Tax Question

[TravisandHang 1]

Hello everyone,

I am a US citizen, and my wife lives in vietnam, we got legally married in april of 2013 in ho chi mihn city. We are currently still in the initial review process at NSC. As you april 14th is right around the corner as i am in the process of filing my taxes, so my question is do i need to claim my wife on my taxes or file as a married person... or will i wait untill she gets here before i worrie about that? and advise or foresight would be great.

Thanks,

Travis

[NikLR 13,220]

File as married filing separately unless you wish to obtain an ITIN for your wife. You will have to print and mail the form and write NRA in the SSN location for your wife.

You cannot file as single as you are not single.

[Ryan H 3,796]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Tax & Finances During US Immigration forum.

[No name 88 48]

You can not file single if you are married yet people do this all the time in immigrant situations like this. I had two accountants tell me to just file single as it made no difference either way with my tax liability this year. IRS only cares that you paid your required tax liability. If you willfully try to cheat the IRS to pay less taxes that will be a problem. If you put down single instead of married that can just be an error for lack of understanding.

Your supposed to get an ITIN or individual tax identification number for your spouse if she is not an resident or citizen of the US. This is done by filing a W-7 with your return to the office on the W-7 form. You have to include original documents for your wife or certified copies. I don't get why they make getting an ID number complicated. Until last year you could leave the spouse ssn box on your return blank or put ssn applied for or put npr (non permanent resident) but now that's not allowed and returns are being rejected.

In the end I'll be filing a W-7 to get the wife a ITIN as she will be in the US on a B-2 and her passport can be verified at the local IRS office without sending it in with the w-7. The IRS requires you to send in her original documents such as passport or certified copies. Getting a certified copy in Vietnam can be a pain in the ###.

If you filed single and you are married that is fraud and misrepresentation which would come to light in a tax audit but odds are if you filed single and are married the irs would owe you money. The irs is not in the habit of tracking down people to give them money back.

If you've been audited in the last two years there are no worries as the irs can't audit your returns for 3 tax years after conducting an audit on you.

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

You can not file single if you are married yet people do this all the time in immigrant situations like this. I had two accountants tell me to just file single as it made no difference either way with my tax liability this year. IRS only cares that you paid your required tax liability. If you willfully try to cheat the IRS to pay less taxes that will be a problem. If you put down single instead of married that can just be an error for lack of understanding.

Your supposed to get an ITIN or individual tax identification number for your spouse if she is not an resident or citizen of the US. This is done by filing a W-7 with your return to the office on the W-7 form. You have to include original documents for your wife or certified copies. I don't get why they make getting an ID number complicated. Until last year you could leave the spouse ssn box on your return blank or put ssn applied for or put npr (non permanent resident) but now that's not allowed and returns are being rejected.

In the end I'll be filing a W-7 to get the wife a ITIN as she will be in the US on a B-2 and her passport can be verified at the local IRS office without sending it in with the w-7. The IRS requires you to send in her original documents such as passport or certified copies. Getting a certified copy in Vietnam can be a pain in the ####.

If you filed single and you are married that is fraud and misrepresentation which would come to light in a tax audit but odds are if you filed single and are married the irs would owe you money. The irs is not in the habit of tracking down people to give them money back.

If you've been audited in the last two years there are no worries as the irs can't audit your returns for 3 tax years after conducting an audit on you.

Don't listen to people that tell you that it is ok to file as single when you are actually married. These accountants that tell you that it is ok are just looking to earn whatever fee they can charge you for filing your return electronically. Filing as Married Filing Separately when your spouse is a nonresident alien means that you will have to file a paper return. That is why many tax preparers will tell you that it is ok to file single instead of married filing separately.

There are differences between filing as single and filing as married filing separately. Married filing separately has the highest tax rates of any filing status. The information below is from IRS Publication 17 and it lists some of the things that are different if you file Married Filing Separately:

If you choose married filing separately as your filing status, the following special rules apply. Because of these special rules, you usually pay more tax on a separate return than if you use another filing status you qualify for.

1. Your tax rate generally is higher than on a joint return.

2. Your exemption amount for figuring the alternative minimum tax is half that allowed on a joint return.

3. You cannot take the credit for child and dependent care expenses in most cases, and the amount you can exclude from income under an employer's dependent care assistance program is limited to $2,500 (instead of $5,000). If you are legally separated or living apart from your spouse, you may be able to file a separate return and still take the credit. For more information about these expenses, the credit, and the exclusion, see chapter 32.

4. You cannot take the earned income credit.

5. You cannot take the exclusion or credit for adoption expenses in most cases.

6. You cannot take the education credits (the American opportunity credit and lifetime learning credit), the deduction for student loan interest, or the tuition and fees deduction.

7. You cannot exclude any interest income from qualified U.S. savings bonds you used for higher education expenses.

8. If you lived with your spouse at any time during the tax year:

a. You cannot claim the credit for the elderly or the disabled, and

b. You must include in income a greater percentage (up to 85%) of any social security or equivalent railroad retirement benefits you received.

9. The following credits and deductions are reduced at income levels half those for a joint return:

a. The child tax credit,

b. The retirement savings contributions credit,

c. The deduction for personal exemptions,

and

d. Itemized deductions.

10. Your capital loss deduction limit is $1,500 (instead of $3,000 on a joint return).

11. If your spouse itemizes deductions, you cannot claim the standard deduction. If you can claim the standard deduction, your basic standard deduction is half the amount allowed on a joint return.

A lot of the above things may not apply to you but why would you want to tell one government agency that you are single while you are telling another that you are married. It may not affect getting your spouse a visa but I would not take that chance.

There is no limit as to how many years the IRS can audit you. I work for the IRS as an IRS Agent and I can tell you for a fact that some taxpayers are under constant audit.

[novedsac 355]

If you've been audited in the last two years there are no worries as the irs can't audit your returns for 3 tax years after conducting an audit on you.

This is blatant misinformation and completely false.

The IRS can audit any tax return filed within 36 months of the audit date. They can audit tax returns going back beyond the thirty-six months if they can prove fraudulent intent and stay within the parameters of the statute. The IRS cannot audit a tax return for which it has already conducted and closed an audit, as double jeopardy would apply. However, if they closed an audit of one's 2012 tax return there is no reason at all that they could not audit one's 2013 tax return in 2014.

Regarding the OPs original question, if your wife will be here in the USA within the next six months, file an extension … it's free for the asking, you do not need to provide a reason for the extension, and it extends the filing deadline for another six months. If you've been paying taxes throughout 2013 as single/head of household, you'll almost certainly get a refund once you file an amended return once your wife is here and has a ITIN/SSN. If your wife won't be in the US within six months, then you can use that time to apply for an ITIN for her and file your tax return as MFJ … there is a provision for treating your wife as a resident alien even though she is nonresident, for tax purposes (IRS Publication 519, I think within the first 20 pages or so, explains this clearly).

Alternatively, you can file MFS and write 'NRA' in the line for your spouse … you will need to file this as a paper return through the mail … they are not being rejected this way as noted by a previous poster. You would then likely want to file an amended tax return after you had what you needed to file MFJ. However, I think the extension route would be cleaner and easier.

[No name 88 48]

"blatant" If someone provides wrong information just correct it. No need to be condescending. I say at least 5 wrong things a day and so do you.

The IRS office in Fairfield, NJ told me on the phone that putting NPR on a return was no longer acceptable due to a policy change for 2014. Maybe that is bull and they just told me that to prompt me to get an ITIN. They also told me to file as MFJ, MFS or head of the household which apparently I can do because of my Expat status. I'm getting the ITIN and filing MFJ as I'll be eligible for zero tax liability this year and want to do things on the up and up.

In 2006 I was audited, I had filed late without an extension. The result was the IRS owing me money; I think it was a few dollars. The close out letter said I was exempt from an audit for the 2005 and 2007 tax years. I just re-read it so I don't know what to tell you; maybe I'm not understanding what that means I hadn't even filed 2007 at the time.

I get it that filing single when married is illegal. It's felony misrepresentation with a penalty of 3 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Doing an online search I can find many people charged with this for filling married when they are fact single but I can't find anyone being charged for filing single when they are married. Are they really going to throw you in prison for paying too much tax? To me it seems like they are getting free money by letting married people file single and not enforcing this. Being that many VJ posters said they filed single and many accountants will tell you to do the same I'm guessing this is a non issue. If they made it easier for a nonresident alien spouse to get an ITIN this wouldn't even be a question.