2011 Income Tax - Wife Awaiting I-130 Approval

[oabdelra 2]

Hey all I need help in determing whether I can put my wife on my 2011 income tax. We were married in June, 2011 and we're still waiting for the i-130 approval. She does not have a social security number and I have every right to claim her since I have been sending money, etc... I understand there may be an option to get her a temporary tax ID number (ITIN) by filing a W-7. Is that possible? What do I need to make this happen?

Any information would help! Thanks!

[kokylolo 7]

You can file married filing joint and yes you need to get an ITIN number for her. However, I caution you as filing with a non-resident alien spouse disqualifies you for many credits. You should ASK a tax professional that understands this issue.

[alizon 77]

You can file married filing joint and yes you need to get an ITIN number for her. However, I caution you as filing with a non-resident alien spouse disqualifies you for many credits. You should ASK a tax professional that understands this issue.

From what I've been reading, in order to file jointly, you have to elect to treat your spouse as a resident alien for tax purposes. Not sure what credits you're saying the OP would be disqualified for, but he wouldn't be filing with a non-resident alien spouse, technically. So if you want to file jointly, you're going to have to deal with your spouse's income as well, though I think you can exclude up to a certain amount because her "tax home" is in another country.

I'm planning to file jointly, and I'm going to a professional to make sure I don't screw it up!

Here's info from the IRS: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96734,00.html

Edited January 22, 2012 by alizon

[kokylolo 7]

From what I've been reading, in order to file jointly, you have to elect to treat your spouse as a resident alien for tax purposes. Not sure what credits you're saying the OP would be disqualified for, but he wouldn't be filing with a non-resident alien spouse, technically. So if you want to file jointly, you're going to have to deal with your spouse's income as well, though I think you can exclude up to a certain amount because her "tax home" is in another country.

I'm planning to file jointly, and I'm going to a professional to make sure I don't screw it up!

Here's info from the IRS: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96734,00.html

Yes you have to treat them as a resident alien but they are still a non resident alien and if you call the IRS (I spoke with them about this issue)they will tell you their status will disqualify you from certain credits. Not that he qualifies for any, but he should be aware. I also read up on the topic, but decided to make the call to the IRS. They didn't volunteer the information about the non resident status disqualifying certain tax credits. I had to ask some specific questions.

[Americangirl10 1]

So so glad u asked this question, I was just about to post one similar. I have a dependent, so does anyone know if I still have the option to file head of household?? I seriously don't want to mess anything up, especially since I have to submit my tax forms later within this process!

[kokylolo 7]

So so glad u asked this question, I was just about to post one similar. I have a dependent, so does anyone know if I still have the option to file head of household?? I seriously don't want to mess anything up, especially since I have to submit my tax forms later within this process!

Yes, you can file Head of Household and take any credits that your dependent qualifies you for. If you filed married filing jointly, you would not get any of the credits. I have dependents and for me, only working half of the year, I had some significant credits. However, I would have lost them if I filed jointly.