Filed 2007 tax return as single

[Imua 0]

I was going through my tax stuff and didn;t realize that I checked the 'single' box on my 1040EZ for 2007. Should I bother filing an amended return or will it matter?

[jbhypno 0]

I don't think it will matter but it should have been single. If you file a 1040X then it may affect your refund. If the change doesn't make a difference in how much you owe or got back then you should file it.

JBHypno

[ninjarocket 1]

Depends whether or not you were married in 2007. If so you should either file jointly or separately. You should call the IRS help line. If your spouse earns much less than you in her foreign country, you could get a big refund by filing jointly, with or without an ITIN.

[cmnb 0]

I was going through my tax stuff and didn;t realize that I checked the 'single' box on my 1040EZ for 2007. Should I bother filing an amended return or will it matter?

great question putturani. i will check on this myself. i am still showing single at my work documents so ill have to check with my accountant how to handle this.

[naomiraj 0]

I was going through my tax stuff and didn;t realize that I checked the 'single' box on my 1040EZ for 2007. Should I bother filing an amended return or will it matter?

Pattu Rani

I was looking at your signature and if you were married in June of 2007 then you should've filed for 2007 tax year as Married Filing Single/Jointly (with ITIN). You should probably check with NVC agent and based on what they say contact IRS.

Good Luck!

[jbhypno 0]

Whoops I should have said married not single.

JBHypno

[Imua 0]

Thanks guys - I looked at the numbers and if I do an amended return as Married Filing Separately it will not affect my refund at all - Govi did not earn any income in his name for 2007. It is too much trouble at this point for him to get the IIN - I think if we were to file a joint return it would delay things considerably. I will call NVC tonight just to be sure but I think I will go ahead and file 1040X as Married Filing Separately.

[cantwait2long 0]

Thanks guys - I looked at the numbers and if I do an amended return as Married Filing Separately it will not affect my refund at all - Govi did not earn any income in his name for 2007. It is too much trouble at this point for him to get the IIN - I think if we were to file a joint return it would delay things considerably. I will call NVC tonight just to be sure but I think I will go ahead and file 1040X as Married Filing Separately.

Pattu Rani

You got married in June 2007 then you must have filed your tax return as married filing separately. And you have to provide SSN number for your husband.

But how do you get the SSN for your foreing national spouse that is my dilemma too.

Has anyone any answer to that. Please share your views.

[Imua 0]

Thanks guys - I looked at the numbers and if I do an amended return as Married Filing Separately it will not affect my refund at all - Govi did not earn any income in his name for 2007. It is too much trouble at this point for him to get the IIN - I think if we were to file a joint return it would delay things considerably. I will call NVC tonight just to be sure but I think I will go ahead and file 1040X as Married Filing Separately.

Pattu Rani

You got married in June 2007 then you must have filed your tax return as married filing separately. And you have to provide SSN number for your husband.

But how do you get the SSN for your foreing national spouse that is my dilemma too.

Has anyone any answer to that. Please share your views.

Good question - I think for us it would be moot since G didn't have any income, taxable or otherwise, so would not need to file on his own but really don't know what others have done.

Edited October 16, 2008 by Pattu Rani

[lucyrich 20]

Thanks guys - I looked at the numbers and if I do an amended return as Married Filing Separately it will not affect my refund at all - Govi did not earn any income in his name for 2007. It is too much trouble at this point for him to get the IIN - I think if we were to file a joint return it would delay things considerably. I will call NVC tonight just to be sure but I think I will go ahead and file 1040X as Married Filing Separately.

Pattu Rani

You got married in June 2007 then you must have filed your tax return as married filing separately. And you have to provide SSN number for your husband.

But how do you get the SSN for your foreing national spouse that is my dilemma too.

Has anyone any answer to that. Please share your views.

See IRS Pub 519, the tax guide for aliens.

There are basically two options: If you want to consider the foreign spouse as a nonresident alien, then a joint return is not possible and you've got to file as "married filing separately". For a MFS return, you'd ordinarily be required to enter your spouse's SSN, but it's not required if your spouse is a nonresident alien, unless you file a joint return or claim your spouse as an exemption. This is from IRS Pub 17.

Nonresident alien spouse. If your spouse is a nonresident alien, your spouse must have either an SSN or an ITIN if:

* You file a joint return,

* You file a separate return and claim an exemption for your spouse, or

* Your spouse is filing a separate return.

If your spouse is not eligible for an SSN, see the next discussion.

If none of the three bullet items apply, no ITIN or SSN is needed. If one of them does apply, and your spouse isn't eligible for a SSN, then you'd see the next section where it describes how to get an ITIN.

If you want to consider your foreign spouse as a resident alien despite the fact that he/she isn't in the US, you may elect to do so. See the procedure in IRS Pub 519, under "nonresident spouse treated as resident". The downside to this choice is that your foreign spouse must report all worldwide income (though much or all of it may be sheltered from tax by tax treaties). The upside of this choice is that it allows you to file a joint return, with the corresponding lower tax rates and higher deductions/exemptions. If you make the choice, your spouse will need an ITIN if not already eligible for a SSN.

[cmnb 0]

i just got married this year. i have not changed my status to married at work just as yet. i dont want to start paying for her benifits and start claiming her until she is in the US.

i will be filing the return for 2008 in january. when i do that, how can i file as married, when my wife is definately not going to be here by jan as our case is still with USCIS and we dont see an interview date in the very near future.

the dilemma is that if i file as single, i can be questioned by NVC as to why i filed single when i am married. i cannot get a ssn for my wife as she is not here. can i apply for ITIN?

i am really confused...someone help!!

[lucyrich 20]

i will be filing the return for 2008 in january. when i do that, how can i file as married, when my wife is definately not going to be here by jan as our case is still with USCIS and we dont see an interview date in the very near future.

the dilemma is that if i file as single, i can be questioned by NVC as to why i filed single when i am married. i cannot get a ssn for my wife as she is not here. can i apply for ITIN?

You simply check the "married filing separately" box. Or, you follow the instructions in pub 519 above and have her considered a resident alien, and then you can check the "married filing jointly" box. If you file a joint return, she'll need an ITIN. Pub 17, linked above, tells how to get her an ITIN.

You're absolutely right that you shouldn't check single. Not only would that be illegal per IRS rules, but your signature on the 1040 shows that you examined the form and swear under penalty of perjury that you believe you're entitled to "single" status, that is, that you believe you're not married at all. Why should the USCIS consider your marriage to be valid if you don't think it's valid enough to report to the IRS? No, use one of the legally available filing statuses for married people.

[cmnb 0]

i will be filing the return for 2008 in january. when i do that, how can i file as married, when my wife is definately not going to be here by jan as our case is still with USCIS and we dont see an interview date in the very near future.

the dilemma is that if i file as single, i can be questioned by NVC as to why i filed single when i am married. i cannot get a ssn for my wife as she is not here. can i apply for ITIN?

You simply check the "married filing separately" box. Or, you follow the instructions in pub 519 above and have her considered a resident alien, and then you can check the "married filing jointly" box. If you file a joint return, she'll need an ITIN. Pub 17, linked above, tells how to get her an ITIN.

You're absolutely right that you shouldn't check single. Not only would that be illegal per IRS rules, but your signature on the 1040 shows that you examined the form and swear under penalty of perjury that you believe you're entitled to "single" status, that is, that you believe you're not married at all. Why should the USCIS consider your marriage to be valid if you don't think it's valid enough to report to the IRS? No, use one of the legally available filing statuses for married people.

agreed 100%

one last question....

i am going to be filing married filing seperately. do i still need my wife to obtain ITIN?

[cp2000 0]

i just got married this year. i have not changed my status to married at work just as yet. i dont want to start paying for her benifits and start claiming her until she is in the US.

i will be filing the return for 2008 in january. when i do that, how can i file as married, when my wife is definately not going to be here by jan as our case is still with USCIS and we dont see an interview date in the very near future.

the dilemma is that if i file as single, i can be questioned by NVC as to why i filed single when i am married. i cannot get a ssn for my wife as she is not here. can i apply for ITIN?

i am really confused...someone help!!

Once you are legally married to your spouse, you are married under the U.S. tax laws regardless of where the marriage took place, regardless of whether your spouse is in the U.S. or not, regardless of whether you have changed your status at work and regardless of your spouse's current immigration status. Your choices once married are either to file jointly or to file married filing separately.

There are upsides and downsides to the choice between filing jointly or married filing separately. It all depends on you and your spouse’s respective incomes and personal situations. For me, I elected to file jointly for tax year 2007 because it resulted in a significant tax liability savings for us. You would have to examine your own tax situation under both scenarios to determine which one would result in the lowest tax liability.

If you choose to file jointly, you will need a social security number ("SSN") or tax identification number ("TIN") for your spouse. If obtaining a SSN is not a viable option for you, you can obtain a TIN for your spouse by filing Form W-7, which can be sent in with your Form 1040 (or when amending your tax return with Form 1040X) when filing your taxes. The instructions to the Form W-7 list the requirements. The form may change every year, but here is the current form http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf.

For those of you who have foreign spouses that do not have income, the decision is not necessarily moot. The U.S. tax system is a progressive one, where increasing amounts of income are tax at increasingly higher rates. and your spouse's standard deduction and personal exemption are not available for those filing married filing separately. Look at the 2007 tax rate tables http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=164272,00.html and you can see what I mean. For 2007, the tax rates range from 10% to 35%. A person filing married filing separately’s first $7,825 of income is taxed at 10%. A married couple filing jointly gets to have their first $15,650 taxed at the lowest rate of 10%, meaning that the married couple gets to have twice as much income subject to the lowest tax rate than the married person filing separately.

Others have pointed out that there are Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Publications that are intended to help explain the rules and your options. The IRS Forms and Publications and be found here http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html. You can start by looking at Pub. 519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens as noted by an above commentator.

Please note that the above is not intended to be tax advice. You should consult your own tax advisor or the IRS helpline (I’ve found them to be quite helpful).

[cantwait2long 0]

Thanks so much Lucyrich and Cp2000.

That is very useful information.