Specific Tax Filing Scenario - Married with less than 31 days to go in 2011.

[lubnajavid 20]

@bebop - fwiw - i got married last year - you are considered married for the entire year - if you were married on dec 31st.

i will file a w-7 that my wife will sign (on my upcoming trip), a statement from her asking to be considered a resident for 2011 for tax purposes only (as stated above - that is exact text from the IRS site) and of course the 2011 tax return.

Since she worked last year - i will be using the 2555 form also to exclude her foreign income.

I did all research with the help of the local tax office (twice met with them in person) and then double checked everyting myself against the irs website.

Then i prepared my taxes with turbotax online - most convenient way i have found - and then bought the download version from that big river site

you can then import your online prepared return and print everything (online preparing costs nothing until you file)

My wife spent no days in the US last year - thats why the statement from her (which we will both sign)

I will take in the entire set of forms with the w-7 on top - to the local tax office who said they will send it to the austin office who process the w-7 applications.

Edited March 17, 2012 by lubnajavid

[bigdog 376]

Good Luck, this all worked for us on our initial filing last year.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hmm so even though I don't meet the requirement to file as a resident alien I still can?

This is what's confusing me. Some people say that even as a NR I can write a letter to ask to be treated as a resident alien, but the IRS site says I need to have spent 31 consecutive days in the US to do that.

It's a pretty big deal as us filing jointly and excluding my income leads to a $1000 return, and her filing separately and me not filing (I don't meet the requirements to file as a NR-alien), means she owes $1k.

You get a special perk from the IRS for being married to a US citizen. You both write and sign that statement and magically you ARE a resident alien to the IRS. You can stop reading anything referring to non-reidents or requirements for non-residents. They do not apply to you because of that statement electing to be treated as a resident makes you one in the eyes of the IRS. You will have to include any income you earned abroad from Jan 1, 2011 until you arrivered in the US, but it gets excluded on gorm 2555 or 2555EZ.

Here's a TurboTax walk-thru thread. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/354422-2011-turbotax-w-foreign-income-to-report/

I suggest you buy the desktop edition. I use the $29 version but I don't need a state income tax version.

I will say TurboTax is way messed up this year with foreign bank accounts because of a new form 8938 to report the value of any money in accounts overseas. Hopefully you brought your money with you and didn't leave assets exceeding $100,000 in a foreign country to complicate your tax return.