Filing Tax as Single or Married?

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I will be filing as Married Filing Separately. I read you are supposed to write "NRA" on the field for spouses SSN field and that I would have to mail in my return and can't efile it. Anyone know of any software such as TurboTax/TaxACT etc that will let me leave my wife's SSN field blank? TurboTax doesnt seem to let me leave it black or put in anything thats not a number.

H&R Block allowed my husband to leave my SSN field blank, along with selecting the reason for it being blank that I am not a US citizen or residing alien. The return went through with no problems (except that he owes a small amount. He was hoping to have a huge rebate like last year!)

[riyadc 2]

H&R Block allowed my husband to leave my SSN field blank, along with selecting the reason for it being blank that I am not a US citizen or residing alien. The return went through with no problems (except that he owes a small amount. He was hoping to have a huge rebate like last year!)

Is that through the H&R Block software? And was he able to file electronically? If so thats awesome news.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

I filed as single for all the years that my husband was in Jamaica and I was here since he has never been to this country and didn't have a ssn#. I hope that won't come back and haunt me.

Well you may find yourself subject to audit in the future should they somehow realise you were married, but I can't find online that there are any immediate penalties for doing so. I might be wrong, but you probably paid more tax by filing single. At least, that's what I'm reading, but my husband's return resulted in the same amount owed to IRS whether he chose single or married filing separately. Taxes are confusing.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Is that through the H&R Block software? And was he able to file electronically? If so thats awesome news.

Yes and yes.

[calygirl75 12]

If applicable, you might be able to file Head of Household. Look at the IRS guidelines to figure out of this status applies to you. This will allow you to use Turbo Tax etc., note you are married but not be required to supply a SSN or ITN for your spouse.

[MrsParker 13]

I filed as single for all the years that my husband was in Jamaica and I was here since he has never been to this country and didn't have a ssn#. I hope that won't come back and haunt me.

I file head of household. I called a verified that I could before doing so. Since my husband has never been in the U.S. And I have dependents I file head of household.

[pob260 23]

Is that through the H&R Block software? And was he able to file electronically? If so thats awesome news.

Workaround would be to put any SSN for your spouse and then print it out. White out her SSN and then handwrite "NRA". Might be a headache if you have to do it on all the pages. Some software print SSN on all the pages.

[Faycel and Renee 30]

When I was married and I filed I did it as Head of Household cause no one could claim me and my husband did not live with me in the LAST 6 MONTHS of the year.

When I did file again AFTER WE SEPARATED and he only lived in the house for 2 months AND lived sometime in the LAST 6 MONTHS OF THE YEAR I had to file as married.

What I would suggest is go to your states tax board and IRS and take the quiz on your filing status and that should determine how you file

Good luck

[skysofialila 45]

Since you are married you must file as married. You can 'file jointly' if your wife currently has a SSN or ITIN; and you must include her income in Bangladesh, converted to US dollars. If she does not have a SSN/ITIN - infered, since she has never been to the US - you can file as married filing separately. The former gives you a better tax break.

Filing as 'single' would be imprudent. Once your wife is in the US and obtains a SSN you can amend your returns, if that should prove to be of financial advantage to you.

Good luck

According to my accountant, you do not have to include worldwide income if it is less than $96000 USD.

I file jointly with my husband even though he is abroad.

HOWEVER

Your wife has never been in the US and has no SS#... I would ask an accountant what to do. Consultations / questions are free. You can even email an accountant. If you'd like, I can refer you to mine.

[Cathi 5,621]

When my husbands visa was pending I filed married filing separately

[Coco35 0]

Married filing separately.

hello

I have got a question and we wanted to amend our 2012 tax return from single to married filed separately. And when we are filling 1040X form, it says if a joint return , enter spouse's name and SSN.

Since ours is married filed separately , are we supposed to fill nothing on spouse's information ?

Thank you

Hope somebody can answer me asap since we are trying to send it asap.

[novedsac 355]

Filing 'Single' when married (or married and not legally separated) is providing a false statement. Providing a false statement on a federal tax return is a crime.

Financially, it's just plain stupid because 'Single' has a higher tax burden than any of the other three choices.

Edited January 25, 2014 by novedsac

[BethAnn and Omar 42]

Wow can you explain the crime thing to me? If your spouse has never set foot in the United States and has no social security number or legal status and no income and is not a dependent how is it a crime to file as single?? I've filed single up till now and never had any issues.

[domwardbound 73]

I'm in a similar situation. Since my wife won't be able to easily get a ITIN from abroad, if I was going to file before the April due date, I'd file as married filing separately.

However, financially this is not the best move. Depending on how much you and your wife made in 2013, you're missing out potentially on thousands of dollars.

What I will be doing (if my wife doesn't have her SSN by April 15) will be to file a form 4868 to get an extra 6 months to file. That way, I will be able to wait and get my full refund when she has her SSN and we file.

If you file the 4868 extension, you can provide that proof for the AOS in lieu of the 1040 - http://www.uscis.gov/iframe/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-2872/0-0-0-3055.html

Also, I'll add that in some situations, it's actually worse to file as married/separate than as single. Married/separate has even less benefits than single often times. If you're married, in most situations you'll likely want to do anything you can to file jointly!

Edited January 25, 2014 by domwardbound

[Dave&Roza 748]

Wow can you explain the crime thing to me? If your spouse has never set foot in the United States and has no social security number or legal status and no income and is not a dependent how is it a crime to file as single?? I've filed single up till now and never had any issues.

Well, you see there is this thing called a signature on the form. By signing the form you are stating "Under the penalty of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, they are true correct, and complete." So if you complete the form as single and know that you are married then you just committed perjury. You also just paid more taxes then you should have which is a bigger crime .

Dave