Tax question?

[winifredbee 1]

We have been married for almost two years now. Time is flying!! With all the adjustments one is the financial issues. My husband was able to find a job when we moved to NYC but makes below the poverty level. He pays taxes and works full time. He has his two year green card and we will be doing the next round of paper work this summer. Last year I did not claim him as a dependent but I'm wondering if I can or should claim him this year and if I should adjust last years. I'm wondering what other people are doing regarding their new spouses in america?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[jkelly07 120]

yes file your taxes jointly, you are married you will get a better refund,and good evidence for you file to removal of conditions on the 1-751 as going things togather as a married couple,

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

First off a spouse is not a "dependent" for tax purposes. That term is for your children mostly, and others in a few circumstances like elderly parents.

You can file "married filing jointly" with your spouse for any tax year in which you were married, even if it was only the last week of the year. The spouse does not have to be employed or have a greencard yet. Since you were married in 2009, your filing choices were "married filing separately" or "married filing jointly". You would most likely have gotten a better tax break by filing jointly. That means if you got a refund, it would have been more or if you owed money to the IRS, it would have been less or a refund. You can change your 2009 return by filing the form 1040X. You can file jointly for 2010. It will also look good to the officer reviewing his removal of conditions to see you co-mingled your finances by filing jointly.

[winifredbee 1]

yes file your taxes jointly, you are married you will get a better refund,and good evidence for you file to removal of conditions on the 1-751 as going things togather as a married couple,

Last year we filed as Married. Does that mean I claimed him as a dependent? Taxes make my head spin. I think I can claim him as dependent as well as file as married. I need to look into it a little more.

[nickbits 43]

Ditto what Nich-Nick said.

[winifredbee 1]

First off a spouse is not a "dependent" for tax purposes. That term is for your children mostly, and others in a few circumstances like elderly parents.

You can file "married filing jointly" with your spouse for any tax year in which you were married, even if it was only the last week of the year. The spouse does not have to be employed or have a greencard yet. Since you were married in 2009, your filing choices were "married filing separately" or "married filing jointly". You would most likely have gotten a better tax break by filing jointly. That means if you got a refund, it would have been more or if you owed money to the IRS, it would have been less or a refund. You can change your 2009 return by filing the form 1040X. You can file jointly for 2010. It will also look good to the officer reviewing his removal of conditions to see you co-mingled your finances by filing jointly.

OK

[carla1 4]

OK

Turbotax.com works wonders for me! It asks a boatload of questions which I have to answer (of course) but I always get much more back than I would otherwise.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Last year we filed as Married. Does that mean I claimed him as a dependent? Taxes make my head spin. I think I can claim him as dependent as well as file as married. I need to look into it a little more.

There's TWO ways to file married: "married filing separately" or "married filing jointly" The first has only one person on the tax return. The second one has both names listed at the top.

No, like I said in my first post. You don't claim a spouse as a dependent. You can claim a child as a dependent, but not a spouse.