questions about W7 and 2555ez

[rkk1 34]

Hi all... my husband is getting ready to send me his tax forms from overseas, but we need to figure out some questions to the following forms.... I'd be most grateful for any help!

2555 EZ

-What do we write at the top of the form in the box that asks for 'your social security number' [spouse's]?

-1b. This question asks about the date my husband's bona fide residence began and ended. Do I put his date of birth as the date began, and today's date as the date ended (or write 'current')? Or do I just put in the start and end of the tax year... i.e. January 1, 2011 began and Dec 31, 2011 ended?

-2b. For this question, I'm just going to write down 01/01/2011 to 12/31/2011. I hope that's okay.

-11a. Is it fine to just put spouse's home address in this box? My husband does work part-time at a local college. I'm not sure if he needs to put that address down as his 'tax home' since he only works limited hours there, and may change to another college in the future. I was looking at the instructions for this form, and it seems there are some cases where either the home or workplace could be used as a 'tax home'. But since it's part-time employment, I don't know if it has to count. We don't know the college's zip code, so it would be just easier to use the home address if that is fine. Also, I'm not sure if I should check off 'A foreign business' in part 9b as it's a non-profit education institute, not a business per se.

W7

-For the top portion, where it asks reason for submitting form, do we only have to check off 'e - spouse of US citizen'? Also, it says that if we check 'e' then we have to also submit a tax return as well. Are they referring to my tax return (as the US citizen) or does my husband need to submit HIS tax return? Since he's a full-time student and works part time, he is exempt from taxes in his country as it's until the tax limit. But I wasn't sure what the w7 form was referring to.

-For part 6c where it asks about applicant's US visa, should we list it as 'CR1 visa (in process)'? Or should we just leave this blank since no visa has been issued yet?

LETTER for Joint Filing

Does anyone have a link or know where to find a template of the letter that needs to go to the IRS saying that the foreign spouse agrees to joint filing? I'm not exactly sure what my husband needs to write or what the letter should look like.

IF anyone has any answers to the above questions, I'd be most appreciative, as my husband plans to finish filling out and mailing these forms to me either with the next day or two, as my accountant needs the forms by the end of the month. So I need to quickly figure out what we have to write. Thanks so much!!!

Edited March 22, 2012 by rkk1

[rkk1 34]

Please help, .... anyone. My loving husband sacrificed his sleep and is traveling in a train right now to go to Delhi to get his passport copy Apostilled, so that I can submit the tax forms on time. So I'm trying to do my part by figuring out the paperwork stuff for us.

I guess it was my fault above as it might have helped if I had posted more of the questions, so that no one needed to refer to their forms. Sorry about that.

[max+patricia 24]

We used Form 2555, not Form 2555 EZ, so take my response accordingly.

- I didn't put anything for my wife's SSN on the form (since she didn't have one)

- If question 1b (2555-EZ) asks the same thing that question 10 (2555) asks - "when residence began" - I put my wife's birthday for the start date and end date "Continue"

Can't answer for question 2b or 11a, different on Form 2555.

Form W-7 asks you to file it with YOUR tax return - the USC. If your spouse doesn't have a US visa - there you go.

I haven't seen a template for the letter, but what I wrote was as follows:

Internal Revenue Service

ITIN Operations

P.O. Box 149342

Austin, TX 78714-9342

To Whom It May Concern;

This letter is to certify that I, (USC name), am a U.S. Citizen and wish to include my wife, (non-USC name), on my tax return for the year 2011. (Non-USC name) was a non-resident alien on December 31, 2010. We have submitted a jointly filed tax return and we both elect that she be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes.

Sincerely,

XXXXXX (USC)

XXXXXX (Address)

XXXXXX (SSN #)

(Signed)

XXXXXX (Non-USC)

XXXXXX (Address)

XXXXXX (Passport #)

(Signed)

I received my wife's ITIN about 3 weeks later and my refund 2 weeks after that. Pretty easy.

Good luck to you

[rkk1 34]

Thank you so much, Max! Your answer is truly helpful.... much appreciated!

[rkk1 34]

I have a question.... is this the tax return for 2012 or the tax return for 2011? I don't know if this means the present year or the year we are filing for. So if I'm writing a letter similar to Max's above, would I say that I'm filing a 'tax return for 2012' and say that my husband was a non-resident alien on the last calendar day of Dec 31, 2011? Or is this considered a tax return for 2011 (since it includes 1/1/11 to 12/31/11)? Sorry if this sounds silly to ask, but I genuinely don't know.

Also does anyone have an answer to my previous question on form W7, part 6c. It asks 'Visa type (if any), number, expiration date'. Should I write 'CR1 (in process)' and include a copy of USCIS NOA1? Or should I just write 'n/a'?

Thanks guys!