Questions about taxes

[Meliss3108 0]

Hi All:

I'm not sure if this is the right place... but I figured a lot of us here woud be in the same boat! I married my husband in June and tax season is almost here... but he isn't.

So, my question is, what do I do about filling taxes? Are we able to file jointly? Do we need to get him a Tax Identification Number? Or, will getting that number cause a problem with the rest of our paperwork? Or, is th eonly option to file married, seperately. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Melissa

[payxibka 10,045]

Hi All:

I'm not sure if this is the right place... but I figured a lot of us here woud be in the same boat! I married my husband in June and tax season is almost here... but he isn't.

So, my question is, what do I do about filling taxes? Are we able to file jointly? Do we need to get him a Tax Identification Number? Or, will getting that number cause a problem with the rest of our paperwork? Or, is th eonly option to file married, seperately. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Melissa

Filing jointly is an option.... If he has not entered the USA he needs a ITIN and you must declare his worldwide income on your return.

[ANGKANO 1]

hey mel,

its up to you,but i am in the same boat this year and last year.i did not want to confuse some IRS employee by submitting any overseas finance docs.so i jus filed normal 1040EZ.besides you dont want your return flagged and sitting in a pile waiting for a supervisor to review them when you may need a speedy file completed. I will need these docs to send to my wife for her interview and dont want them tied up.I may be alittle paranoid but I jus dont have alot of faith in the IRS's ability to promptly deal with something "different".Besides, will you really come out on top doing this. I figured it out and for me the gain was nowhere worth it. Good luck

[payxibka 10,045]

hey mel,

its up to you,but i am in the same boat this year and last year.i did not want to confuse some IRS employee by submitting any overseas finance docs.so i jus filed normal 1040EZ.besides you dont want your return flagged and sitting in a pile waiting for a supervisor to review them when you may need a speedy file completed. I will need these docs to send to my wife for her interview and dont want them tied up.I may be alittle paranoid but I jus dont have alot of faith in the IRS's ability to promptly deal with something "different".Besides, will you really come out on top doing this. I figured it out and for me the gain was nowhere worth it. Good luck

So you filed a return as a single person even though you were married?

[Peter&Jaime 1]

This is a good question. I have been thinking about it as well. This is my first year being married and so I am in the same boat as Meliss3108. I know that I started a new job since getting married and had to claim single because my husband is not in the country. So I have to pay more taxes I have also heard what payxibka said about having to claim world wide income. What I don't know is if you can file as single as ANGKANO said. Hopefully someone will know?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Your filing status can be Married Filing Separately. If you choose Married Filing Jointly, you must include worldwide income from both of you.

[Meliss3108 0]

Add to the mess, my husband is self employed (farming/carpentry) and doesn't make much money. He doesn't have any documents stating the amount he has made, so I guess I just need to file, "married, seperate." I just don't want to make any mistakes and cause a big back log with things!

Your filing status can be Married Filing Separately. If you choose Married Filing Jointly, you must include worldwide income from both of you.

[payxibka 10,045]

Add to the mess, my husband is self employed (farming/carpentry) and doesn't make much money. He doesn't have any documents stating the amount he has made, so I guess I just need to file, "married, seperate." I just don't want to make any mistakes and cause a big back log with things!

Your filing status can be Married Filing Separately. If you choose Married Filing Jointly, you must include worldwide income from both of you.

Backlog of what?

[brnidokiegurl 0]

thru your work anyone just married can now say and has to say married......then u decide how many excemptions u want your work to do.....at tax filing time (if your able to get the number) you can say joint but you dont have to, you can say married but filing seperate and you dont hve to show their income from their home as they did not make the money here

again anyone married in 08 from first day to last day are now consider married for whole year and u must report this way

Edited November 17, 2008 by brnidokiegurl

[LemonGrass 0]

Don't know if this is any help to anyone. My wife was here on a Visa. She had income and we married in 2006. She had to go back to her country in late 2006 by givernment agreements on her Visa type. My CPA filed us joint married for 2006, and in 2007 I filed as single. 2008 will be the same. She is working in her country and I have sent her money, but she is not considered a dependant. I don't know all the reasons but this is the way my CPA decided to file. Some of it makes sense because she wasn't working for a US company paying taxes and social secuity.

[brnidokiegurl 0]

Don't know if this is any help to anyone. My wife was here on a Visa. She had income and we married in 2006. She had to go back to her country in late 2006 by givernment agreements on her Visa type. My CPA filed us joint married for 2006, and in 2007 I filed as single. 2008 will be the same. She is working in her country and I have sent her money, but she is not considered a dependant. I don't know all the reasons but this is the way my CPA decided to file. Some of it makes sense because she wasn't working for a US company paying taxes and social secuity.

you filed as SINGLE? not married but seperate? If married you need say married...

[payxibka 10,045]

Don't know if this is any help to anyone. My wife was here on a Visa. She had income and we married in 2006. She had to go back to her country in late 2006 by givernment agreements on her Visa type. My CPA filed us joint married for 2006, and in 2007 I filed as single. 2008 will be the same. She is working in her country and I have sent her money, but she is not considered a dependant. I don't know all the reasons but this is the way my CPA decided to file. Some of it makes sense because she wasn't working for a US company paying taxes and social secuity.

What makes sense? Are you married or single? What does not working for a US company have to do with whether you are married? That does not make any sense to me... Married is married...

[jhunjhun 7]

Don't know if this is any help to anyone. My wife was here on a Visa. She had income and we married in 2006. She had to go back to her country in late 2006 by givernment agreements on her Visa type. My CPA filed us joint married for 2006, and in 2007 I filed as single. 2008 will be the same. She is working in her country and I have sent her money, but she is not considered a dependant. I don't know all the reasons but this is the way my CPA decided to file. Some of it makes sense because she wasn't working for a US company paying taxes and social secuity.

What makes sense? Are you married or single? What does not working for a US company have to do with whether you are married? That does not make any sense to me... Married is married...

This is my first year in US not even...my wife is filing her 2008 income tax return in few more months. What status she's going to declare? married or single...married but filing separately? I think if you're married, you should declare married not single...it's not make sense to me as well.

[wayno 9]

I just posted this exact same thing under immigration news and discussion but I think it got lost in the cyber world. I used H&R Block this year for 07 and asked how to go about it for 08 now that I am married. She said since my wife doesn't have a SS# and would be in the immigration process still I would have to file single!???????? I figgured where I'm at they don't know much on immigration as she was also wrong on some other bits. I don't see how that would go over when I am trying to show on all my documents a proof of "bona-fide" marriage. It seems the consenses here is to file married filling sepperatly? Correct? She has no income to report and I do support her. Are there any ways she could be claimed though?

[ohmy 0]

Well my confusion is that when you check "head of household" that means that you are the one earning the income for the household!!! So that does not exclude that you are married, does it?????

As a Canadian, that is not an option! My taxes do state that we are married and I had to show the amount he made.