My own tax question!

[frenzyheart 2]

Okay. I did a thorough search and turned up situations that were close to mine, but didn't quite answer. I've searched the IRS website, and I'm still a little lost.

i worked from Sept to Dec last year, and I paid everything into the government, but I probably won't have to file because I'm not getting anything back. (I didn't make a lot of money, it was EXTREME part time seasonal work, and my federal tax witheld on my W2 is 0, lol) My husband moved down here in August. We are sending off his AOS packet in a few weeks, so he's not eligible for work here. He DID work in Canada last year, up until he moved. His dad usually does his taxes for him. Will he need to file here in the US even though he's not a resident yet? I saw many conflicting things, like if he made under a certain amount he didn't have to, or if he worked in a certain area or something.

I'm not really good at all this tax stuff, and maybe someone else worded it differently and had the same situation, but I couldn't find it. Hopefully someone can help! Thanks in advance!

[Veronik 19]

Well, it boils down to two things:

-filing married seperately, and then HE does not need to file US taxes

or

-filing married jointly, and then he takes the 'election to be treated as a resident' (IRS wording!), even though he is a nonresident alien right now.

This is only what I think, but since there's not much income to 'file' and might not get much back in return, maybe you guys should just file married seperately. You still would have to notify the IRS that your situation has changed (you're married) but it also doesn't require him to file US taxes. His income wouldn't be taxed twice if you did file married jointly though... So if you go the seperate way, you file your US taxes, and he files in CA taxes, and that's that. Note that if you file jointly, he still has to file CA taxes.

Hope this helps, and if you decided to file jointly and have question, feel free to ask me. I posted a thread last week because I had so many questions too, and I got great advise. I also called the IRS to make sure I was on the right track. So if you need anything, let me know!

Good luck!

[frenzyheart 2]

The thing I'm running into is that I don't need to file anything since I didn't really make anything. I obviously paid the taxes, but on my W2, my Fed Income Tax Withheld is 0, so my mother (who does my taxes when I actually need to) said I didn't have to file. I just didn't know if HE had to file here since I don't have to.

I know that his filing up in Canada will actually get him something in return(he made a lot more money than I did, lol), and he obviously didn't work after we were married, so I don't know/think he'd have to file married? I guess I could leave that up to his dad to find out, haha.

Thank you for your response! It was helpful!

[Veronik 19]

Someone might correct me if I'm wrong but someone told me that in Canada, even if you file married (to let them know your status has changed) you still file seperately. I don't think there is a way to file married. So I guess you're in the clear! You don't have to file taxes in the US and neither does he!

Did you check on the IRS website? There is a section of questions, and one is "Do I have to file US taxes?" and it walks you through a questionnaire. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea just to make sure you're doing everything right...

[OBX 51]

Someone might correct me if I'm wrong but someone told me that in Canada, even if you file married (to let them know your status has changed) you still file seperately. I don't think there is a way to file married. So I guess you're in the clear! You don't have to file taxes in the US and neither does he!

Did you check on the IRS website? There is a section of questions, and one is "Do I have to file US taxes?" and it walks you through a questionnaire. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea just to make sure you're doing everything right...

Correct.