joint or single income tax

[vick&vandy 0]

This site is very helpful. I have filed 130 for my wife and stepson. Now its time to file income tax. I am USC. Should I file single tax return, cause filling married jointly looks difficult, cause I have to get ITIN number then I will be able to file.my wife is in india and IRS procedure to get ITIN looks hard. Would that be a problem at visa interview, if i

filed single income tax return here.please help.

[Cathi 5,748]

file married filing separately, you can't file single if you're married.

[The Mean Lady 604]

Married Separately: Paper form required, hand write NRA in space for foreign spouse's SSN

Married Joint: Paper form required, letter of election to treat spouse as a resident alien for tax purposes required, ITIN form required, notarized copy of passport from ISSUING AGENCY OR US CONSULATE required. There are other options if copy of passport unavailable. Please see instructions is it instead requires filing (2) forms of ID

Edited February 15, 2013 by KDH

[speedwell 224]

If you have dual citizenship, file for the ITIN with one passport and travel on the other.

Mimolicious is correct, you must file as married if you are married. No question about it. We've been hearing people's accountants and lawyers tell them to file as single. If any professional tells you that, they are talking out of their... uh, ear. Do not file single unless you were single on December 31 of the tax year.

[vick&vandy 0]

Whose passport needed to get ITIN ? passport from the USC or the Benefic

iary.

[The Mean Lady 604]

Whose passport needed to get ITIN ? passport from the USC or the Benefic

iary.

The USC has a SSN.

So the Alien is the one that needs an ITIN.

[Tegeras 5]

This site is very helpful. I have filed 130 for my wife and stepson. Now its time to file income tax. I am USC. Should I file single tax return, cause filling married jointly looks difficult, cause I have to get ITIN number then I will be able to file.my wife is in india and IRS procedure to get ITIN looks hard. Would that be a problem at visa interview, if i

filed single income tax return here.please help.

I just received an ITIN number for my wife yesterday. It is not hard especially this time of year when most are just filing their taxes. The form is straight forward enough and not difficult to fill out. They basically want to make sure your spouse/step children are foreign nationals and they require proof. You either need their passports OR birth certificate and a secondary ID. A Passport is the easiest route. You can either send in the original or get a certified copy made. Only the department that originally issued the passport can make a certified copy. Once you have your certified copy you send it in with your tax return then wait.

They say it can take up 6 weeks for them to issue an ITIN. It took me 14 days from the time I sent in my application to the time there was a letter in my mailbox with my wife's ITIN number. I am not saying it will take only 2 weeks but I was sure shocked it only did.

If you have your spouse print up a few prefilled W-7 forms you email her, sign them and send them back with the certified copies via express mail service it speeds things way. Especially if you are like me and are prone to making mistakes when filling out forms

Edited February 15, 2013 by Tegeras

[The Mean Lady 604]

I just received an ITIN number for my wife yesterday. It is not hard especially this time of year when most are just filing their taxes. The form is straight forward enough and not difficult to fill out. They basically want to make sure your spouse/step children are foreign nationals and they require proof. You either need their passports OR birth certificate and a secondary ID. A Passport is the easiest route. You can either send in the original or get a certified copy made. Only the department that originally issued the passport can make a certified copy. Once you have your certified copy you send it in with your tax return then wait.

They say it can take up 6 weeks for them to issue an ITIN. It took me 14 days from the time I sent in my application to the time there was a letter in my mailbox with my wife's ITIN number. I am not saying it will take only 2 weeks but I was sure shocked it only did.

If you have your spouse print up a few prefilled W-7 forms you email her, sign them and send them back with the certified copies via express mail service it speeds things way. Especially if you are like me and are prone to making mistakes when filling out forms

Yes, please do NOT bank on 2 weeks.

It took me 3 months to receive my husband's ITIN and tax refund.