is anybody get answer for that. Appreciated greatly!!

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

LPR spouse and own child(Not adopted) can eligible to file Joint return?? How can I add my minor child at joint return since it says EIC/child credit has to be living in USA for 7/12 months period. Is anybody get answer for that. Appreciated greatly!!

You can claim the child as a dependent on your return if you file jointly you just won't be able to claim the earned income credit for that child. If the child does not live in the USA then it is not a qualifying child for earned income credit purposes. If you file a joint return just be sure that on line 6 c of the return where you list your dependents your don't check the block under column (4) for that child.

If you are a glutton for punishment you can read the actual law that requires that the child live in the U.S. in order for the child to be a qualifying child for the earned income credit. The specific part of the Internal Revenue Code is Section 32( c )( 3 )( C ). Here is a link to Internal Revenue Code section 32:

Internal Revenue Code Section 32

[Miami_Boy 9]

You can claim the child as a dependent on your return if you file jointly you just won't be able to claim the earned income credit for that child. If the child does not live in the USA then it is not a qualifying child for earned income credit purposes. If you file a joint return just be sure that on line 6 c of the return where you list your dependents your don't check the block under column (4) for that child.

If you are a glutton for punishment you can read the actual law that requires that the child live in the U.S. in order for the child to be a qualifying child for the earned income credit. The specific part of the Internal Revenue Code is Section 32( c )( 3 )( C ). Here is a link to Internal Revenue Code section 32:

Internal Revenue Code Section 32

You are the greatest person...!! Thanks for the valuable info..