How to file taxes for 2019

[Lebanese23 303]

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

 New people please note—
Beware of dodgy accountants. The IRS material says In order to file a joint return, you must report worldwide income of both persons. If the new immigrant has no US income and the American spouse doesn’t want to bother with the foreign income, then choose Married Filing Separately. 
 

The IRS won’t likely come after such small time earners, so in that sense “no worries” BUT If you want to be careful and abide by the US tax laws, then do what the IRS instructs. 

good to know for us newly married who has no idea how to do their taxes anymore(i was filing single all my life) until now. it's like starting a whole new grade level, huh? what? talk to me like im 4!!

no matter how much i read about it, all I read is gibberish🤣 hopefully they wont come after me since I'm also not a big earner. but there honestly should be a guideline out there for all different scenarios that people have. i dunno just a thought. this forum can get overwhelming.

[Wuozopo 4,285]

3 minutes ago, Lebanese23 said:

good to know for us newly married who has no idea how to do their taxes anymore(i was filing single all my life) until now. it's like starting a whole new grade level, huh? what? talk to me like im 4!!

no matter how much i read about it, all I read is gibberish🤣 hopefully they wont come after me since I'm also not a big earner. but there honestly should be a guideline out there for all different scenarios that people have. i dunno just a thought. this forum can get overwhelming.

The first year is complicated gibberish for sure when you're in that K1 transition. Couple that with the forms and rules got a massive overhaul last year.  The good news is that next year, it's all normal again except you're married instead of single. 

[Crazy Cat 39,634]

5 hours ago, Lebanese23 said:

my concern is this year, now that he's working i have no clue if i should file jointly or separately, everyone keeps saying try both to see which one works best for me. super confusing. I wish this tax filing is more simpler. so I am thinking to MFJ again this year

Taxes can be complex...especially for first-year immigrants.  That's why I recommend that new immigrants with foreign income and/or foreign bank accounts consult a competent tax professional.  A competent tax professional, like the one I hired, will be knowledgeable of foreign income exclusion, FBAR requirements, and will run the numbers both ways in order to calculate the smallest tax liability.   I did my own taxes for year (including small business returns), but the complicated tax requirements for new immigrants convinced me to let a pro handle it all....

[oflyingbunnyo 119]

9 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

The US tax filing deadline is April 15. There are some minor variations in years where that date is on a weekend or for certain states with official state holidays on that date.

 

You do NOT have to file if you had no US income in calendar year 2019. You MAY file jointly with your spouse if it benefits your spouse to file a joint return over a Married Filing Separately return.

 

If you file, you DO report your Dutch income, but you do NOT have to submit documentation from the Dutch tax office (or any documentation) of your foreign income with your US tax return. 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry but I'm so confused with this whole tax thing too. I moved here last year in August and reading through the shared PDF is just... confusing to say the least, considering that people file their taxes online and whatnot. 

 

So, I have no SSN and I must apply for a ITIN if we wish to file married jointly yet, it mentions that I need to submit a tax return? Is this from my country of origin? If so, I don't have that, no such thing as tax returns transcripts exist for my country as far as I know and regardless, I cannot travel back there yet. 

And also, how can I file for an ITIN while we file the taxes if we were to file the taxes online? Is there an option for this whole thing? 

 

I'm so sorry but this is all really really confusing... 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

2 hours ago, oflyingbunnyo said:

I'm sorry but I'm so confused with this whole tax thing too. I moved here last year in August and reading through the shared PDF is just... confusing to say the least, considering that people file their taxes online and whatnot. 

 

So, I have no SSN and I must apply for a ITIN if we wish to file married jointly yet, it mentions that I need to submit a tax return? Is this from my country of origin? If so, I don't have that, no such thing as tax returns transcripts exist for my country as far as I know and regardless, I cannot travel back there yet. 

And also, how can I file for an ITIN while we file the taxes if we were to file the taxes online? Is there an option for this whole thing? 

 

I'm so sorry but this is all really really confusing... 

This answer is for the average K1 couple with moderate income. It is not for super rich immigrants who earned six figure salaries, hold many foreign investments, property, own foreign companies, etc. It is  just a simplified description that will fit most of the VJ K1 crowd. And it is specifically written to oflyingbunnyo who asked the question, but others may benefit too.

 

The pdf call Publication 519 is about the IRS rules (tax laws). It doesn’t matter if you file online or fill out a paper form and mail it, the rules are still the rules. 
 

So to cut through the first 8 pages, because I know you are a K1 arriving in August. You have no SSN, haven’t worked in the US, AND don’t have a Greencard. You don’t by any of that have a claim to be a resident alien yet. BUT as the spouse of a US citizen you can choose to be treated like a resident alien for tax purposes. You get to follow the same rules as citizens, Greencard holders, etc. if you and your spouse choose to do so. The reasons for choosing to be a resident alien for tax purposes.:

• Nonresident aliens pay higher tax rates on their US employment
• Nonresident aliens can not file jointly with anybody
• Nonresident aliens use a different form 1040NR

So basically that’s what the first 8 pages are helping decide. There are people here not married to US Citizens, who work, and file as NRs. New K1s married to US citizens get the perk of choosing to be a resident alien, so you can skip anything referring to a NR in the rest of that Publication 519. (Already we have eliminated a bunch of gibberish.) page 9 tells about Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident. 

If you have read this thread, you should know already that the American married to a K1 has mainly two choices for filing status:

• Married Filing Separately (Only his/her income reported. The K1 who has no US income files nothing. Nobody has to choose to be a Resident Alien)
• Married Filing Jointly (Must write a statement choosing to be treated as resident. Must report both spouses’ income, foreign and US. Probably going to be the cheaper way to go because foreign earned income can be excluded on tax form 2555 by those whose home country has a Tax Treaty with the US.)

Unfortunately for you, Costa Rica has no tax treaty with the US. So you will not benefit at all by filing jointly because you would not qualify to exclude your Foreign Earned Income.  Your spouse probably should file Married Filing Separately. You have no US income so you have no requirement to file for 2019 tax year at all. Next year, you will have a job and some US income and you will file jointly with your spouse. As far as I can tell, you are off the hook for taxes so can quit worrying about it.  
 

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

List of Tax Treaty countries https://www.irs.gov/businesses/international-businesses/united-states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by Wuozopo

[oflyingbunnyo 119]

18 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

This answer is for the average K1 couple with moderate income. It is not for super rich immigrants who earned six figure salaries, hold many foreign investments, property, own foreign companies, etc. It is  just a simplified description that will fit most of the VJ K1 crowd. And it is specifically written to oflyingbunnyo who asked the question, but others may benefit too.

 

The pdf call Publication 519 is about the IRS rules (tax laws). It doesn’t matter if you file online or fill out a paper form and mail it, the rules are still the rules. 
 

So to cut through the first 8 pages, because I know you are a K1 arriving in August. You have no SSN, haven’t worked in the US, AND don’t have a Greencard. You don’t by any of that have a claim to be a resident alien yet. BUT as the spouse of a US citizen you can choose to be treated like a resident alien for tax purposes. You get to follow the same rules as citizens, Greencard holders, etc. if you and your spouse choose to do so. The reasons for choosing to be a resident alien for tax purposes.:

• Nonresident aliens pay higher tax rates on their US employment
• Nonresident aliens can not file jointly with anybody
• Nonresident aliens use a different form 1040NR

So basically that’s what the first 8 pages are helping decide. There are people here not married to US Citizens, who work, and file as NRs. New K1s married to US citizens get the perk of choosing to be a resident alien, so you can skip anything referring to a NR in the rest of that Publication 519. (Already we have eliminated a bunch of gibberish.) page 9 tells about Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident. 

If you have read this thread, you should know already that the American married to a K1 has mainly two choices for filing status:

• Married Filing Separately (Only his/her income reported. The K1 who has no US income files nothing. Nobody has to choose to be a Resident Alien)
• Married Filing Jointly (Must write a statement choosing to be treated as resident. Must report both spouses’ income, foreign and US. Probably going to be the cheaper way to go because foreign earned income can be excluded on tax form 2555 by those whose home country has a Tax Treaty with the US.)

Unfortunately for you, Costa Rica has no tax treaty with the US. So you will not benefit at all by filing jointly because you would not qualify to exclude your Foreign Earned Income.  Your spouse probably should file Married Filing Separately. You have no US income so you have no requirement to file for 2019 tax year at all. Next year, you will have a job and some US income and you will file jointly with your spouse. As far as I can tell, you are off the hook for taxes so can quit worrying about it.  
 

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

List of Tax Treaty countries https://www.irs.gov/businesses/international-businesses/united-states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z

 

Thank you so so very much for your detailed answer, I love this forum for this very reason. While some people here can be mean at times others act like heavenly angels guiding us with their knowledge ❤️ 

 

I have one last question before closing this off. 

I most likely will have a job this year (my god do I hope so, it's driving me crazy haha) when this happens, do I have to file for some sort of tax extension or do I just file my taxes along with my husband next year? 

 

 

[geowrian 22,336]

2 minutes ago, oflyingbunnyo said:

I most likely will have a job this year (my god do I hope so, it's driving me crazy haha) when this happens, do I have to file for some sort of tax extension or do I just file my taxes along with my husband next year? 

Money earned in 2020 will be reported on the 2020 tax return - which should be filed in 2021.

[Crazy Cat 39,634]

4 minutes ago, oflyingbunnyo said:

I most likely will have a job this year (my god do I hope so, it's driving me crazy haha) when this happens, do I have to file for some sort of tax extension or do I just file my taxes along with my husband next year? 

Income is reported based the previous Jan through December .  So income earned this year will be reported next year (2021)

Edited January 18, 2020 by missileman

[oflyingbunnyo 119]

Thank you very much you guys ! 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

8 hours ago, oflyingbunnyo said:

Thank you so so very much for your detailed answer, I love this forum for this very reason. While some people here can be mean at times others act like heavenly angels guiding us with their knowledge ❤️ 

 

I have one last question before closing this off. 

I most likely will have a job this year (my god do I hope so, it's driving me crazy haha) when this happens, do I have to file for some sort of tax extension or do I just file my taxes along with my husband next year? 

 

 

Yep, as the others said Jan 1 starts a new tax year but it will be easier because your residence and earnings will all be US. Thank you for the nice comments.