Im in the Philippines, how to file tax!

[AlexKissley 3]

Hello! Please help me out. I a US citizen and im sponsoring my husband to come to US. I have a joint sponsor. However, tax season is about to end and i still havent filed for 2018. I cant efile because my husband doesnt have SSN or ITIN. I cant go back to US yet because I just recently gave birth (2months ago). What are my option? Thank you!

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

58 minutes ago, AlexKissley said:

Hello! Please help me out. I a US citizen and im sponsoring my husband to come to US. I have a joint sponsor. However, tax season is about to end and i still havent filed for 2018. I cant efile because my husband doesnt have SSN or ITIN. I cant go back to US yet because I just recently gave birth (2months ago). What are my option? Thank you!

Get a ITIN for your husband then file your taxes online.

[Khallaf 646]

1 hour ago, AlexKissley said:

Hello! Please help me out. I a US citizen and im sponsoring my husband to come to US. I have a joint sponsor. However, tax season is about to end and i still havent filed for 2018. I cant efile because my husband doesnt have SSN or ITIN. I cant go back to US yet because I just recently gave birth (2months ago). What are my option? Thank you!

you file on paper, in your husband SSN spot you will write in NRA and send it by mail.

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

 

dont' loose the extra refund /  claim him

need to provide his ID and certificate of marriage to get the ITIN

mail the tax returns in a "i believe" most sites do not have a question to do ITIN

this is also a good way to show commingling of finances 

[mtempelaar 190]

You should get an ITIN for him and file, but if you are running out of time, you can file for an extension, get that ITIN and THEN file.  It buys you a little time.     

 

That's how I did it with my husband.  Filed extension in April, he immigrated in May, got his SSN and then we filed the real tax returns in June.

[DennisMN 11]

Everyone has different situation, so consult a tax preparer.

My two-cents, You need to do the "green card" and "substantial presence" test:

 

"You are a resident alien of the United States for tax purposes if you meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test for calendar year 2018"

 

Review page 3.

Publication 519 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf 

 

Filing as "Married" or "Married filling separately" for the standard deduction.
It sound like you will file "Married filling separately"  and then NRA in spouses SSN location on 1040.

[carmel34 3,529]

You can file a married filing jointly return for 2018 if you include a W-7 for your spouse requesting an ITIN number, get the W-7 certified in your country by a qualified document approval office showing his passport (look on the IRS website for these locations in your country), and send in the 1040 with all supporting documents plus W-7 to the IRS, it will have to be a paper tax return filing.

[buenavides1 7]

You only have until April 15 to settle your tax, if you are having a hard then hire a tax accountant to help you with the process. 

[AlexKissley 3]

13 hours ago, mtempelaar said:

You should get an ITIN for him and file, but if you are running out of time, you can file for an extension, get that ITIN and THEN file.  It buys you a little time.     

 

That's how I did it with my husband.  Filed extension in April, he immigrated in May, got his SSN and then we filed the real tax returns in June.

Can i file an extension while im in the PHilippines? How can i get ITIN for him? Also i dont have income at all for the year of 2018 because im here in Philippines. Thanks 

[AlexKissley 3]

5 hours ago, carmel34 said:

You can file a married filing jointly return for 2018 if you include a W-7 for your spouse requesting an ITIN number, get the W-7 certified in your country by a qualified document approval office showing his passport (look on the IRS website for these locations in your country), and send in the 1040 with all supporting documents plus W-7 to the IRS, it will have to be a paper tax return filing.

Can i do all of these while im in the philippines? Plus, i dont have income for the whole year, no w2. None at all.

9 hours ago, DennisMN said:

Everyone has different situation, so consult a tax preparer.

My two-cents, You need to do the "green card" and "substantial presence" test:

 

"You are a resident alien of the United States for tax purposes if you meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test for calendar year 2018"

 

Review page 3.

Publication 519 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf 

 

Filing as "Married" or "Married filling separately" for the standard deduction.
It sound like you will file "Married filling separately"  and then NRA in spouses SSN location on 1040.

The thing is i dont know any tax preparer here in Philippines. 

[AlexKissley 3]

16 hours ago, adil-rafa said:

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

 

dont' loose the extra refund /  claim him

need to provide his ID and certificate of marriage to get the ITIN

mail the tax returns in a "i believe" most sites do not have a question to do ITIN

this is also a good way to show commingling of finances 

I dont know how to do all of these while im in the Philippines. Can i print the paper form then mail it in US with w-7 and passport and marriage cert? Can i still file even if i dont have any income for the whole 2018?

[AlexKissley 3]

17 hours ago, Khallaf said:

you file on paper, in your husband SSN spot you will write in NRA and send it by mail.

Say ill MFJ, can i file on paper while im in Philippines? And even i didnt have income the whole year?

[Loren Y 2,731]

The forms you can get online, print then file. The easiest solution is to just request an extension. You print the form, mail it in, and your usually good until October. If you go this route, make sure you file by the deadline they give you, or they will have no problems backdating any penalities you may incur for not filing.  This puts a bandaid over the problem you currently face, but if your going back to the United States before October, no problems, swing by a tax place and get them done.

[Loren Y 2,731]

Just left my first delivery of the day to an obgyn doctors office. Asked the doctor since I was there and wanted to know about flying with a newborn. She said most airlines require the baby to be 2 weeks old in order to travel. With an uncomplicated birth with no issues she recommended about 4 weeks before you fly, and she said c- section or other slightly more complicated delivery, best to give it 6 weeks before you fly. You should be fine at 2 months, unless the child was in ICU or spent more time in the hospital than usual. She is seeing a paitient today that flew back from Dubai after giving birth just 2 days ago. I said that's pretty impressive, she said it wasn't the best thing for the child, it's not the mom that will have issues, it's that the childs immune system isn't up to par to handle all the bad ilnesses they could be exposed to traveling internationally, or even domesticly. 

 

But at 2 months you can fly if needed, but I wouldn't fly back just to file taxes. 

[Khallaf 646]

6 hours ago, AlexKissley said:

Say ill MFJ, can i file on paper while im in Philippines? And even i didnt have income the whole year?

if you have not had income the entire year and nothing to report, you need to submit a letter to the reason you have not filed an income tax return.