Filed tax return as single

[George & Gina 29]

the link http://www.irs.gov/p...rs-pdf/p519.pdf refers to alien residing in US, but my wife is in UK,

thanks

how can i get ITIN number for my wife?

Is there a form i need to file to to amendment

thanks

Specifically, look at pages 10 and 26 of publication 519.

[Casprd 167]

READ IRS DOCUMENT 519--it has all the answers--the advice you are getting here is mixed--ITIN is for aliens living in the US--usually illegally--doesn't help in your situation.

Absolutely not true. The W-7 instructions clearly account for aliens who are not US residents. The tricky thing is the supporting documents. In my experience, anything that is not notarized by the US consulate will be rejected by the ITIN department. Regardless, an easier route is file married and separate, but include her name then when she gets a SSN, amend the return to married and joint.

[chinapetitioner 0]

I am in a similar situation as that of the originator of this post. When reading the IRS Form 1040 instructions, I was able to determine that "Head of Household" is the appropriate tax status when one's spouse is still abroad. Possibly "Head of Household" is the proper status in this case. Other VJ subscribers, please offer insights.

[baba27 0]

I just made amendment on turbo tax, they asked me to mail it , where should i mail it, and it has 36 pages, should i send all of them to IRS,

thnaks

[Done--Really 331]

This is not a one size fits all problem. There are several options and they are laid out in 519--we took the easy way out and filed for an extension since we will almost certainly be together in the US within a couple of months and will have a SS# for her, but that won't work for everyone.

[chinapetitioner 0]

Question for Ryan H:

For which country's consulates have you seen the "single" status become a problem? If the spouse was abroad for the entire year, "single" appears to be a valid tax status, whether married or not. But maybe the "single" status on the tax return is viewed as evidence of an illegitimate marriage by some consulates (?)

Questions for magical:

You seem to be well-versed in these matters. If the spouse is abroad for the whole year, with no U.S. income, then wouldn't "married filing separately" be inappropriate? And, digressing a bit toward the one-year versus three-years problem: if the 864 Form allows petitioners to offer just one year's tax return, is it absolutely necessary to provide three year's tax returns?

[Done--Really 331]

In general we all want to file taxes that result in the lowest tax bill overall--that usually means married filing jointly, particularly when there are tax credits the way there have been the last couple of years.

One way to address this is to opt in to married filing jointly even though our spouse may have lived outside the US for the entire 2010 tax year--it is all laid out in IRS 519-it will add several hundred $$ to our refulnd for 2010 because of tax credits, although in our case it will be delayed until Emma has her SS#--hopefully in a couple of months. By filing for an extension, we don't have to face any of the other decisions for the moment.

For some reason there is a tremendous amount of emotion around this question of how to file when the IRS has it all laid out in 519. Not suggesting it is easy reading, but it is all there.

As to one year or three years income history for 864, do what makes it look better for the CO, although there have been plenty of stories here where the CO wanted to see the history even though it is not officially required.

[Done--Really 331]

Casprd--you are technically correct, but the conditions may not apply to the majority of the folks here, so we are all remiss in making statements as if every case is the same:

Who Must Apply

· A nonresident alien individual eligible to get the benefit of using

reduced withholding under an income tax treaty. See Pub. 515,

Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities.

· A nonresident alien individual not eligible for an SSN who is

required to file a U.S. tax return or who is filing a U.S. tax return.

only to claim a refund.

· A nonresident alien individual not eligible for an SSN who elects to file a joint U.S. tax return with a spouse who is a U.S. citizen or resident alien.

· A U.S. resident alien (based on the substantial presence test) who files a U.S. tax return but who is not eligible for an SSN. For information about the substantial presence test, see Pub. information.

519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

· An alien spouse claimed as an exemption on a U.S. tax return who is not eligible to get an SSN.

· An alien individual eligible to be claimed as a dependent on a

U.S. tax return but who is not eligible to get an SSN. To determine if an alien individual is eligible to be claimed as a dependent on a U.S. tax return, see Pub. 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, and Pub. 519.

[chinapetitioner 0]

magical, thanks for your timely response and I wish much felizidad for you and Emma.

baba27, my only suggestion is the same as in my previous post: "Head of Household" tax status may be perfectly legitimate and also imply the matrimony for the consulate.

[Eric-Pris 1,606]

You should still have filed married and separate. You don't need her SSN for this.

Actually, you do need the spouse's SSN, even for MFS. Do what Nich-Nick wrote.

[magdasal 19]

I had a similar issue...getting an ITIN was simply not feasible because, given her remote location, the level of travel, expense and time for my wife would have been very large. I had already filed my 2010 taxes as single...but I was determined to file an amended return to show may status as married because I believed single status might work against us in the interview.

I called the IRS and explained the situation. After researching the problem, the very helpful agent informed me that I could file a married filing separate with no ITIN...I just couldn't claim any tax benifit (i.e., couldn't use my married status to reduce my taxes) if I didn't have an ITIN.

No problem...I can amend again later when she gets here and get that nice tax refund. For now, I just want her here with me.

[Done--Really 331]

You have it right, magdasal

Too many people make it much tougher than it has to be and also there are heavy emotions where there needn't be any

[Eric-Pris 1,606]

If the spouse was abroad for the entire year, "single" appears to be a valid tax status, whether married or not. But maybe the "single" status on the tax return is viewed as evidence of an illegitimate marriage by some consulates (?)

If you are married, then you have 2 choices when filing a tax return: Married Filing Jointly and Married Filing Separately. It does NOT matter where your wife is. Married people have to file as married. Head of Household is NOT an option, if you are married. This is a category for unmarried people with a qualifying child.

Edited June 12, 2011 by Eric-Pris

[Done--Really 331]

Hey Eric

Where are you in CR?? Or are you in the US full time??

Edited June 12, 2011 by magical

[chinapetitioner 0]

If you are married, then you have 2 choices when filing a tax return: Married Filing Jointly and Married Filing Separately. It does NOT matter where your wife is. Married people have to file as married. Head of Household is NOT an option, if you are married. This is a category for unmarried people with a qualifying child.

On the contrary, Head of Household also applies if "You are married but lived apart from your spouse for the last six months of 2010..."

See IRS Form 1040 Instructions, http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040.pdf