Any tax experts out there?

[maraki25 0]

Hello,

I am curious about something now that it is tax time. I am the USC. Before we did the K-1 process, my husband had been here as a student for 5 years. In that time he never filed taxes; as an F-1 student, he didn't work, so he had no income. Now I've heard from others that F-1's are supposed to file anyway, but that is in the past.

Now we are married, and he still doesn't work because he doesn't have his EAD yet. He has taken courses at a university, which obviously came out of our finances. Now, how should we file? Jointly? I was told that we can't file jointly because he doesn't have a green card yet.

Can I claim him as a dependent and then claim his tuition as part of the lifetime learning credit?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[john_and_marlene 162]

Hello,

I am curious about something now that it is tax time. I am the USC. Before we did the K-1 process, my husband had been here as a student for 5 years. In that time he never filed taxes; as an F-1 student, he didn't work, so he had no income. Now I've heard from others that F-1's are supposed to file anyway, but that is in the past.

Now we are married, and he still doesn't work because he doesn't have his EAD yet. He has taken courses at a university, which obviously came out of our finances. Now, how should we file? Jointly? I was told that we can't file jointly because he doesn't have a green card yet.

Can I claim him as a dependent and then claim his tuition as part of the lifetime learning credit?

Thanks in advance for your help!

You were told wrong. You can file jointly.

[Live By Faith 0]

If you are working and are married you have to file as married status, I am quite sure in your case you should file jointly. And yes as a married couple you can use the money paid for his tuition as lifetime learning credit.

I would recommend if you are having issues or are confused then visit a tax preparing expert like H&R block....

goodluck,

Amar

[Laveau 67]

I posted this on another thread but haven't received a reply. I thought maybe I'd have better luck posting it here:

uuuggghhh.... I've owed for the past 3 years. However, I FINALLY changed my number of exemptions last month so next year at this time I should not fear filing. I didn't change it last year because I'm such a donkey so I'll probably owe...AGAIN. Anyway, I have a related question: I have only been legally separated since Oct/Nov 2005. What would be the best way to file?

Married filing separately?

Married filing joint?

Is filing head of household even a legal choice for me? I am head of household NOW but I technically wasn't for most of 2005 (sucks).

Sylvia

[Married_my_love 0]

Now, how should we file? Jointly? I was told that we can't file jointly because he doesn't have a green card yet.

Can I claim him as a dependent and then claim his tuition as part of the lifetime learning credit?

If he doesn't have a SS#, you fill out a form from IRS to request an ITIN

info on ITIN

You mail your taxes to a different address with the ITIN form attached; You add a letter as a declaration that you want him to be treated as a US Resident for tax purposes. You can either claim him as a credit or a deduction. I would definitely have a tax man try a couple diff scenarios to see which one best benefits you. I think filing seperately means less itemized deductions available to you.

helpful page: tax implications of a non-american spouse

sample of declaration letter:

This document acts as a declaration that John Doe is a nonresident alien, and wife Jane Doe is a U.S. Citizen, and that both are choosing to be treated as U.S. residents for the tax year 2005.

Signed:

Jane Doe

xxx Address

Sometown, AZ xxxxx

SS # xxx-xx-xxxx

John Doe

xxx Address

Some Country, Somewhere

ITIN: W-7 attached

[lynnd227 0]

Sylvia:

I'm confused. You say you've been separated since November 2005. Are you married to a foreign fiance K1 or divorced from one?

Let me know and we'll take it from there.

Lynn

I posted this on another thread but haven't received a reply. I thought maybe I'd have better luck posting it here:

uuuggghhh.... I've owed for the past 3 years. However, I FINALLY changed my number of exemptions last month so next year at this time I should not fear filing. I didn't change it last year because I'm such a donkey so I'll probably owe...AGAIN. Anyway, I have a related question: I have only been legally separated since Oct/Nov 2005. What would be the best way to file?

Married filing separately?

Married filing joint?

Is filing head of household even a legal choice for me? I am head of household NOW but I technically wasn't for most of 2005 (sucks).

Sylvia

Hi:

If your spouse had no income and he is here in status (legally), you should file married filing jointly. You should be able to claim his tuition as part of the lifetime learning credit. If you use an online filing program, it will take you through the steps to get your return done accurately.

Have you filed for an Adjustment of Status (I-485)?

Lynn

Hello,

I am curious about something now that it is tax time. I am the USC. Before we did the K-1 process, my husband had been here as a student for 5 years. In that time he never filed taxes; as an F-1 student, he didn't work, so he had no income. Now I've heard from others that F-1's are supposed to file anyway, but that is in the past.

Now we are married, and he still doesn't work because he doesn't have his EAD yet. He has taken courses at a university, which obviously came out of our finances. Now, how should we file? Jointly? I was told that we can't file jointly because he doesn't have a green card yet.

Can I claim him as a dependent and then claim his tuition as part of the lifetime learning credit?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[tamz 0]

My huband (USC) and I took our taxes to a tax expert. We filed as Married/Joint. I have a SSN, but my daughter (non-USC) doesn't, so we had to attach a W-7 to get a ITIN for her.

We had to send our Federal forms/W-7 to the ITIN unit (as stated on the W-7 instructions) where they issue the ITIN, then they forward it for proccessing.

We sent the forms to the ITIN unit on Feb 3, and yesterday we recieved notice from the ITIN unit that a # for my daughter has been issued, and forms had been forwarded for proccessing.

[golferadam 0]

I have a similar situation. Here are the facts:

My wife came in on a K-1 visa on Aug 10, 2005 and we were married on Aug 26, 2005. We have applied for her AOS and EAD. She has yet to receive either of them, so she has not worked in the US. Based on the above comments, I think it is best to filed jointly. I think I should have less tax liability since I am supporting her (but not sure how that works).

Anyway, I attempted to use the free Taxcut service through H&R Block but when I answered the questions (they specifically asked if my wife was a non-citizen) they said the free service does not support 1040NR. 1040NR is the tax form for non-resident aliens. Does anyone know if it's correct to file a 1040NR if I am a USC? I am sure others have gone through this before.

Thanks for your help.

[Yodrak 7]

golferadam,

No, it is not correct for you to file a 1040NR. You are a USC, not a non-resident alien, and if your wife can be considered a non-resident alien you probably want to declare her to be a resident alien for tax purposes.

You will not have less tax liability because you are supporting your wife, but you should have less tax liability because she is your wife and you and she can file a 1040 jointly, resulting in exemptions for 2 taxpayers rather than 1 on the return and the lower tax rate that applies to married-joint filers as compared to single or married-separate filers.

If your wife earned any income anywhere in the world in 2005 it will have to be declared on the return, but up to about $45,000 of foreign-earned income, in your wife's case, can be excluded. The net effect will be no change in taxable income unless your wife earned a really outstanding income before she came to the USA.

Yodrak

I have a similar situation. Here are the facts:

My wife came in on a K-1 visa on Aug 10, 2005 and we were married on Aug 26, 2005. We have applied for her AOS and EAD. She has yet to receive either of them, so she has not worked in the US. Based on the above comments, I think it is best to filed jointly. I think I should have less tax liability since I am supporting her (but not sure how that works).

Anyway, I attempted to use the free Taxcut service through H&R Block but when I answered the questions (they specifically asked if my wife was a non-citizen) they said the free service does not support 1040NR. 1040NR is the tax form for non-resident aliens. Does anyone know if it's correct to file a 1040NR if I am a USC? I am sure others have gone through this before.

Thanks for your help.

Edited March 2, 2006 by Yodrak

[golferadam 0]

golferadam,

No, it is not correct for you to file a 1040NR. You are a USC, not a non-resident alien, and if your wife can be considered a non-resident alien you probably want to declare her to be a resident alien for tax purposes.

You will not have less tax liability because you are supporting your wife, but you should have less tax liability because she is your wife and you and she can file a 1040 jointly, resulting in exemptions for 2 taxpayers rather than 1 on the return and the lower tax rate that applies to married-joint filers as compared to single or married-separate filers.

If your wife earned any income anywhere in the world in 2005 it will have to be declared on the return, but up to about $45,000 of foreign-earned income, in your wife's case, can be excluded. The net effect will be no change in taxable income unless your wife earned a really outstanding income before she came to the USA.

Yodrak

Thanks for the clear response. I also read the linked article above and it was helpful. At this point it does appear that considering my wife as a resident alien is the best choice because she didn't work last year so it makes it even easier. I am a little disappointed I couldn't use the free H&R Block service, but I may call them and inquire.

One quick followup question regarding claiming my wife as a resident alien. The article says "you have to attach a statement, signed by both spouses, to your tax return for the first year to which the choice applies. The statement must include a declaration that one spouse is a nonresident alien and the other is a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and you are choosing to both be treated as U.S. residents for the tax year.

You also have to include the name, address and Social Security number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification number) of each spouse."

Does this letter have to be notarized or made official in anyway? Has anyone had experience doing this before?

Thanks for your help.

[de_sjiem 0]

One quick followup question regarding claiming my wife as a resident alien. The article says "you have to attach a statement, signed by both spouses, to your tax return for the first year to which the choice applies. The statement must include a declaration that one spouse is a nonresident alien and the other is a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and you are choosing to both be treated as U.S. residents for the tax year.

You also have to include the name, address and Social Security number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification number) of each spouse."

Does this letter have to be notarized or made official in anyway? Has anyone had experience doing this before?

Thanks for your help.

Hi, I wrote this letter for our tax return this year.. I didn't have it notarized or anything.. I just typed it out on my computer and we both signed it. I handed in my taxes at the Taxpayer Assistance Center and the lady that took my paperwork looked everything over and didn't say anything (she even read the statement) so i'm pretty sure that it was ok..

[Brian_bellingham 0]

Yodrak, how do you exlude $45,000 of income? My wife's will not be that much, and we really want to file jointly. Others have said you fill out form 2555 and exlude it on line 21 by counting it as negative income.

[zyggy 9]

Yodrak, how do you exlude $45,000 of income? My wife's will not be that much, and we really want to file jointly. Others have said you fill out form 2555 and exlude it on line 21 by counting it as negative income.

Brian..

you do it by how I told you .. through the Form 2555. It will tell you how much you can exclude... anything earned over the exclusion amount will be included in your AGI.

For instance, If you earned $45,000 US as foreign income (all foreign curencies must be converted before perforing the calculations and you arrived in the US on July 1, You would be able to exclude $39,671 (151 days/365 days x $80,000). If your spouse earned $45,000 in foreign income between January 1 and June 30, then you'd include the $45,000 on Line 7 of your 1040 and place $39,671 as negative income on Line 21. Leaving you with $5,328.77 as her portion of the AGI.

Now I believe that you could also take a foreign tax credit on this portion of your AGI, but I'd have to look into it.

[Yodrak 7]

Brian_bellingham,

As other have said - by filling out form 2555.

The maximum that can be excluded is $80,000 if the person was out of the USA for the full tax year. Golferadam said that his wife arrived in the USA on August 10, so she was out of the USA for a little more than half the year. A little more than half of $80,000 is $45,000.

Yodrak

Yodrak, how do you exlude $45,000 of income? My wife's will not be that much, and we really want to file jointly. Others have said you fill out form 2555 and exlude it on line 21 by counting it as negative income.

[zyggy 9]

Brian_bellingham,

As other have said - by filling out form 2555.

The maximum that can be excluded is $80,000 if the person was out of the USA for the full tax year. Golferadam said that his wife arrived in the USA on August 10, so she was out of the USA for a little more than half the year. A little more than half of $80,000 is $45,000.

Yodrak

Yodrak, how do you exlude $45,000 of income? My wife's will not be that much, and we really want to file jointly. Others have said you fill out form 2555 and exlude it on line 21 by counting it as negative income.

Or if you really want to be ####### it would be $49,753