US Citizen filing taxes for first time with Canadian spouse

[Love_Young 0]

I have posted in here before but still have some questions.

I am the US citizen but I am living with my husband in Canada with him. (Have been for two years)

I haven't earned any worldwide income and we got married in May 2010.

He is not immigrating to the US but we are currently awaiting Canada's decision on our application for me to immigrate there.

I just now found out that I need to file a US tax return since I got married last year. I have never filed a US tax return before because it wasn't needed.

Now I am not sure what forms I need to fill out, where to mail it to, etc. I am planning on filing as "married filing separately" since my husband doesn't have an ITIN or SSN. And I know that I should fill out the spot as NRA or NR in the spot where it asks for his SSN number. And I will include a letter explaining our situation.

I just want to make sure I am going about things in the right way.

Here are my questions:

1. Usually when you applied as "married filing separately" you would both be filing separately but my husband doesn't need to, will he get in trouble for that later on?

2. What address do I mail the return to?

3. How long does it take to get a reply back about it?

4. Do I apply with my address from the US or here in Canada?

5. What forms do I need to mail since I am living abroad with my husband?

6. What is tax with-holding?

7. My income is zero, how would I fill this out?

8. Will my husband's income play a factor into my return?

9. Will I get a refund even with no income, if so would they mail it abroad and could I still cash it here?

I know we got to get this done soon so I would appreciate any answers/tips you can give to us soon. I just don't want to get in trouble later on down the line and looking for a fairly simple way about this. Looking forward to your responses. Thank you!

[Flames9_RN 358]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/239576-2010-tax-thread-for-canada-and-the-us/

[Love_Young 0]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/239576-2010-tax-thread-for-canada-and-the-us/

Thanks Flames9_RN but I have already posted in both threads revolving both CRA/IRS taxes but to no avail.

This is why I created my own. Also, I need help from a perspective of some that has lived in Canada with their spouses and having to file a US tax return.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Another free tax forum is: http://forums.serbinski.com/

[Love_Young 0]

Thank you kindly. I will look it over tonight.

[zyggy 9]

Thank you kindly. I will look it over tonight.

You are below the filing threshold, you don't have to file. Your spouse is not a USC or a Permanent Resident so he is not required to file. You have the option to file as joint with his income or seperately and file on your own. In this case, I would not opt to file joint with your husband and file seperately. As your income is below the filing threshold, you would not be required to file a return on your own.

Edited March 17, 2011 by zyggy