immigrant spouse being asked by US husband's accountant to file taxes US??

[erynaught 43]

Not possible. Because you have the same amount of deduction for both

Very possible.

Filing Married/Separately is worse than Filing Single. Even though the tax brackets are the same, there are several valuable deductions and credits that are available to a person filing Single or Married/Joint that are not available to a person filing Married/Separately. For example, the Earned Income Tax Credit, write-off of college loan interest, American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning tax credits for higher education, certain types of casualty and capital losses, the right to make Roth IRA contribution if your separate AGI exceeds $10,000, etc, etc.

Of course, if you are married than you are not allowed to file single - must either file Married/Joint, Married/Separate, or, with certain limitations, Head of Househould.

[newacct 688]

Filing Married/Separately is worse than Filing Single. Even though the tax brackets are the same,

It is worse because the tax brackets are not the same -- they are worse.

[erynaught 43]

It is worse because the tax brackets are not the same -- they are worse.

I stand corrected. 2013 marginal tax brackets after $73201 are worse for Married/Separate than Single. This, coupled with the reduced deductions/credits available, really coalesce to make filing Married/Seperately a very bad thing.

When I got my divorce, ex refused to sign Joint return. I didn't fit within the limitations to file Head of Household. So, I was stuck filing Married/Separate. Judge could not make her sign the Joint return, but he did award me the difference in tax from her portion of the marital estate. When she realized it was going to cost her thousands of dollars, she tried to backtrack but the Judge was not hearing it at that point - told her to 'lie in the bed you've made'

Edited March 19, 2013 by erynaught

[Ms Hogan 295]

I found one of the FUNNIEST parts of this journey (AND I LAUGHED HARD WHEN I READ IT OUTLOUD TO MY HUSBAND) to be my welcome package where on page two it said:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is pleased to welcome you to the United States. (I bet they are... ANOTHER TAX PAYER WooT!)

Now that you have been issued an immigrant visa, you are open to many opportunities and given certain responsibilities. These

responsibilities include certain income tax filing requirements with the IRS.

After the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has admitted you into the United States as a legal permanent

resident, you will be considered a resident alien of the United States for tax purposes. Your Alien Registration

Receipt Card ("Green Card") may not be sent to you for several months, but you are considered a resident alien

of the U.S. as of the date you first entered the United States with the immigrant visa.

By law, all U.S. citizens and resident aliens are required to file U.S. income tax returns each

year to report their worldwide income. This is true regardless of where the citizen or

resident alien lives or earns income.

Each year that you are a resident alien, you will be subject to U.S. filing requirements. As long as you have

possession of a Green Card, you are considered a U.S. resident for tax purposes. You continue to have resident

status unless your Green Card is taken away from you or is determined administratively or judicially to have

been abandoned.

Additional tax information can be found in the instructions for IRS Form 1040, Publication 519 (U.S. Tax

Guide for Aliens) and Publication 54 (Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad). You may

obtain forms and assistance on the IRS website (www.irs.gov)or by calling the IRS toll-free: 1-800-829-1040.

[himher 634]

LOL sure - the information is on the IRS website.

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Foreign-Earned-Income-Exclusion

I believe your husband's accountant knows (or should know) these rules for overseas expats

I don't know where you came up with this $95,100 thing. Post a link please.

Edited March 21, 2013 by himher

[flybird 0]

I understand that if filing taxes jointly and submitting a W7, one must include certified copies of documents (eg passport or national id card) from the issuing agency. My question is, What is a certified copy of those documents? Are government offices able to generate copies of the official documents that they will also certify? What is the process?

[Ivy. 113]

I understand that if filing taxes jointly and submitting a W7, one must include certified copies of documents (eg passport or national id card) from the issuing agency. My question is, What is a certified copy of those documents? Are government offices able to generate copies of the official documents that they will also certify? What is the process?

We filed Married filing Jointly and at the same time I applied for my INIT. I submitted a W-7 form together with a photocopy of my passport (the page with the ID, not all pages) that was verified by the US Embassy in my country to be identical to the original. The Embassy calls this "notarial services" and they charged me $50 for that. We entered our taxes online, then printed out the forms (we could not e-file, it kept asking for my SSN) and sent it all together via snail mail. We expect our return in 7-8 weeks.

[flybird 0]

We filed Married filing Jointly and at the same time I applied for my INIT. I submitted a W-7 form together with a photocopy of my passport (the page with the ID, not all pages) that was verified by the US Embassy in my country to be identical to the original. The Embassy calls this "notarial services" and they charged me $50 for that. We entered our taxes online, then printed out the forms (we could not e-file, it kept asking for my SSN) and sent it all together via snail mail. We expect our return in 7-8 weeks.

Is the W7 asking for documentation related to the foreign spouse or the US citizen. Sorry I know I can look it up, but could use the help.

[Ivy. 113]

Sorry, it was not clear in my post. W-7 was for me, foreign spouse. It is a request to get individual taxpayer identification number, an alternative for when social security number is not available.

[NikLR 13,220]

Did you note in the W7 instructions that you cannot just photocopy your passport but it must be a certified copy by issuer. So that means whomever issued your passport must provide the copy, no other copy is acceptable. I'm not sure a verified copy by the US embassy will be acceptable to the IRS.

[Ivy. 113]

Did you note in the W7 instructions that you cannot just photocopy your passport but it must be a certified copy by issuer. So that means whomever issued your passport must provide the copy, no other copy is acceptable. I'm not sure a verified copy by the US embassy will be acceptable to the IRS.

I can not get a certified copy of my passport from the issuer. The embassy seemed to think that their verified copy will be ok, they printed out the W-7 form and instructions for me.

Edit:

My embassy does not mention W-7 on their webpage, but here is another US consulate that verifies copies for W-7 purposes: http://canberra.usembassy.gov/itin_w-7.html

Edited April 13, 2013 by Ivy.

[NikLR 13,220]

Well I hope it works out for you!

[Ivy. 113]

Well I hope it works out for you!

Quick update:

My husband got my INIT by mail cca 2 months afer filing our taxes. He also got an envelope with the copy of my passport returned and a note saying our tax refund will be paid once they process my INIT.