Filing tax for the first time after getting my green card

[Coleman21 6]

Hello,

I have been a permanent resident since last August and I have been married to my husband (USC) for two years. (We didn't file for green card early after our marriage) This is my first time filing tax besides filing tax as a non resident alien with my school's internatioinal student office, so I need some help!

I want to file tax with my husband jointly, but I found out that to do so I have to attach a statement, because I am a "dual-status taxpayer" for the tax year 2013, since I was a non resident alien (I was an F-1 visa student) and a resident alien last year. This is the publictation I looked at:

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p519/ch01.html#en_US_2013_publink1000222177

"Choosing resident alien status" is the section that applies to me.

And in order to attach a statement, I have to file tax by mail, or am I being wrong? I read somewhere that I have to by mail.

Here is my question. It seems to me that the reason why IRS cares about my alien status is because some people earn income outside of the USA when they are non resident aliens. I was out of the USA for a few weeks in January 2013, but the entire rest of 2013 I was in the USA, and I worked only in the USA. When I was a non-resident alien, I worked on my college campus, and I still do as a permanent resident. So is it really necessary for me to attach a statement that my husband and I choose to treat me as a resident alien for the entire 2013? I mean, can we not just file tax as "married filing jointly" electronically without a statement? My friend recommended to me TaxSlayer.com and he says it is very easy to use it, so I was hoping to file our tax on that website, instead of by mail.

If I indeed need to file tax by mail, what form do my husband and I need? In case more information is needed, here is some information I can provide. My husband was working as an independent contractor for two months last year, but other than that he was just occasionally receiving money from our church when he cleaned it there. He did get a job recently, but after 2014 started, so that won't count. We will have standard deduction. I was in a leave of absence from school after I got my green card last year, so I don't think I can do tuition and fee deduction, can I? Since i was an international student before getting green card in August, and my tuition and fee was paid by my parents from outside the US. I receive student loan now, but I started receiving it this year, not last year, so my student loan won't affect my 2013 tax, will it? Also, we don't have any children. We have never got such things as food stamp or unemployment benefit, etc. So our tax filing will be pretty simple, I assume?

I appreciate any answer in advance! If anyone has similar experinece to mine and could share it here, that would be great!

[Coleman21 6]

P.S. I just realized that my title said "text" instead of tax... I apologize. Does anyone know how to fix a title?

[Darnell 8,478]

click the report button on post #1. don't see a report button? come back on a PC.

[Coleman21 6]

I'm using a PC, but I don't see a report button.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

I'm using a PC, but I don't see a report button.

It's not a button , but a barely visible word to the left of the Multiquote button.

To answer your question a NR can't file a joint tax return with a USC spouse. So you want to be treated as a resident alien for the entire year if you want to file jointly.. Then you can forget the NR taxation rules because you will be "considered" a resident alien for all of 2013 by the IRS.

[aaron2020 11,651]

You can file as married filing jointly.

There is no need for the statement or non-resident status.

You can choose to be treated as a tax resident for the entire year by filing married filing jointly.

[Coleman21 6]

You can file as married filing jointly.

There is no need for the statement or non-resident status.

You can choose to be treated as a tax resident for the entire year by filing married filing jointly.

Thank you so much for your reply! So you mean I can just file online like US citizens do, as long as I file jointly with my husband? Is this what you did when you had to file tax for the first time after getting green card for yourself or your spouse?

[Coleman21 6]

It's not a button , but a barely visible word to the left of the Multiquote button.

To answer your question a NR can't file a joint tax return with a USC spouse. So you want to be treated as a resident alien for the entire year if you want to file jointly.. Then you can forget the NR taxation rules because you will be "considered" a resident alien for all of 2013 by the IRS.

Thank you for your reply. I know that I can be considered as a resident alien for the entire 2013 tax year if I choose to file jointly with my husband, but my question is whether I can file tax electronically with my husband, without a statement that says I want to be treated as a resident alien for the entire 2013. Thanks!

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Well...if doing it yourself like with TurboTax, the IRS told me no to electronic filing. But filing jointly was a $2000 advantage that I didn't mind waiting a few more weeks to collect. Married filing separately wasn't a good plan for me.

Tax preparation companies like H&R block must file or submit electronically by IRS regulations, so not sure how they handle things that must be submitted. I have never used a firm to prepare my taxes because they charge a lot. So not sure how sure it works on this topic.

I guess it depends on how much money you are happy to give up to get less money quicker. At least I think that's what your issue seems to be. Work out your taxes all the legal ways possible and pick the best one.

And maybe the IRS has a better way now. It has been a couple of years since I asked that question. Ring them up. They certainly are pushing the electronic filing more and more each year.

Edited February 9, 2014 by Nich-Nick

[Coleman21 6]

Well...if doing it yourself like with TurboTax, the IRS told me no to electronic filing. But filing jointly was a $2000 advantage that I didn't mind waiting a few more weeks to collect. Married filing separately wasn't a good plan for me.

Tax preparation companies like H&R block must file or submit electronically by IRS regulations, so not sure how they handle things that must be submitted. I have never used a firm to prepare my taxes because they charge a lot. So not sure how sure it works on this topic.

I guess it depends on how much money you are happy to give up to get less money quicker. At least I think that's what your issue seems to be. Work out your taxes all the legal ways possible and pick the best one.

And maybe the IRS has a better way now. It has been a couple of years since I asked that question. Ring them up. They certainly are pushing the electronic filing more and more each year.

Thank you. I actually did call IRS before posting this topic, but they didn't seem to even know what publication 519 says. This lady on the phone just told me to do whatever the publication 519 says. I just don't see the point in having to attach a statement about choosing to be treated as a resident alien for the entire tax year, because I thought with or without the statement, what I have to do is the same, as long as I file jointly.

So did IRS tell you to file tax by mail when you asked them a question? I am a little confused because you said you never used a firm to file taxes but that I would have to give up money.. Does it cost money to file tax by mail?

[Franciscus 32]

Thank you. I actually did call IRS before posting this topic, but they didn't seem to even know what publication 519 says. This lady on the phone just told me to do whatever the publication 519 says. I just don't see the point in having to attach a statement about choosing to be treated as a resident alien for the entire tax year, because I thought with or without the statement, what I have to do is the same, as long as I file jointly.

So did IRS tell you to file tax by mail when you asked them a question? I am a little confused because you said you never used a firm to file taxes but that I would have to give up money.. Does it cost money to file tax by mail?

Hi Coleman21,

I would be interested to know if you ended up being able to file online or if you had to do it on paper, I am in the exact same situation. Thank you in advance.

[Coleman21 6]

Hi Coleman21,

I would be interested to know if you ended up being able to file online or if you had to do it on paper, I am in the exact same situation. Thank you in advance.

Hi, Franciscus. I ended up filing online just last week. I used TaxSlayer.com. They are very user-friendly. Since I knew that H&R Block was not a professional tax preparator, I sought to ask questions to some tax lawyers, but they did not answer or they told me to talk with H&R Block. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I had already called IRS, but they just told me to do whatever the publication said, but the publication did not make it clear about the statement because of the way they constructed headings and paragraphs, and IRS did not even bother to look at the publication for me to answer to my question sincerely when I called them up. So I called H&R Block, asked if I could file as married filing jointly online just like any regular tax filer. I thought I had to go to H&R block and pay them for questions, but they accepted questions for free on the phone! And this person I talked to told me to hold on for a minute, he went actually check something unlike the person from IRS, and told me that if I was a resident alien on the last day of 2013, I can file as a resident alien for the entire year and that I can file online. So that is what I did. In my case I did not earn money from other countries, and since I'm under 25 I did not qualify for earning credit and thus got just a little bit of refund. So I do not think that even if H&R Block person was mistaken, I did any significant effect on any party. And I blame IRS for their inadequate information. I also wish the immiration was more devoted to informing immigrants of rules that apply to them. I do not believe many new green card holders even look up tax rules; they probably just file as their friends tell them to. So that's what I did, and I know that both my federal and state tax returns have been accepted already. (I can check it on TaxSlayer) Good luck!!

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Hi, Franciscus. I ended up filing online just last week. I used TaxSlayer.com. They are very user-friendly. Since I knew that H&R Block was not a professional tax preparator, I sought to ask questions to some tax lawyers, but they did not answer or they told me to talk with H&R Block. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I had already called IRS, but they just told me to do whatever the publication said, but the publication did not make it clear about the statement because of the way they constructed headings and paragraphs, and IRS did not even bother to look at the publication for me to answer to my question sincerely when I called them up. So I called H&R Block, asked if I could file as married filing jointly online just like any regular tax filer. I thought I had to go to H&R block and pay them for questions, but they accepted questions for free on the phone! And this person I talked to told me to hold on for a minute, he went actually check something unlike the person from IRS, and told me that if I was a resident alien on the last day of 2013, I can file as a resident alien for the entire year and that I can file online. So that is what I did. In my case I did not earn money from other countries, and since I'm under 25 I did not qualify for earning credit and thus got just a little bit of refund. So I do not think that even if H&R Block person was mistaken, I did any significant effect on any party. And I blame IRS for their inadequate information. I also wish the immiration was more devoted to informing immigrants of rules that apply to them. I do not believe many new green card holders even look up tax rules; they probably just file as their friends tell them to. So that's what I did, and I know that both my federal and state tax returns have been accepted already. (I can check it on TaxSlayer) Good luck!!

You shouldn't have filed electronically since technically your joint return is not valid without the election statement. To play it safe, you should amend your return to include the election statement.

[Coleman21 6]

Thank you for your comment. Can you explain further on what you mean by "not valid"? Would either IRS or the immigration treat me as if I did not file tax for 2013?

[Coleman21 6]

P.S. I looked up Publication 519 again, but they only say we "should" attach a statement, not "need" or "must", and my interpretation is that it just makes it easier for IRS to know my situation. For example, when I was working as a F1 student, no tax was withheld from my paycheck. But after I became a resident alien, tax was withheld. But this is obvious by looking at my W2 information on my tax return, and I really don't see the point in attaching a statement. And it doesn't say anything about tax return being valid or invalid. If you saw something other than Publication 519, would you attach the link here, please? I don't intend to go against a rule. I just currently think it is not a mandatory rule to follow to attach a statement. Thanks for your contribution to this discussion!