2009 Income Tax

[sama 0]

My husband and I got married Feb 2009 in India and we are still awaiting his visa to join me here in the states. Insha Allah he will be here soon. How do I file income taxes for 2009.......Head of Household or as Married? Technically we've been married for more than 6 months out of the year but he won't be issued a social security number (probably at the end of 2009 )

[gaeliza 0]

My husband and I got married Feb 2009 in India and we are still awaiting his visa to join me here in the states. Insha Allah he will be here soon. How do I file income taxes for 2009.......Head of Household or as Married? Technically we've been married for more than 6 months out of the year but he won't be issued a social security number (probably at the end of 2009 )

I filed married filing separatly last year, because then you have to deal with his income also and he does not have a social security number, I dont know if that is the best solution or not

[Anh map 2,098]

You could apply for an ITIN for him. See this link to the IRS website -> http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html

[kalia3333 1]

You could apply for an ITIN for him. See this link to the IRS website -> http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html

Yes I just did mine, and you do not have to use his income you file your Federal manually send them in to TX with the W7 form to request an ITEN with the proper documents to verify his idenity. I used my husbands copy of his passport notorized by a foriegn notary of his country. They will process it and send them back with the ITEN and then you write it on your state taxes where the SS # would go and file state last.

I refused to file single because I owed. I got money back married so it made sense. The ITEN is a hassle tho and your husband has to sign that and your tax returns.

Edited October 1, 2009 by kalia3333

[christeen 966]

My husband and I have been married for 6 years.. I always filed married filing separate and never messed with ITTNs or anyting and since my husband did not have a SSN or US income, I did not have to file anything...

[BRB 6]

My husband and I have been married for 6 years.. I always filed married filing separate and never messed with ITTNs or anyting and since my husband did not have a SSN or US income, I did not have to file anything...

I have studied this also. You have to apply for the ITIN W-7 and send it with your tax return to the address they give for the W-7. They then will assign a tax ID number for your spouse. If the spouse has not lived in the country that year you have to send in a letter stating that your non-resident spouse wants to file as a resident for tax purposes.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/intern...d=96734,00.html

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

My husband and I have been married for 6 years.. I always filed married filing separate and never messed with ITTNs or anyting and since my husband did not have a SSN or US income, I did not have to file anything...

Christeen,

while you guys are perfectly within your rights to file taxes separately, I'd advise anybody to file jointly unless they have a very good reason not to do so. Filing taxes jointly as most likely the single most important "proof" that a couple intermingled finances, and it makes their continuing visa journey a bit easier.

[BRB 6]

In addition you should go back and file jointly and amend your returns. I think you can do that for the last three years. This should result in a nice refund. In a few cases it might be better to file seperately as the tax refund checks was only allowed if you did not have someone on the return who filed with an ITIN. I think it will be worth going back and amending the returns...talk to a tax pro they will be able to help you and advise if that is possible.

[PK and PK 13]

My husband and I got married Feb 2009 in India and we are still awaiting his visa to join me here in the states. Insha Allah he will be here soon. How do I file income taxes for 2009.......Head of Household or as Married? Technically we've been married for more than 6 months out of the year but he won't be issued a social security number (probably at the end of 2009 )

You should obtain an ITIN for him via the W7 form. Takes less than a month. From personal experience with my wife, in India it might be better to get his passport copy notarized at closest US consulate because IRS wouldn't accept our copy notarized by indian notary.

And filing married joint will probably save you money unless he makes a lot more money than you in which case you have to worry about double taxation.

[christeen 966]

That's where we would get hit, he made a lot more than me and we did not want to have to count his income... So I filed married (his name is on the tax returns) but seperatly without a SSN... I did not want to run into tax issues based on his income as he paid taxes in Italy....

As far as the OP, sounds like others here have a better handle on filing jointly as it was not efficient for me.

[Peter&Jaime 1]

My husband and I got married Feb 2009 in India and we are still awaiting his visa to join me here in the states. Insha Allah he will be here soon. How do I file income taxes for 2009.......Head of Household or as Married? Technically we've been married for more than 6 months out of the year but he won't be issued a social security number (probably at the end of 2009 )

I filled with an ITIN and the process was a complete nightmare. I filed as soon as I got my takes in February with the help of Jackson Hewitt. Basically I got someone who had been trained two weeks prior on how to do tax returns and as a result I had major problems with my taxes and it took about 5 months to my refunds. Moral of the story is to go to a very good tax accountant if you want to go this route. Also, I had my interview on April 2nd which is before the due date for taxes and the embassy still wanted a copy of my taxes so everyone should make sure to do them early if you have an interview date around the time taxes are due.

[jimnlena 8]

Unless rules have changed, I was allowed to claim ful marriage deduction when had married for only 1 week in 91.

[redglasses 1]

That's where we would get hit, he made a lot more than me and we did not want to have to count his income... So I filed married (his name is on the tax returns) but seperatly without a SSN... I did not want to run into tax issues based on his income as he paid taxes in Italy....

As far as the OP, sounds like others here have a better handle on filing jointly as it was not efficient for me.

Christeen,

You can still get tax benefits by filing married jointly even his income is Italy based.

There is a form called "Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (Form 2555)."

By fling 1040 (jointly) and 2555 (for him) together, you can waive his income from US taxes but still can claim standard or itemized deduction for 2.

[Malrothien 6]

I've had the ITIN since we got married - no problems have arisen from it.

[ashlesha 0]

I filed married/joint. My wife is not yet in US and we got the ITIN for her. YOu will need

1) Completed W7 signed by spouse

2) Notorized copy of spouse's Passport biographic page.

Pretty straightforward..

I agree with Bob that it will serve as a proof of marriage as well..And you may end up getting some money back from UNCLE SAM..