2012 TAXES - Married Filing Separate?

[johnjurewicz 1]

So sorry if this has been covered - could not find clear answer and I know some folks here know this topic.

I am the USC filing my 2012 Taxes soon.

I was married in China Nov. 2011.

My wife is still in China and her Visa Immigration status is basically that GuangZhou Embassy will be setting up her interview soon (Left NVC last week).

My wife has no income - no job in China.

Can I file my 2012 US taxes as Married Filing Separate?

Has anyone had experience with this?

If I file Married Filing Joint - What do I put for my wifes TAXID (SS#) in the tax forms?

[Panda Sky 5]

Yes, you can file your taxes as Married filing separately but you would almost always pay more taxes than if you file jointly.

Do a comparison and go with what will give you a better refund.

To file jointly, you have to get your wife a tax ID number from IRS by filing Form W-7. But if you don't want to bother with W-7 now, you can file separately now and amend the return later when you wife get here and have her SS#. You have 3 years from when you file to amend a return.

Good luck!

Edited February 16, 2013 by Panda Sky

[kzielu 1,154]

Why wouldn't you file separate ? We will be filing separate - gives us $1000 more of a tax return.

[newacct 688]

So sorry if this has been covered - could not find clear answer and I know some folks here know this topic.

I am the USC filing my 2012 Taxes soon.

I was married in China Nov. 2011.

My wife is still in China and her Visa Immigration status is basically that GuangZhou Embassy will be setting up her interview soon (Left NVC last week).

My wife has no income - no job in China.

Can I file my 2012 US taxes as Married Filing Separate?

Has anyone had experience with this?

If I file Married Filing Joint - What do I put for my wifes TAXID (SS#) in the tax forms?

Also remember that since she is a nonresident alien (for taxes), the two of you will need to make an election to treat her as a resident, in order to file jointly. Also, didn't you file taxes for 2011? How did you deal with it then?

Why wouldn't you file separate ? We will be filing separate - gives us $1000 more of a tax return.

For most couples, filing separately results in more taxes than filing jointly.

[Darnell 8,479]

china? married filing jointly? wanna file the ITIN paperwork?

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=412599&view=findpost&p=5956138

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/318133-taxes-update-for-itin-w-7-with-china/

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keywords: ITIN CHINA W-7 Vice Consul notarized bio page

Edited February 16, 2013 by Darnell

[Roosha 51]

Married/Separately is the easiest filing status to choose since you won't have to apply for an ITIN, just put NRA in the box where it asks for SSN for your spouse

Married/Jointly will probably give your a bigger return, but you have to go through applying for an ITIN, which is a pain.

If I was in your situation and I didn't need the money from the return ASAP I'd wait until my spouse was in the states with their SSN and THEN file. If she doesn't get here until after April 15, file for an extension. But I'm lazy and hate doing all this paperwork and will almost always do what takes little or no work

[Kevin_S 1]

If you decide to get your wife an ITIN, you will be required to send your wife's passport with your tax return. It will be returned after the process is completed. This may be a factor if your wife is planning to travel anytime soon.

I applied for my wife's ITIN last year. I tried sending a copy of the passport as indicated in the W-7 instruction sheet. It was even authenticated my the Philippine Department of Foriegn Affiairs as a true copy. I was sent a vague notice by the IRS saying I was lacking documentation. I called, but they would not say what was lacking. So I mailed them the original passport and all was good. I know of another expat who had the similar experience.

[Darnell 8,479]

ya, unfortunately, the ID requirements to obtain an ITIN have changed. What my wife did in Chengdu actually met the new requirements. We knew it would be an issue prior to filing, as I had done some research on valid ID prior to filing.

The IRS accepts a notarized copy of the bio page of a foreign passport WHEN the notary work is done by a Vice Consul at a US Embassy. The only way to get that done is to make an ACS appointment at the Embassy, show up for it, pay yer 50 bucks.

[The Mean Lady 604]

If you decide to get your wife an ITIN, you will be required to send your wife's passport with your tax return. It will be returned after the process is completed. This may be a factor if your wife is planning to travel anytime soon.

I applied for my wife's ITIN last year. I tried sending a copy of the passport as indicated in the W-7 instruction sheet. It was even authenticated my the Philippine Department of Foriegn Affiairs as a true copy. I was sent a vague notice by the IRS saying I was lacking documentation. I called, but they would not say what was lacking. So I mailed them the original passport and all was good. I know of another expat who had the similar experience.

Last year's ID requirements were that you had to submit a notarized copy.

I did so with no issues.

This year, must be notarized by the actual issuing agency or a US embassy.

[Mourad81 20]

The IRS accepts a notarized copy of the bio page of a foreign passport WHEN the notary work is done by a Vice Consul at a US Embassy. The only way to get that done is to make an ACS appointment at the Embassy, show up for it, pay yer 50 bucks.

I remember doing same thing last year but it didn't work.I sent a Notary copy signed and stamped by a Vice Consul at a US Embassy but the IRS rejected it,the ONLY way to get that ITIN number as Kevin_S mentioned it before sending them the Original Passport.hope this will helps you!

[The Mean Lady 604]

I remember doing same thing last year but it didn't work.I sent a Notary copy signed and stamped by a Vice Consul at a US Embassy but the IRS rejected it,the ONLY way to get that ITIN number as Kevin_S mentioned it before sending them the Original Passport.hope this will helps you!

This is not true, sorry.

The IRS will sometimes reject things for no reason, I had the same thing happen due to an out of date notary stamp for 2010 taxes (which wasn't true) but you can't change the rules to fit your bad experience.

[Mourad81 20]

This is not true, sorry.

The IRS will sometimes reject things for no reason, I had the same thing happen due to an out of date notary stamp for 2010 taxes (which wasn't true) but you can't change the rules to fit your bad experience.

i'm not trying to change rules to fit my bad experience as you said but tried to share an experience going through an ITIN number!

[The Mean Lady 604]

It's fine to share your experience, but not to say the ONLY way to get an ITIN is to send your original passport.

[shira 4]

china? married filing jointly? wanna file the ITIN paperwork?

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=412599&view=findpost&p=5956138

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/318133-taxes-update-for-itin-w-7-with-china/

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keywords: ITIN CHINA W-7 Vice Consul notarized bio page

Edit: Sorry, I just saw that others have weighed in on this issue of using a notarized passport. But I'll leave the rest of my post as is.

I'm 100% certain that the procedure you used - getting a copy of the passport notarized by the Consulate - is NOT going to work any more. You did this in late 2011, BEFORE the rules were changed in June of 2012. The rules now are EXTREMELY strict.

Consulates do NOT "certify" or "authenticate" foreign documents. All they do is witness and attest to the fact that someone is making a statement (such as "This is a true copy of my passport"). They do the notarial things that a notary public does in the U.S., and a notary public's stamp on a copy of a passport would mean exactly nothing to the IRS.

My god, the rules are so strict now that even if I had my wife's original passport here in the U.S. and took it to an IRS office, they will NOT make a copy of it themselves (and give me back the original) and accept that copy as "true" - instead, they will keep the original for 60 days (unless they lose it) while they process the W-7. Yes, that's how bad it is now.

My wife cannot afford to be without her passport for God-knows-how-long, so I'm going to try to apply for an ITIN using a Chinese notarial birth certificate PLUS an original Chinese ID card (my wife has two original ID cards for some reason, and she gave me one of them). But I'm still not confident that these documents are sufficient. And for me, the tax hit of filing married/separately is huge - over $8000 difference in total tax.

Yes, I can always file an amended return after my wife is in the U.S., but sending out thousands of dollars to the IRS for an indefinite loan just grates at me.

I'm being so firm about your recommendation because I don't want people to waste their time and money on a procedure that I'm sure worked before June of 2012, but is absolutely not going to work now.

Edited February 16, 2013 by shira

[shira 4]

It's fine to share your experience, but not to say the ONLY way to get an ITIN is to send your original passport.

Well, the IRS also accepts a "copy of a passport certified by the original issuing agency," but for China, I don't think that's possible, so only an original passport will do.

But the W-7 instructions list other combinations of documents. For example, a voter's registration card, a civil birth certificate, a national ID card, and a foreign driver's license - any two of these is sufficient.

Edited February 16, 2013 by shira