Filling jointly or separated

[Pw3t 6]

Hello,

I have a question about the minimum income to file a tax return. My american husband earned for the past year around 3000€ of training help from the french government (which is around $4000). He lives in France with me.

We never filled any tax return since we're married because he had no income. Now the question is : do we have to file one ?

The minimum income for filing separately is $3,800 and jointly, $19,500.

Which minimum amount do we have to consider ?

I thank you in advance for yours answers

[speedwell 224]

Hello,

I have a question about the minimum income to file a tax return. My american husband earned for the past year around 3000€ of training help from the french government (which is around $4000). He lives in France with me.

We never filled any tax return since we're married because he had no income. Now the question is : do we have to file one ?

The minimum income for filing separately is $3,800 and jointly, $19,500.

Which minimum amount do we have to consider ?

I thank you in advance for yours answers

File one if you want him to receive a tax refund. It isn't required, but you can't get a refund without it. File married-separately if it's too much trouble to do the W-7 to get you an ITIN for tax purposes. You can always amend to married-joint later. Do not file any other status but married, because you are married. Which minimum amount you claim depends on whether you choose to file separately or jointly.

[Pw3t 6]

Thank you for your answer. I don't think we can get a refund from a french income... Let's say we decide to choose jointly so my husband's income is under the minimum required (under $19,500) so we don't have to file a tax return, because that is what we want to avoid. Will the IRS come after us because the amount is above the minimum for filing separately ?

[speedwell 224]

Thank you for your answer. I don't think we can get a refund from a french income... Let's say we decide to choose jointly so my husband's income is under the minimum required (under $19,500) so we don't have to file a tax return, because that is what we want to avoid. Will the IRS come after us because the amount is above the minimum for filing separately ?

Refund from a french income, no. Refund because you made too little income to pay tax on, yes, and to get your share of the standard deduction or any expenses you want to claim.

No, the IRS only wants you to file properly. When you file joint, they don't scheme to ask why you didn't file separately.

[Pw3t 6]

Oh thank you. So I understand now. We're not going to file anything

[newacct 688]

Refund because you made too little income to pay tax on, yes, and to get your share of the standard deduction or any expenses you want to claim.

You can't get a refund just because you made too little income, if no tax was withheld. You can only have "negative tax" if you claim one or more tax credits.

[speedwell 224]

You can't get a refund just because you made too little income, if no tax was withheld. You can only have "negative tax" if you claim one or more tax credits.

Yes. It's not out of the question that the OP qualifies for one or more. Only completing a tax return (even if they don't file it) can tell them what they do or don't qualify to receive. Those credits are there for a reason.

[Pw3t 6]

Hmmm so can you confirm that we can simply not file at all ?

[Roosha 51]

If you don't file, you still have to include a letter stating WHY you didn't file with the AOS form, as well as the IRS publication that pertains to your case (a copy of the filing threshold for the past three years would be fine, I think).

But not, if you were to choose married/jointly as your status then you wouldn't have to file a return, so you're good there, but make sure you state that clearly in your letter!

[Pw3t 6]

Thank you so much That is just perfect if we can do like this. It is a lot easier to write a letter stating why we didn't file than filling lots of complicated tax forms

[Pw3t 6]

My husband called the IRS this morning, the person told him he had to file separately. And we found out that since what he earned is not a salary, he's going to have to file a 1116 form which is just impossible to understand !!!!!

Edited February 8, 2013 by Pw3t

[Roosha 51]

try using taxact.com, you'll have to pay to file previous years taxes and you kinda have to play with the program a bit, takes a couple of hours to get used to, but I found them to be the best for USC filing overseas.

[Pw3t 6]

Thank you Roosha, your answers are very helpful

[pushbrk 12,179]

You can't get a refund just because you made too little income, if no tax was withheld. You can only have "negative tax" if you claim one or more tax credits.

Actually, people who paid nothing in before filing taxes CAN get a refund equal to the "negative tax" but I doubt that applies to the OP. Really, people with no withholding or quarterly payments get refunds frequently.

[speedwell 224]

OK, I went and talked to a CPA yesterday. The bad news is that he costs... (whispers) 750 dollars. The good news is he's saving me thousands.

If you file joint and your spouse is a non-resident, they MUST have a TIN (Taxpayer Information Number). It can be an ITIN or a Social Security Number, but they must have a number. If they do not have a number, there is a form, W-7, to file (with documentation) that gets attached to your return, along with a letter you both sign requesting the non-resident to be treated as a resident for tax purposes. Their foreign income must be counted as income on the joint return, but if the foreign income is below a certain amount (almost 80K USD) then it can be excluded. There is a form to file to get this exclusion (2555 or 2555EZ), plus the non-resident must document their foreign income. But also see the link in the next paragraph for what they must count as income.

If you file separately, then you write NRA for "non-resident alien" in the box for the number, and you don't have to take the non-resident's income into account. HOWEVER, the non-resident must file their OWN return if they fall under any of the categories listed in http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Taxation-of-Nonresident-Aliens. Be careful because certain visas, even student visas, automatically require the non-resident to file in the US and they must get a TIN to do so.