Taxxxxxxxxxes!

[indreams 0]

How the heck am I supposed to file my taxes when my husband was not in the U.S. for all of 2005 (& thus never worked in the U.S.)? He's a K3 Visa holder with no EAD (but it's been filed for) & no Social Security Number. He did have income from Canada.

I've been trying to figure this out for days, reading here & the IRS website. Yes, I know I need to just call the IRS helpline. Sigh.

[Gurney 0]

Canadian Taxes online website http://www.intuit.ca

You can do your Canadian Taxes on this website and e-file if you call Revenue Canada for a efile number. You file Canadian Taxes for the Province you lived in at the time of earnings. You do not have to file in the US for earnings in Canada before moving only for money earned in the US after.

[indreams 0]

Eeep, sorry...I meant that I'm the U.S. Citizen trying to figure out how to do my U.S. taxes while having a Canadian spouse. I'm sorry, I'm an idiot

Edited March 1, 2006 by indreams

[de_sjiem 0]

I know you will at least need to file for an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) on a W-7 attached to your federal taxes to do the married filing jointly thing.. The W-7 is not that hard to fill out.. And once you get his ITIN then you can use that on State and Local taxes if you have to do those as well...

Here's a link to the IRS section on ITIN's..

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html

You will also have to figure out residency for the year of 2005 and attach a statement stating your choice..

Read this thread for more info:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=321

Also, I think you will have to declare some or all of your husbands income on there.. Unfortunately I didn't earn anything last year at all (here or in Canada) so i'm not sure how that's done.. hopefully somoene else can chime in here???

Good luck! Also, you can call the IRS for more information, or you can go to Taxpayer Assistance Centers for help...they will even help fill out all your tax forms if you made less than 38,000 I think...

Edited March 1, 2006 by de_sjiem

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Eeep, sorry...I meant that I'm the U.S. Citizen trying to figure out how to do my U.S. taxes while having a Canadian spouse. I'm sorry, I'm an idiot

If you were married as of 12/31/05, file married / jointly. File W-7 with the 1040 if your hubby doesn't get a SSN prior to filing deadline. His CA income needs to be declared and then you use 2555-EZ to figure what part of it will be exempt from US taxation. This should work better than filing married/separate which is your other option. Whether or not your husband resided in the US doesn't really matter - you can choose (simple letter signed by both with filing) to treat him as a resident for tax purposes. See publications 501 and 519 on www.irs.gov

Good Luck!

Edited March 1, 2006 by ET-US2004

[Flames9_RN 358]

Visit the canada forum here on VJ, lots of USA.CDN tax info

[indreams 0]

I know you will at least need to file for an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) on a W-7 attached to your federal taxes to do the married filing jointly thing.. The W-7 is not that hard to fill out.. And once you get his ITIN then you can use that on State and Local taxes if you have to do those as well...

Here's a link to the IRS section on ITIN's..

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html

I checked the ITIN information before I posted, & the very top of the form says "DO NOT SUBMIT THIS FORM IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN A U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER" My husband is eligible - the only problem is we're scared that he won't get his Social Security Number before April 15th (He had biometrics taken last week for his EAD...) I can't file my taxes without him having a Social Security number. Gahhhhh.

You will also have to figure out residency for the year of 2005 and attach a statement stating your choice..

Read this thread for more info:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=321

He wasn't inside the U.S. for any day or second or moment of 2005, he entered the U.S. in 2004 (when we got married) & 2006 (last month).

Also, you can call the IRS for more information, or you can go to Taxpayer Assistance Centers for help...they will even help fill out all your tax forms if you made less than 38,000 I think...

I'll be calling the IRS helpline number tomorrow...I didn't mean to get snippy at all in this post, I understand that you & anyone else is literally just trying to help me & I am endlessly thankful for that. And I apologize for not being more clear about the situation. You did help because I read the VJ thread you linked & now I understand that my husband is a non resident alien.

But yeah, I give up, I'm calling the IRS tomorrow because it's too late today.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I checked the ITIN information before I posted, & the very top of the form says "DO NOT SUBMIT THIS FORM IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN A U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER" My husband is eligible - the only problem is we're scared that he won't get his Social Security Number before April 15th (He had biometrics taken last week for his EAD...) I can't file my taxes without him having a Social Security number. Gahhhhh.

If your husband is eligible for a SSN, then go and get it. If you can't because your K3 husband does not have his EAD yet, then he is NOT eligible for a SSN (as of yet and that's all that matters) and you may file for an ITIN. It's as simple as that. Really.

He wasn't inside the U.S. for any day or second or moment of 2005, he entered the U.S. in 2004 (when we got married) & 2006 (last month).

You did help because I read the VJ thread you linked & now I understand that my husband is a non resident alien.

Even if he was not in the US for any day in 2005, you may still choose to treat him as a resident for the tax year (as well as for 2004 if that is the year you got married) for tax purposes.

My wife and I filed married / jointly choosing to treat her as a resident for 2003 (as we were married as of 12/31/03) although she never set foot into the US until spring of 2004. Oh, and we obtained an ITIN for her as well as she was a K3 w/o EAD (and, thus, ineligible for a SSN) at the time of filing.

Edited March 1, 2006 by ET-US2004

[zyggy 9]

I checked the ITIN information before I posted, & the very top of the form says "DO NOT SUBMIT THIS FORM IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN A U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER" My husband is eligible - the only problem is we're scared that he won't get his Social Security Number before April 15th (He had biometrics taken last week for his EAD...) I can't file my taxes without him having a Social Security number. Gahhhhh.

If your husband is eligible for a SSN, then go and get it. If you can't because your K3 husband does not have his EAD yet, then he is NOT eligible for a SSN (as of yet and that's all that matters) and you may file for an ITIN. It's as simple as that. Really.

He wasn't inside the U.S. for any day or second or moment of 2005, he entered the U.S. in 2004 (when we got married) & 2006 (last month).

You did help because I read the VJ thread you linked & now I understand that my husband is a non resident alien.

Even if he was not in the US for any day in 2005, you may still choose to treat him as a resident for the tax year (as well as for 2004 if that is the year you got married) for tax purposes.

My wife and I filed married / jointly choosing to treat her as a resident for 2003 (as we were married as of 12/31/03) although she never set foot into the US until spring of 2004. Oh, and we obtained an ITIN for her as well as she was a K3 w/o EAD (and, thus, ineligible for a SSN) at the time of filing.

What Reinhard said... it's spot on...

[clloyd 0]

More questions should be asked, however. Is she eligible to file as head of household? How much is the income from Canada?

One needs to examine all possibilities before one can conclude what the best way to file is.

Of course, all I've done is make it more confusing.

[indreams 0]

But yeah, I give up, I'm calling the IRS tomorrow because it's too late today.

Just wanted to update that I called today, explained my situation thoroughly & was told I should not file for an ITIN because my husband is eligible for a SS# & could get one before April 15. The person I talked to said the best thing to do would be to file for a 6 month extension just in case my husband doesn't get a SS# before April 15. I can file my taxes anytime between now & October (of course we'll do our taxes the second he gets a SS#).

The IRS doesn't ask why you need an extension anymore, the extension form is a tiny half-page thing you just mail in & automatically get 6 months to file. So if there's anyone out there just waiting for their spouse to obtain a SS# & has to file taxes for 2005, I'd recommend getting the extension too. Keep in mind if you owe anything, you STILL have to pay by April 15.

http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=98155,00.html

[hoppers69 0]

Good thread info, thank you...but my wife is from Germany (we were married on July 29th 2005) and she had no income at all in germany or here in the USA. She got her social security # in Nov 2005 and EAD. I am filing married/jointly for 2005...but can I claim her as a dependent since she had no job and was here in the USA since May 2005? I thought I could, but it (TurboTax) says my dependent (my wife) cannot have the same social security number as my spouse and is an "error". Should I just drop her as a dependent and file my taxes without this?

Confused, and I did search before posting here...cant find anything about this.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Good thread info, thank you...but my wife is from Germany (we were married on July 29th 2005) and she had no income at all in germany or here in the USA. She got her social security # in Nov 2005 and EAD. I am filing married/jointly for 2005...but can I claim her as a dependent since she had no job and was here in the USA since May 2005? I thought I could, but it (TurboTax) says my dependent (my wife) cannot have the same social security number as my spouse and is an "error". Should I just drop her as a dependent and file my taxes without this?

Confused, and I did search before posting here...cant find anything about this.

File Married / Jointly. You get two exemptions (yours and hers) and standard deductions (unless you itemize) against your single income. That's as good as it's going to get. Wouldn't be any different if you had a USC spouse w/o income.

Just wanted to update that I called today, explained my situation thoroughly & was told I should not file for an ITIN because my husband is eligible for a SS# & could get one before April 15. The person I talked to said the best thing to do would be to file for a 6 month extension just in case my husband doesn't get a SS# before April 15. I can file my taxes anytime between now & October (of course we'll do our taxes the second he gets a SS#).

The IRS, of course, knows little about SSN eligibility. As I said earlier, if your husband is in K3 status and does not have his EAD, then he is not eligible for a SSN. The fact that he will eventually be eligible for a SSN has nothing to do with his eligibility to file for an ITIN at this point.

Of course, the IRS would rather have you file with his SSN and I would agree that it is better if you can indeed wait to file that return. Having filed with an ITIN for 2003 left us unable to file electronically for 2004 as the IRS still had the ITIN on file for my wife and the electronic submission was rejected because of the discrepancy of ITIN/SSN. So, we had to file paper one more time. On the other hand, we had a huge refund coming our way for 2003 and did not feel like waiting forever for it.

Edited March 2, 2006 by ET-US2004

[de_sjiem 0]

Of course, the IRS would rather have you file with his SSN and I would agree that it is better if you can indeed wait to file that return. Having filed with an ITIN for 2003 left us unable to file electronically for 2004 as the IRS still had the ITIN on file for my wife and the electronic submission was rejected because of the discrepancy of ITIN/SSN. So, we had to file paper one more time. On the other hand, we had a huge refund coming our way for 2003 and did not feel like waiting forever for it.

Just out of curiosity.. did you call the IRS to let them know that your wife had a SSN when she got one? could that have been why they had a discrepancy of ITIN/SSN? Just wondering for next year since i filed for an ITIN this year...

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Of course, the IRS would rather have you file with his SSN and I would agree that it is better if you can indeed wait to file that return. Having filed with an ITIN for 2003 left us unable to file electronically for 2004 as the IRS still had the ITIN on file for my wife and the electronic submission was rejected because of the discrepancy of ITIN/SSN. So, we had to file paper one more time. On the other hand, we had a huge refund coming our way for 2003 and did not feel like waiting forever for it.

Just out of curiosity.. did you call the IRS to let them know that your wife had a SSN when she got one? could that have been why they had a discrepancy of ITIN/SSN? Just wondering for next year since i filed for an ITIN this year...

Yes, I did call. They gave me an address (in TX) to send a notification to. I did that as instructed.

That didn't do a lot of good, though. Came the next year, they did not have Nani's SSN on file.