Can my wife include me in her 2008 taxes ??

[christera22 8]

Hi all,

I am adjusting here based on marriage with USC , from B1/B2 visa . Now as you can see from my timeline I am waiting for my biometrics interview. My wife(usc) is getting ready to file for her 2008 taxes. Someone told her that she can include me in her taxes thus getting two fold benefit. 1stly a good evidence of ongoing & bonfide relationship + 2ndly she wd get good benefits. BUt as from my earlier post I think I havve to wait for couple months to get my EAD and in turn my Social Security Number.

My question is can she include me with her taxes without my SSN ?? if so any guidance how ??

Thanks a lot.

[meowmeowmeow 1]

Hi all,

I am adjusting here based on marriage with USC , from B1/B2 visa . Now as you can see from my timeline I am waiting for my biometrics interview. My wife(usc) is getting ready to file for her 2008 taxes. Someone told her that she can include me in her taxes thus getting two fold benefit. 1stly a good evidence of ongoing & bonfide relationship + 2ndly she wd get good benefits. BUt as from my earlier post I think I havve to wait for couple months to get my EAD and in turn my Social Security Number.

My question is can she include me with her taxes without my SSN ?? if so any guidance how ??

Thanks a lot.

I would say no as when you fill out the w-4 form, it asks you to put down single if your spouse is a foreign citizen and does not have a SSN... but hopefully others can clarify this too...

[himher 634]

She can include you and file married/jointly if you were married at the end of 2008.

You have (3) choices:

Paper-file with an ITIN application (that sux)

File late after your SS card comes in (best for both of you)

She can file married/separately then file a 1040X (amend the return) after your SS card comes in (most difficult)

We chose to file late in 2008 (2007 taxes) There was no penalty, as they owed us money. If you are due a refund you have until October to file. If you are not due a refund, best to file for extension then wait to file until SS card comes in.

[Dakine 26]

You can file a W-7 from IRS and file jointly! Has to be done at the same time she files her taxes.

[christera22 8]

To let you know in details My wife is in State Teachers Retirement fund and files 1040 ( Invidual Tax return).

1)Now so Haole , as per you we can file togther though till now its her single income ?

2) Also if we do it now ........... do we have to continue filing jointly from upcoming years even after I get jobs or then can we file seperately ... Any idea ???

Thanks a lot

[himher 634]

Where your wife derives income is none of the forum's business. Income is income.

Why don't you give your wife the "3-choice" list and then the two of you can decide together how to file. Your original question has been asked and answered. You and your wife, if married by 12/31/08, can file 2008 taxes jointly.

Haole's answer covers choice #1, the one that sucks, paper-file jointlhy and include an ITIN application. Since it will take (8) weeks to process the paper return, your family outcome is the same as if you waited for the SS card to come in and file jointly from there.

To let you know in details My wife is in State Teachers Retirement fund and files 1040 ( Invidual Tax return).

1)Now so Haole , as per you we can file togther though till now its her single income ?

2) Also if we do it now ........... do we have to continue filing jointly from upcoming years even after I get jobs or then can we file seperately ... Any idea ???

Thanks a lot

[christera22 8]

Where your wife derives income is none of the forum's business. Income is income.

Why don't you give your wife the "3-choice" list and then the two of you can decide together how to file. Your original question has been asked and answered. You and your wife, if married by 12/31/08, can file 2008 taxes jointly.

Haole's answer covers choice #1, the one that sucks, paper-file jointlhy and include an ITIN application. Since it will take (8) weeks to process the paper return, your family outcome is the same as if you waited for the SS card to come in and file jointly from there.

To let you know in details My wife is in State Teachers Retirement fund and files 1040 ( Invidual Tax return).

1)Now so Haole , as per you we can file togther though till now its her single income ?

2) Also if we do it now ........... do we have to continue filing jointly from upcoming years even after I get jobs or then can we file seperately ... Any idea ???

Thanks a lot

Thanks Himher for the detailed reply .. Yes thats what we are gonna do ..sit together and talk with these details with her tax consultant. Just wanted to be equipped before we meet her consultant.

1) If we wait, file for an extension then as per her she does`nt get the money that Govt is paying right now. I have no idea what that is termed as. Is that true ??

2)Any idea .... that if we do it now jointly........... do we have to continue filing jointly from upcoming years even after I get jobs or then can we file seperately ... ??

Thanks

[brnidokiegurl 0]

you can but i wouldnt fool with it now (end of march) you prob wont get the number by april 15 if at all......we never got ours assigned and it was a delay because they amended the form. For now just file the one as married, get the returned etc then go back and you have up to 3 years to amend adding you after you get the number. Ahmed is here now and i just did my taxes, he just received his ss and it came out fine, i already have my state back, then i can amend the 07 with his new number

[himher 634]

I posted this last year. This is what we did for 2007 taxes in 2008.

We filed EAD in Feb, 2008. We waited to file 2007 taxes until EAD approval/SS card, which was late May, 2008. We filed our taxes late. They owed us a refund. There was no penalty for filing late because they owed us a refund. We had until October, 2008 to file. After filing in May, we received our refund 2 weeks later, and our stimulus payment about 2 weeks after that. Again, no penalty, and we actually got our refund faster than we would have had we paper filed with ITIN.

You can file married/separate anytime you want to. Why would you possibly want to do that? Taxes are higher filing separately than they are filing jointly. If you wait, get your SS card, and file before October, you and your wife will be eligible for the 2008 stimulus payment. If you file with no SS number, and instead use ITIN because you are in a hurry, then you will not get the 2008 stimulus payment. My advice would be:

If you are due a refund, wait until SS card comes in and file jointly at that time

If you are not due a refund, file an extension, then wait until the SS card comes in and file jointly at that time. Mainly because the 2008 stimulus payment will help offset taxes owed.

Where your wife derives income is none of the forum's business. Income is income.

Why don't you give your wife the "3-choice" list and then the two of you can decide together how to file. Your original question has been asked and answered. You and your wife, if married by 12/31/08, can file 2008 taxes jointly.

Haole's answer covers choice #1, the one that sucks, paper-file jointlhy and include an ITIN application. Since it will take (8) weeks to process the paper return, your family outcome is the same as if you waited for the SS card to come in and file jointly from there.

To let you know in details My wife is in State Teachers Retirement fund and files 1040 ( Invidual Tax return).

1)Now so Haole , as per you we can file togther though till now its her single income ?

2) Also if we do it now ........... do we have to continue filing jointly from upcoming years even after I get jobs or then can we file seperately ... Any idea ???

Thanks a lot

Thanks Himher for the detailed reply .. Yes thats what we are gonna do ..sit together and talk with these details with her tax consultant. Just wanted to be equipped before we meet her consultant.

1) If we wait, file for an extension then as per her she does`nt get the money that Govt is paying right now. I have no idea what that is termed as. Is that true ??

2)Any idea .... that if we do it now jointly........... do we have to continue filing jointly from upcoming years even after I get jobs or then can we file seperately ... ??

Thanks

[kcoyclay1 98]

Where your wife derives income is none of the forum's business. Income is income.

Why don't you give your wife the "3-choice" list and then the two of you can decide together how to file. Your original question has been asked and answered. You and your wife, if married by 12/31/08, can file 2008 taxes jointly.

Haole's answer covers choice #1, the one that sucks, paper-file jointlhy and include an ITIN application. Since it will take (8) weeks to process the paper return, your family outcome is the same as if you waited for the SS card to come in and file jointly from there.

To let you know in details My wife is in State Teachers Retirement fund and files 1040 ( Invidual Tax return).

1)Now so Haole , as per you we can file togther though till now its her single income ?

2) Also if we do it now ........... do we have to continue filing jointly from upcoming years even after I get jobs or then can we file seperately ... Any idea ???

Thanks a lot

I am almost having kittens over the same thing. My husband will not be receiving a refund this year and my EAD card was just ordered this week with an interview date for April 29. I am praying that it gets to me b4 April 15 so we are holding off filing because I received commission for introducing persons to a business and would like to file as married filing jointly but the card might not get to us in time for me to get my SS# by April 15

Edited March 21, 2009 by kcoyclay1

[Old Dominion 26]

We filed jointly last year, using the W-7 to obtain her ITIN. I would say it took only about four weeks to get the refund deposited in our checking account electronically. Usually, filing jointly is the best option for a married couple even when both have incomes.

By the way, there is no government check coming to taxpayers this year. The new stimulus plan only reduces the amount being withheld from paychecks by about $40 per month per person.

[WROCLAW 0]

Always a tough question re: taxes! Good luck