Ack, taxes!!

[jelti 0]

...but I can't figure out my taxes this year.

I have read this thread so many times my eyes are about to bleed, and I still can't figure it out.

Ok, first thing's first.

Aidan is a non-resident alien. He arrived here on November 8, 2005 and we were married on November 19, 2005. As of yet, we still cannot afford his AOS nevermind his EAD, so he has not had any income in the US.

So this would leave me at Married, Separate...right?

Now...is he considered a dependant? Do I get an exemption for him? It says I would need to get an Individual Taxpayer Identification number for him...but Aidan thought he read that he can't get one because he already has a Social Security number.

I've always filed my own taxes just fine...now I don't even know which form to use.

Can anyone help?

[rebeccajo 14]

You are married so you can file a joint return. Immigration status has nothing to do with it. You get an exemption for him. He is not your dependant.

He doesn't need a taxpayer ID number since he already has a SS#.

The bit that is making your eyes bleed, I think, is the substantial presence test. That test is used to determine what happens with Aidan's income that he earned in 2005, no matter where he earned it.

But to simplify this, my understanding is this is nearly a moot point in your situation, as the UK and US have tax treaties in effect that prevent double taxation.

You need to determine Aidan's wages for the calendar year 2005 and declare them on your tax return using a form 2555. If he earned less than $80000 US dollars, you declare the income but it is exempt from US taxes.

Edited February 8, 2006 by rebeccajo

[jelti 0]

You are married so you can file a joint return. Immigration status has nothing to do with it. You get an exemption for him. He is not your dependant.

He doesn't need a taxpayer ID number since he already has a SS#.

The bit that is making your eyes bleed, I think, is the substantial presence test. That test is used to determine what happens with Aidan's income that he earned in 2005, no matter where he earned it.

But to simplify this, my understanding is this is nearly a moot point in your situation, as the UK and US have tax treaties in effect that prevent double taxation.

You need to determine Aidan's wages for the calendar year 2005 and declare them on your tax return using a form 2555. If he earned less than $80000 US dollars, you declare the income but it is exempt from US taxes.

Ack, I'm even more confused now.

Why would I have to declare his income from when he lived in Ireland if we weren't married then? By the time we were married, he was here in the states not earning any income.

Why is he not my dependant? I'm supporting him until he gets his EAD.

This stuff makes my head spin.

[rebeccajo 14]

Well, he's not a dependant. As a married couple you each get an exemption.

If you are going to chose to file jointly, then you treat the income as such. Even though you weren't married the whole time. Taxes are complicated enough without the IRS having taxpayers split their status in a tax year.

You should benefit from filing jointly.

[Jasman0717 9]

check out the IRS site: www.irs.gov

You should be able to find information there and if not there should be a link to contact them

[lucyrich 20]

Why would I have to declare his income from when he lived in Ireland if we weren't married then? By the time we were married, he was here in the states not earning any income.

You wouldn't necessarily HAVE to, but it could be to your financial advantage to do so.

Because you were legally married as of the last day of the tax year, and because you (the individual, not the couple) are required to file taxes, you must file a tax return as a married person. You could file "married filing separately". If you do that, he most likely isn't required to file a return, since he's a non-resident alien with no US income. This option keeps the paperwork easiest.

But try calculating your tax using the "married filing jointly" status versus the "married filing separately" status. If you're paying much tax, there's probably a significant savings to be had by filing jointly. To get a rough idea if this is worth pursuing, just look up the tax in the tax table for married jointly instead of married separately, or if you're using tax preparation software, just click on the "married filing jointly" filing status box. Look at the change in your bottom line to see if you want to pursue the idea of a joint return further.

If you decide to file a joint return for real, follow the instructions in the linked thread. You have to declare worldwide income for both spouses for the entire year, but you can exclude most (probably all) income earned outside the US. The final effect should be that the couple's income isn't much more than your income alone (probably exactly the same), yet you get to take advantage of the lower rates and higher standard deduction that comes from filing a joint return.

[de_sjiem 0]

Just for an indication on the difference it makes.. we get 1500 bucks back more than we would have if we filed separate.. (I had no income anywhere for this year.. so that helped i'm sure) but it can and will mean big savings for taxes to file jointly.. another option is to call the IRS help line or even to go to a taxpayer assistance centre.. if you made less than 38,000 last year they will even help you prepare your return! :-)

[aidan80 9]

Why would I have to declare his income from when he lived in Ireland if we weren't married then? By the time we were married, he was here in the states not earning any income.

You wouldn't necessarily HAVE to, but it could be to your financial advantage to do so.

Because you were legally married as of the last day of the tax year, and because you (the individual, not the couple) are required to file taxes, you must file a tax return as a married person. You could file "married filing separately". If you do that, he most likely isn't required to file a return, since he's a non-resident alien with no US income. This option keeps the paperwork easiest.

But try calculating your tax using the "married filing jointly" status versus the "married filing separately" status. If you're paying much tax, there's probably a significant savings to be had by filing jointly. To get a rough idea if this is worth pursuing, just look up the tax in the tax table for married jointly instead of married separately, or if you're using tax preparation software, just click on the "married filing jointly" filing status box. Look at the change in your bottom line to see if you want to pursue the idea of a joint return further.

If you decide to file a joint return for real, follow the instructions in the linked thread. You have to declare worldwide income for both spouses for the entire year, but you can exclude most (probably all) income earned outside the US. The final effect should be that the couple's income isn't much more than your income alone (probably exactly the same), yet you get to take advantage of the lower rates and higher standard deduction that comes from filing a joint return.

Thank you very much. This has helped quite a bit.

I looked at the tax table, and since I only made about $6,000 last year (I've only been back in the country since May), there is no difference between filing separately and filing jointly. So I guess I'll make things easier (in regards to paperwork) and file married, separate.

Now where do I go from here?

[jelti 0]

Why would I have to declare his income from when he lived in Ireland if we weren't married then? By the time we were married, he was here in the states not earning any income.

You wouldn't necessarily HAVE to, but it could be to your financial advantage to do so.

Because you were legally married as of the last day of the tax year, and because you (the individual, not the couple) are required to file taxes, you must file a tax return as a married person. You could file "married filing separately". If you do that, he most likely isn't required to file a return, since he's a non-resident alien with no US income. This option keeps the paperwork easiest.

But try calculating your tax using the "married filing jointly" status versus the "married filing separately" status. If you're paying much tax, there's probably a significant savings to be had by filing jointly. To get a rough idea if this is worth pursuing, just look up the tax in the tax table for married jointly instead of married separately, or if you're using tax preparation software, just click on the "married filing jointly" filing status box. Look at the change in your bottom line to see if you want to pursue the idea of a joint return further.

If you decide to file a joint return for real, follow the instructions in the linked thread. You have to declare worldwide income for both spouses for the entire year, but you can exclude most (probably all) income earned outside the US. The final effect should be that the couple's income isn't much more than your income alone (probably exactly the same), yet you get to take advantage of the lower rates and higher standard deduction that comes from filing a joint return.

Thank you very much. This has helped quite a bit.

I looked at the tax table, and since I only made about $6,000 last year (I've only been back in the country since May), there is no difference between filing separately and filing jointly. So I guess I'll make things easier (in regards to paperwork) and file married, separate.

Now where do I go from here?

Oops!! That was me, not aidan80! I was logged in under his account by accident!