Tax Help - K-1 visa, married in 2014, SSN, now what?!

[Lauren and Babak 0]

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out my taxes and have no clue what to do - hoping some of you have gone through this and can offer some insight. I'm a US citizen. My husband came to the US in September 2014 on a K-1 visa. We were married on October 3, 2014 and promptly filed AOS paperwork. He received his temporary work status/advanced parole card and SSN in 2015. He has no income in the US or his home country in 2014, so I basically want to claim him on my taxes to reduce my liability. We should file MFJ, but I can't find a lot of information on anything "special" we need to do for him. I've read that we need to file a affidavit to say that he meets the minimum standard for time in the US in 2014, but can't find specifics.

My taxes are quite straightforward other than the issue of adding him. I've always used TurboTax without any problem. I have an appointment with an accountant next weekend (from one of those big box type places), but I would love to figure this out myself if possible. Any info would be greatly appreciated (even if it is a recommendation to use a tax prep service this time!)

Take care,

Lauren

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi Lauren,

You can not "claim" your spouse on a joint tax return. You are co-taxpayers.

You do not need an affidavit. You simply file a joint return with both SSNs. The SSN is the only requirement for your husband.

If you used Turbotax before, then it's quite simple to elect for your husband to be treated as a resident for tax purposes.

The big box tax preparers hire normal people and give them a few weeks of training. They are pretty useless IMHO.

Best of luck

[dwheels76 5,461]

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out my taxes and have no clue what to do - hoping some of you have gone through this and can offer some insight. I'm a US citizen. My husband came to the US in September 2014 on a K-1 visa. We were married on October 3, 2014 and promptly filed AOS paperwork. He received his temporary work status/advanced parole card and SSN in 2015. He has no income in the US or his home country in 2014, so I basically want to claim him on my taxes to reduce my liability. We should file MFJ, but I can't find a lot of information on anything "special" we need to do for him. I've read that we need to file a affidavit to say that he meets the minimum standard for time in the US in 2014, but can't find specifics.

My taxes are quite straightforward other than the issue of adding him. I've always used TurboTax without any problem. I have an appointment with an accountant next weekend (from one of those big box type places), but I would love to figure this out myself if possible. Any info would be greatly appreciated (even if it is a recommendation to use a tax prep service this time!)

Take care,

Lauren

Got to go along with Aaron2020, you can't get any more straight forward than turbo tax. Just answering the questions on Turbo Tax very easy. Don't waste money doing what you can do yourself.

[Done--Really 331]

TurboTax will definitely do the job for you. -- at a fraction of the price. There is absolutely nothing special about your filing -- just walk through TurboTax one step at a time and follow all the directions.

I would cancel your appointment and use the money you save for a night on the town with hubby.

[AKOL 3]

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out my taxes and have no clue what to do - hoping some of you have gone through this and can offer some insight. I'm a US citizen. My husband came to the US in September 2014 on a K-1 visa. We were married on October 3, 2014 and promptly filed AOS paperwork. He received his temporary work status/advanced parole card and SSN in 2015. He has no income in the US or his home country in 2014, so I basically want to claim him on my taxes to reduce my liability. We should file MFJ, but I can't find a lot of information on anything "special" we need to do for him. I've read that we need to file a affidavit to say that he meets the minimum standard for time in the US in 2014, but can't find specifics.

My taxes are quite straightforward other than the issue of adding him. I've always used TurboTax without any problem. I have an appointment with an accountant next weekend (from one of those big box type places), but I would love to figure this out myself if possible. Any info would be greatly appreciated (even if it is a recommendation to use a tax prep service this time!)

Take care,

Lauren

Hi Lauren,

Maybe you can take advantage of this service if it is available in your area,

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Free-Tax-Return-Preparation-for-You-by-Volunteers

Thanks

[Lauren and Babak 0]

Thanks for all of the information! I spent a little time today researching the general information shared and it seems you are correct. Babak doesn't qualify as a resident alien because he wasn't in the country 183+ days over the last three years, but he does qualify as a nonresident alien. It looks like I can elect to have him considered as a resident alien for tax purposes, as long as we claim any income earned out of the country (which in our case was zero).

Given this info, I went through TurboTax and entered his information, just as I would if he were another US citizen. I recommended the standard MFJ deduction. All pretty easy.

Just to confirm - there is no additional paperwork that needs to be filed to show that I'm electing to have my nonres alien spouse counted as a resident alien for tax purposes?

Thanks again,

Lauren

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Thanks for all of the information! I spent a little time today researching the general information shared and it seems you are correct. Babak doesn't qualify as a resident alien because he wasn't in the country 183+ days over the last three years, but he does qualify as a nonresident alien. It looks like I can elect to have him considered as a resident alien for tax purposes, as long as we claim any income earned out of the country (which in our case was zero).

Given this info, I went through TurboTax and entered his information, just as I would if he were another US citizen. I recommended the standard MFJ deduction. All pretty easy.

Just to confirm - there is no additional paperwork that needs to be filed to show that I'm electing to have my nonres alien spouse counted as a resident alien for tax purposes?

Thanks again,

Lauren

You must make the election in writing. You each sign the statement and submit with your tax return. Details of what to include in the statement are in Pub 519 or here http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Nonresident-Spouse-Treated-as-a-Resident