taxes

[The Mean Lady 604]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought filing separately required to state your spouses name which would mean the IRS would be looking for a separate return from your spouse. Which would never come. I'm not sure, however, what the difference in tax breaks even is in single/vs married separate. Maybe it's just for classification purposes like a census. If there's no difference in the payout, not sure how you could get in trouble lol

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

I went to that link and answered the questions. It said married filed separately. so how come it didnt say to file single???? esp since she living in another country last 6 months? whats the deal?

That "not living with your for the last 6 months of the year" is only relevant if you have children living with you. In that case instead of filing as Married you can file as Head of Household.

[rade2rising 205]

That "not living with your for the last 6 months of the year" is only relevant if you have children living with you. In that case instead of filing as Married you can file as Head of Household.

thanks buddy

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought filing separately required to state your spouses name which would mean the IRS would be looking for a separate return from your spouse. Which would never come. I'm not sure, however, what the difference in tax breaks even is in single/vs married separate. Maybe it's just for classification purposes like a census. If there's no difference in the payout, not sure how you could get in trouble lol

You are correct that when you file as Married Filing Separately you must show your spouses name and SSN. If your spouse is a Non-Resident Alien you just write "NRA" in the area where you would normally write in their SSN. There are differences between filing as Single vs. Married Filing Separately when it comes to claiming itemized deductions and credits.

[The Mean Lady 604]

You are correct that when you file as Married Filing Separately you must show your spouses name and SSN. If your spouse is a Non-Resident Alien you just write "NRA" in the area where you would normally write in their SSN. There are differences between filing as Single vs. Married Filing Separately when it comes to claiming itemized deductions and credits.

Gotchya. I file a 1040EZ so I've never itemized anything =]

[Elxan 4]

You are correct that when you file as Married Filing Separately you must show your spouses name and SSN. If your spouse is a Non-Resident Alien you just write "NRA" in the area where you would normally write in their SSN. There are differences between filing as Single vs. Married Filing Separately when it comes to claiming itemized deductions and credits.

Thanks for all these detailed information.

Are you an accountant by profession ?

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Thanks for all these detailed information.

Are you an accountant by profession ?

I have a BBA in Accounting and I am in my 33rd year of being an IRS Agent.

Edited November 11, 2012 by CarlosAndSveta

[The Mean Lady 604]

I have a BBA in Accounting and I am in my 33rd year of being an IRS Agent.

Are you one of those general IRS agents that I probably hung up on 100 times last year?

Oh man those guys drove me nuts. I filed for my husband's ITIN number and only SOMETIMES would they want to give me information regarding the status which ultimately reflected the status of MY refund so it was silly. Kept having to hang up and get someone else.

Then once, this lady is checkin the status of my refund, and she wants the name of my previous employer so I tell her, forgetting that they filed taxes under some goofy name. Well, my mom and I worked for the same place, so she hears me ask my mom what goofy name they used to file under and the lady is like OH NO I CANT HELP YOU NOW!

[indiana_sweetie 120]

I'm no expert in taxes, but maybe my experience will help someone. I use TurboTax simply because I'm self-employed and it makes it easier for me to slog through the details. When the program got done asking me questions it put me as Head of Household (hubby has never been to the USA). A couple of notes here. If you file with TurboTax, and your spouse has no SS number and no ITIN number you must PRINT and MAIL your return. The reason is TurboTax will not complete a return with no number for your spouse. There are specific instructions in the Help area on how to do this. It involves a bottle of white-out. Then you must write in the box "ITIN applied for" and mail your taxes to the ITIN processing center in Texas along with a completed ITIN form (W-7) and the supporting document(s).

Also, they are really strict now regarding the document(s) submitted to get an ITIN. I can't tell you how many times I called the IRS for help, and most of the time they were no help. Some things to remember.

*The person who needs the ITIN must sign the W-7.

*Section 2 must be a USA mailing address.

*If you are submitting copies of documents the copies must be made by the agency that maintains the original documents.

*If you get a rejection letter, pay attention to the date the application expires. You might need another signed W-7.

*The people at the ITIN center only want to talk to the applicant. They have a phone number for overseas calls, but they won't tell you much more than what the rejection letter says, other than what is in the computer - reason of rejection.

The first time my hubby sent a copy of his passport, he misunderstood, and made the copy himself and then took it in to be certified. It was rejected by the ITIN people. Since I had paid my taxes and filed for an extension of time to file, I waited until I visited hubby in Kosovo and we went together to get the certified copy. It can be confusing. Things get lost in translation when trying to explain why a certified copy can get rejected.

After a wild goose-chase of visiting agencies that kept sending us somewhere else (no one could figure out who the issuing agency for a passport was) we finally ended up at the Municipality. A nice gentleman who seemed knowledgeable made the copy and stamped it front and back and signed it on the back. He also recorded the number of the stamp in a book.

Thankfully I was there to witness this. When I sent the new W-7 with the certified copy of hubby's passport, I also included a letter stating that I, a US citizen, witnessed the copy being made and the certification and the signature...bla bla bla. I received a rejection letter!! So I called. After explaining why I needed to call and hubby couldn't, she finally agreed to talk to me...asked for case number, etc. Then she told me, ignore the rejection notice, the ITIN application is accepted and the number is being sent in the mail. I believe the rejection was a knee-jerk reaction to the document but my letter gave them second thoughts. (I now have his ITIN!)

Also, they prefer original documents. I could have taken his drivers license and ID card home with me, but getting them back to him would be risky. First of all, the ITIN people will return it, but not until maybe a month has passed. Then I would need to mail the documents back to hubby, a risky thing to do considering how things get lost in the mail. I suppose I could have done FedEX....didn't look into that.

I hope my experience helps someone else needing to go the ITIN route.

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Are you one of those general IRS agents that I probably hung up on 100 times last year?

Oh man those guys drove me nuts. I filed for my husband's ITIN number and only SOMETIMES would they want to give me information regarding the status which ultimately reflected the status of MY refund so it was silly. Kept having to hang up and get someone else.

Then once, this lady is checkin the status of my refund, and she wants the name of my previous employer so I tell her, forgetting that they filed taxes under some goofy name. Well, my mom and I worked for the same place, so she hears me ask my mom what goofy name they used to file under and the lady is like OH NO I CANT HELP YOU NOW!

Most of the people that work for the IRS answering tax questions on the phone are not IRS Agents. An IRS Agent normally conducts audits of businesses. I work in the Large Business & International division.

[The Mean Lady 604]

Unless this changed this year, your claims on copies aren't true.

For 2010, I sent a copy of my husbands passport and didn't notice it said notarized.

After 2 months, I noticed the mistake and sent in the notarized version.

They denied it another 2 months later saying the stamp was expired (not true).

This year, for 2011's taxes, I notarized the same document AGAIN using the SAME stamp, and all was approved.

The most hilarious part was when I called the IRS last year regarding the denial letter.

She wouldn't talk to me regarding it and wanted to talk to my husband, not a problem, he's right next to me.

So she starts asking him what he submitted as proof, and he starts asking me because I DID ALL OF THE PAPERWORK!

The lady is freaking out on the phone saying she can't ask him so he finally gets pissed and hangs up and I call back.

I ask to speak to a supervisor, get the SAME girl who says she IS the supervisor

After another 30 minutes, she finally just tells me my taxes were processed as single and should be in my account in approx 48 hours.

Most of the people that work for the IRS answering tax questions on the phone are not IRS Agents. An IRS Agent normally conducts audits of businesses. I work in the Large Business & International division.

Oh good. Then you're still awesome in my book

[destiny64 222]

That "not living with your for the last 6 months of the year" is only relevant if you have children living with you. In that case instead of filing as Married you can file as Head of Household.

Yes your right, I didn't write that important fact

[Darnell 8,478]

My wife and I have filed as 'married filing jointly' these last 2 tax seasons.

She has an ITIN, and life is good.

[rade2rising 205]

My wife and I have filed as 'married filing jointly' these last 2 tax seasons.

She has an ITIN, and life is good.

you get a bigger refund than if you file separtate?

[The Mean Lady 604]

you get a bigger refund than if you file separtate?

Oh yes.