Filing Taxes

[Katemdedo 30]

Hey guys! I spent the last 4 hours looking for answers I can't find, so I figured I'd just ask on here!

My husband came here on his K-1 visa and is now waiting for his AOS to receive his green card.

I'm filing my 2018 taxes right now and I'm filing as married. My husband does not have an SSN yet and does not have work documents yet. he obviously isn't working right now, do to that.

I'm confused as to what I should do. Is he eligible to fill out a W-7?? or should I say he's a non-resident alien?

In my head I thought he's viewed as a resident alien because he has an alien ID number. 

 

Please give me guidance if y'all know how I can properly file my taxes! thanks in advance!!

[C90 376]

14 minutes ago, Katemdedo said:

Hey guys! I spent the last 4 hours looking for answers I can't find, so I figured I'd just ask on here!

My husband came here on his K-1 visa and is now waiting for his AOS to receive his green card.

I'm filing my 2018 taxes right now and I'm filing as married. My husband does not have an SSN yet and does not have work documents yet. he obviously isn't working right now, do to that.

I'm confused as to what I should do. Is he eligible to fill out a W-7?? or should I say he's a non-resident alien?

In my head I thought he's viewed as a resident alien because he has an alien ID number. 

 

Please give me guidance if y'all know how I can properly file my taxes! thanks in advance!!

I think you'd have to get a ITIN for him since he doesn't have a SSN, but tbh we're getting an accountant this year cause taxes in combination with immigration are pretty confusing.

There's a few requirements he needs to meet to be able to be seen as a RA. If he doesn't meet those requirements, you can request the IRS to consider him an RA (resident alien). Be aware that in this case you have to file his international income, sometimes you can exclude that later on, but if you can afford it I would recommend to get an accountant. A good one that is experienced with immigration will be able to help you with this.

The IRS website has a good amount of info. See https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/determining-alien-tax-status and https://www.irs.gov/

Edited February 6, 2019 by C90

[Katemdedo 30]

20 minutes ago, C90 said:

I think you'd have to get a ITIN for him since he doesn't have a SSN, but tbh we're getting an accountant this year cause taxes in combination with immigration are pretty confusing.

There's a few requirements he needs to meet to be able to be seen as a RA. If he doesn't meet those requirements, you can request the IRS to consider him an RA (resident alien). Be aware that in this case you have to file his international income, sometimes you can exclude that later on, but if you can afford it I would recommend to get an accountant. A good one that is experienced with immigration will be able to help you with this.

The IRS website has a good amount of info. See https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/determining-alien-tax-status and https://www.irs.gov/

I don't even know how long it would take for him to receive an ITIN if he filled it out. I don't know if we would get in time for my tax filing.

I think I'm gonna go consult with an accountant tomorrow and see what they see I guess.

[Huckleberry&Koala 184]

53 minutes ago, Katemdedo said:

Hey guys! I spent the last 4 hours looking for answers I can't find, so I figured I'd just ask on here!

My husband came here on his K-1 visa and is now waiting for his AOS to receive his green card.

I'm filing my 2018 taxes right now and I'm filing as married. My husband does not have an SSN yet and does not have work documents yet. he obviously isn't working right now, do to that.

I'm confused as to what I should do. Is he eligible to fill out a W-7?? or should I say he's a non-resident alien?

In my head I thought he's viewed as a resident alien because he has an alien ID number. 

 

Please give me guidance if y'all know how I can properly file my taxes! thanks in advance!!

To determine if he is a resident alien for tax purposes, you can use substantial presence test:

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test

 If he entered with K1 visa, then why didn't you apply for ssn? He could get it right away.

 

[Katemdedo 30]

Just now, Gravlax said:

To determine if he is a resident alien for tax purposes, you can use substantial presence test:

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test

 If he entered with K1 visa, then why didn't you apply for ssn? He could get it right away.

 

I think we didn't realize that he needed to apply before we got married. He applied after we got married back in October and just a few weeks ago they denied his request for an SSN because his visa expired

[ErwinML 1]

Get an ITIN number that’s what I did last year when My wife filed our taxes, I didnt have ssn and I hadnt work yet. We when to H&R block and with her tax paper (W-2 ) and my passport  they filed our taxes there and apply for an ITIN number for me right there. It took like 2 months to get the refund because the ITIN number takes several weeks but at the end u will get it for sure without any problem, and the most important thing is that u are filing married jointly which is important for ur green card interview.

[Huckleberry&Koala 184]

2 minutes ago, Katemdedo said:

I think we didn't realize that he needed to apply before we got married. He applied after we got married back in October and just a few weeks ago they denied his request for an SSN because his visa expired

I am not sure but I believe it shouldn't be issue if he goes to ssn office with pending aos. Maybe you can try another ssn office. You actually don't need to apply before getting married, this is preferable but you can apply after getting married as well. Ssn will be needed for anything, so I suggest you try another office.

[Katemdedo 30]

4 minutes ago, ErwinML said:

Get an ITIN number that’s what I did last year when My wife filed our taxes, I didnt have ssn and I hadnt work yet. We when to H&R block and with her tax paper (W-2 ) and my passport  they filed our taxes there and apply for an ITIN number for me right there. It took like 2 months to get the refund because the ITIN number takes several weeks but at the end u will get it for sure without any problem, and the most important thing is that u are filing married jointly which is important for ur green card interview.

Thank you so much! this is exactly what I wanted to know! I've never had to pay someone to file my taxes so I have no idea how much I should expect to pay. Not sure if I can afford it of not!

[Katemdedo 30]

5 minutes ago, Gravlax said:

I am not sure but I believe it shouldn't be issue if he goes to ssn office with pending aos. Maybe you can try another ssn office. You actually don't need to apply before getting married, this is preferable but you can apply after getting married as well. Ssn will be needed for anything, so I suggest you try another office.

Well, we've managed to get him his license and open up a bank account without an SSN, but I guess we'll try to reapply for one. I didn't realize we could try again. If they approve him for an SSN, does that meant he can work? because did he apply for work authorization, he just hasn't been approved yet.

[ErwinML 1]

4 minutes ago, Katemdedo said:

Thank you so much! this is exactly what I wanted to know! I've never had to pay someone to file my taxes so I have no idea how much I should expect to pay. Not sure if I can afford it of not!

They charged us 185$ 🙂😁but at least we could file our taxes correctly with me in it 🙂 

[Katemdedo 30]

Just now, ErwinML said:

They charged us 185$ 🙂😁but at least we could file our taxes correctly with me in it 🙂 

okay wow, that's so affordable! thank you so much for your info!! I truly appreciate it!!

[Huckleberry&Koala 184]

1 minute ago, Katemdedo said:

Well, we've managed to get him his license and open up a bank account without an SSN, but I guess we'll try to reapply for one. I didn't realize we could try again. If they approve him for an SSN, does that meant he can work? because did he apply for work authorization, he just hasn't been approved yet.

How did he get driver license without work authorization card? Most states don't give driver license without at least ead card. If you got it by using the visa and i-90, then driver license should already have been expired since it is given for the period of the visa. Ssn doesn't mean work authorization, he cannot work without ead card. He should wait for it to be approved.

[ErwinML 1]

Just now, Katemdedo said:

okay wow, that's so affordable! thank you so much for your info!! I truly appreciate it!!

You are welcome!

[carmel34 3,531]

You don't need to pay H&R or any other tax preparation company, you can do it yourself and file the W-7 requesting an ITIN and submit it with your tax return.  Leave the place for a SSN for your spouse blank.  You will have to submit paper tax returns with the W-7 so it takes a little longer to get your refund but it's worth it.  Read all the information on the IRS website and you should be able to figure it out yourself with a lot of study and patience.  Married filing  jointly gives you the highest refund so submit the W-7 with the tax return and review all the information on resident aliens on the IRS site.  If it is too much, then hire someone to do it all for you.  I am doing my taxes now and me and my husband are going to send a completed W-7 with supporting documents with our tax return, married filing jointly, for 2018.  Good luck!

[Katemdedo 30]

2 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

You don't need to pay H&R or any other tax preparation company, you can do it yourself and file the W-7 requesting an ITIN and submit it with your tax return.  Leave the place for a SSN for your spouse blank.  You will have to submit paper tax returns with the W-7 so it takes a little longer to get your refund but it's worth it.  Read all the information on the IRS website and you should be able to figure it out yourself with a lot of study and patience.  Married filing  jointly gives you the highest refund so submit the W-7 with the tax return and review all the information on resident aliens on the IRS site.  If it is too much, then hire someone to do it all for you.  I am doing my taxes now and me and my husband are going to send a completed W-7 with supporting documents with our tax return, married filing jointly, for 2018.  Good luck!

thank you so much for your info!!