taxes - filing single vs filing married

[Matt1968 13]

If you file your taxes there are some things you can get tax credits for (this makes you pay less tax). The education credit should not affect your scholarship - it is just a tax break that you could get for any out of pocket education expense.

To anyone filing "Married Filing Joint" - be very aware that you need to report you total INTERNATIONAL income. If your spouse is making any money this need to be reflected on your tax return. You can re-claim any international taxes paid. "Married Filing Joint" almost always results in less taxes paid. So if possible - do the extra work and file this way.

Agreed. I think the extra legwork is worth it to file "married filing Jointly". My return with MFJ was double what I would have gotten if i filed MFS, and the extra money can definately come in handy with the new wife and daughter. You can claim your spouses wages(if they made anything) on the form 2555. I think the max exclusionary amount was 92,600 or somewhere around there. My wife made no where near that, but I still put it on my 1040 or I should say Turbo tax did, and then it subtracted the same amount. What I sent in, and was reviewed by an acceptance agent was:

-Completed 1040, signed by me and my spouse

-Declaration letter, saying she wanted to be treated as a resident alien for the entire year for tax purposes, signed by me and my spouse.

-Form 2555 (turbo tax did this automatically)

-Form W-7 signed by my wife and the acceptance agent.

-notarized passport bio page of my spouse.

-The agent also included a letter with my forms. The letter was signed by him and basically stated he checked all the paperwork and my spouse's ID and everything was good to go. Meaning whoever receives my packet doesn't have to check it, they can just process it.

Quick note, if you're confused about the 2555 form, like I was, Turbo tax does it automatically for you when you select other income, and then follow the prompts.

Matt

Edited February 11, 2012 by Matt1968

[yachachiq12 43]

You still haven't read Pub 519 have you?

Please read page 9 and then reply, not before.

If your spouse is not a resident then you only have a choice of filing single/head of household (based on your circumstance) or make the declaration and file married filing jointly. You may not under any circumstance file married filing separately unless your spouse is actually a resident (substantial presence or green card will meet this requirement)

You also have to consider the effect of a tax treaty which in general will say that you owe tax to the country with which you have the closer ties.

Please please go read the publication it's quite short.

Can you quote the relevant part? I have read Pub 519 and the section you refer to and do not see where it says a married person can file single.

[Alex B 9]

Can you quote the relevant part? I have read Pub 519 and the section you refer to and do not see where it says a married person can file single.

Absolutely:

Choosing Resident Alien Status

If you are a dual-status alien, you can choose to be treated as a U.S. resident for the entire year if all of the following apply.

You were a nonresident alien at the beginning of the year.

You are a resident alien or U.S. citizen at the end of the year.

You are married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of the year.

Your spouse joins you in making the choice.

This includes situations in which both you and your spouse were nonresident aliens at the beginning of the tax year and both of you are resident aliens at the end of the tax year.

Note.

If you are single at the end of the year, you cannot make this choice.

If you make this choice, the following rules apply.

You and your spouse are treated as U.S. residents for the entire year for income tax purposes.

You and your spouse are taxed on worldwide income.

You and your spouse must file a joint return for the year of the choice.

Neither you nor your spouse can make this choice for any later tax year, even if you are separated, divorced, or remarried.

The special instructions and restrictions for dual-status taxpayers in chapter 6 do not apply to you.

Note.

A similar choice is available if, at the end of the tax year, one spouse is a nonresident alien and the other spouse is a U.S. citizen or resident. See Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident , later. If you previously made that choice and it is still in effect, you do not need to make the choice explained here.

Making the choice. You should attach a statement signed by both spouses to your joint return for the year of the choice. The statement must contain the following information.

A declaration that you both qualify to make the choice and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year.

The name, address, and taxpayer identification number (SSN or ITIN) of each spouse. (If one spouse died, include the name and address of the person who makes the choice for the deceased spouse.)

You generally make this choice when you file your joint return. However, you also can make the choice by filing Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. Attach Form 1040, Form 1040A, or Form 1040EZ and print “Amended” across the top of the corrected return. If you make the choice with an amended return, you and your spouse must also amend any returns that you may have filed after the year for which you made the choice.

You generally must file the amended joint return within 3 years from the date you filed your original U.S. income tax return or 2 years from the date you paid your income tax for that year, whichever is later.

Now the later bit... (sorry, forgot this is original post)

Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident

If, at the end of your tax year, you are married and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien and the other spouse is a nonresident alien, you can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident. This includes situations in which one spouse is a nonresident alien at the beginning of the tax year, but a resident alien at the end of the year, and the other spouse is a nonresident alien at the end of the year.

If you make this choice, you and your spouse are treated for income tax purposes as residents for your entire tax year. Neither you nor your spouse can claim under any tax treaty not to be a U.S. resident. You are both taxed on worldwide income. You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice, but you and your spouse can file joint or separate returns in later years.

If you file a joint return under this provision, the special instructions and restrictions for dual-status taxpayers in chapter 6 do not apply to you.

Example.

Bob and Sharon Williams are married and both are nonresident aliens at the beginning of the year. In June, Bob became a resident alien and remained a resident for the rest of the year. Bob and Sharon both choose to be treated as resident aliens by attaching a statement to their joint return. Bob and Sharon must file a joint return for the year they make the choice, but they can file either joint or separate returns for later years.

How To Make the Choice

Attach a statement, signed by both spouses, to your joint return for the first tax year for which the choice applies. It should contain the following information.

A declaration that one spouse was a nonresident alien and the other spouse a U.S. citizen or resident alien on the last day of your tax year, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year.

The name, address, and identification number of each spouse. (If one spouse died, include the name and address of the person making the choice for the deceased spouse.)

Amended return. You generally make this choice when you file your joint return. However, you can also make the choice by filing a joint amended return on Form 1040X. Attach Form 1040, Form 1040A, or Form 1040EZ and print “Amended” across the top of the corrected return. If you make the choice with an amended return, you and your spouse must also amend any returns that you may have filed after the year for which you made the choice.

You generally must file the amended joint return within 3 years from the date you filed your original U.S. income tax return or 2 years from the date you paid your income tax for that year, whichever is later.

If you file married-jointly without the declaration and you have a non-resident alien for a spouse then you have committed fraud because in all likelihood you have received a bigger tax credit than you are due.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Alex B

[scott76 22]

Go to a tax specialist. You have a complicated enough tax return that it makes sense to pay the money and see one.

If you don't want to pan out the money for a tax specialist, use turbo tax or something that can guide you through it - and I would use a more advanced version of turbo tax if I went that route.

I wouldn't listen to anyone on a chat forum about your taxes. My mother is brilliant and a VP of a large corporation and I don't even think I'd trust her in this situation (no offense to your mom).

[Orando 57]

In IRS publication 501, a person can be considered unmarried if they meet certain qualifications. Filing head of household has more requirements as well.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#en_US_2011_publink1000220736

Considered Unmarried

To qualify for head of household status, you must be either unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. You are considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following tests.

You file a separate return (defined earlier under Joint Return After Separate Returns ).

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year.

Your spouse did not live in your home during the last 6 months of the tax year. Your spouse is considered to live in your home even if he or she is temporarily absent due to special circumstances. See Temporary absences , later.

Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year. (See Home of qualifying person , later, for rules applying to a child's birth, death, or temporary absence during the year.)

You must be able to claim an exemption for the child. However, you meet this test if you cannot claim the exemption only because the noncustodial parent can claim the child using the rules described later in Children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart under Qualifying Child or in Support Test for Children of Divorced or Separated Parents or Parents Who Live Apart under Qualifying Relative. The general rules for claiming an exemption for a dependent are explained later under Exemptions for Dependents

Head of Household

You may be able to file as head of household if you meet all the following requirements.

You are unmarried or “considered unmarried” on the last day of the year.

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.

A “qualifying person” lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school). However, if the “qualifying person” is your dependent parent, he or she does not have to live with you. See Special rule for parent , later, under Qualifying Person.

[Orando 57]

Go to a tax specialist. You have a complicated enough tax return that it makes sense to pay the money and see one.

If you don't want to pan out the money for a tax specialist, use turbo tax or something that can guide you through it - and I would use a more advanced version of turbo tax if I went that route.

I wouldn't listen to anyone on a chat forum about your taxes. My mother is brilliant and a VP of a large corporation and I don't even think I'd trust her in this situation (no offense to your mom).

It is always a good idea to check up on so called specialists (in any field), do independent research and get 2nd opinions. Education and certifications do not prevent incompetence and mal-practice and does not guarantee receiving good advice simply because someone presents themselves as a specialist. I would recommend getting a trusted referral for a competent tax preparer. Fortunately for me, my tax preparer is competent and has done my taxes since I started earning income back in the 90s.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Absolutely:

<snip>

Can you point out where in your post it says married people can file as single? Because all I see is discussion about resident status, not method of filing.

[yachachiq12 43]

Can you point out where in your post it says married people can file as single? Because all I see is discussion about resident status, not method of filing.

Agreed. They're still not backing up the claim that a married person can file as "single." I understand how they may be able to file "head of household" instead in some cases, but not "single." I'm not getting that from Pub 519...

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Agreed. They're still not backing up the claim that a married person can file as "single." I understand how they may be able to file "head of household" instead in some cases, but not "single." I'm not getting that from Pub 519...

Agreed. that's what others are saying. Filing as head of household is possible, but not "single". There's a big difference between "considered unmarried" and filing as "single".

[ceadsearc 516]

Agreed. that's what others are saying. Filing as head of household is possible, but not "single". There's a big difference between "considered unmarried" and filing as "single".

That's what I see as well. The IRS website provides a guide to choosing filing status as well (linked previously in this post, I believe) that outlines exactly when a person can and cannot file under a certain category. As far as I can see, the only time a married person can file as single is if they are legally separated. As mentioned, sometimes they can file as head of household but that is different from single.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

That's what I see as well. The IRS website provides a guide to choosing filing status as well (linked previously in this post, I believe) that outlines exactly when a person can and cannot file under a certain category. As far as I can see, the only time a married person can file as single is if they are legally separated. As mentioned, sometimes they can file as head of household but that is different from single.

I'll add a fourth in agreement with the above.

Edited February 12, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[Carlos' Wife 9]

I can only speak from my experience last year. my husband and I were married in may 2010. he was not living in the united states yet when I filed our taxes in 2011. I solicited adviced from this board and from a tax professional. the conclusion for us was that we filed "married filing jointly". we had to get an itin number for him since he did not have a social security number yet. the hole process was somewhat complicated and we paid for a tax preparer to do everything. our tax refund took a few months to receive because none of the paperwork could be filed electronically, it all had to be sent by us postal mail. hope that helps!

[easyriders2011 14]

To put it in perspective, my wife lives in Brazil. I did the math and if I file married/separate I would get a refund of only 1/6th of what I would get back filing married/jointly. It might be more of a hassle to file jointly but from a tax perspective it benefits my situation. He will need to get an ITIN (see the IRS.GOV website on how to apply for one) before you would be able to file jointly.

That is where you are incorrect.

I tried to be proactive and file the W-7 to get my wife's ITN number back in August so when tax time came around I would have it and I could file jointly. My W-7 petition was denied. When I called up the IRS and spoke with their Tax Law Division, they gave me the reasons for the denial.

The primary denial reason was because I had failed to include the tax return... Tax return???? what tax return, we were married in 2011 and I hadn't filed 2011 yet because it was still August. EXACTLY!!!!, they wanted me to file normally and include the W-7 form, along with a letter from my wife indicating that she wanted to be classified for tax purposes as a resident alien for 2011. This will delay your refund for a while because it will need to go to Austin to the ITN division and they will do their thing and then process your tax return.

This is from the IRS' own tax lawywer division. so I would assume it is the correct info. I have decided to wait to file until my wife gets here assuming she gets here by June or so, and I just filed a 2011 tax filing extension (which is good until Oct). As a US citizen it is within your rights to file an extension and there are no penalties (if you don't owe any taxes)for doing this. That way when she gets here and gets her SSN I can just send off the completed tax return with no hassles and the time frame should be about the same anyways if I had to wait for the ITN division to do their thing first.

[troutcat 41]

Excellent question! You are married, so you may NOT file as single. Single is a legal status, not a living arrangement. Once you get lawfully married, your legal status is married, even if your husband lives abroad. If your husband lives with you, you are married. If your husband lives in the Dominican Republic, you are married. If your husband lives on the Space Station - married. You may file married-filing-separately, or married-filing-jointly, but you cannot file as single, as you are NOT single. The easy thing to do is to call the IRS help line, and they will walk you through this. I called them last week with a related question, and they walked me through this step just to be certain I understood my filing status. Tell them you need help determining your filing status, and they will talk you through it. (It sounds like you are lawfully married to a non-resident alien. There are a couple of ways you can file your taxes, but claiming that you are single is NOT one of them.)

It is great that you are looking to the forums for advice. This is a great time - this is the perfect time - to learn how to file your taxes, and to learn how to read and understand and correct your return if it is prepared by someone else.

[Shenzhen 34]

This is all so confusing and annoying! So if I end up filing married but separate does this mean I still have to fill out that w-7 form where he has to sign, and I have to put down what he makes. I've been told it's fine to file single, I just don't know if all the extra hassle to file married is worth it. He is not even here!!!!

Here's what my accountant did even though I didn't like it. He filed single I was married for 2 years while I was waiting for her to arrive. I told him I needed to file amended returns for being married. He said I can't do that. Well I fired him. Found another accountant to file for me 2 amended returns after she got here and we got her ssn. I tried the w-7 route I was sent everything back because she didn't file a return with the w-7. She didn't work so I ended up getting some nice returns back. It is very hard to get what they call an I.T.I.N number it's like a temporary ssn. Oh if you don't file your taxes and he is waiting to get here that won't work. I was planning on filing late until she arrived. Turns out that was a mistake on my lawyers part he never told me I must file my taxes in order for her to get her visa. If she passed the interview we would have gotten a blue slip for me not filing last years taxes. I am paying these people accountants and lawyers big money for bad advice. Needless to say I had to rush and get my taxes filed (single) then when she got here I filed the amended returns all turned out well.