Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

[aloram 1]

Hi. I lived in Vietnam for the last few years and again qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. I'm married to a Vietnamese woman who's a few weeks away from her interview. I'm in the U.S. now, and my wife (Vietnamese) will arrive from Vietnam in a few weeks and become a Permanent Resident, so I'm waiting to file my taxes until after she has her Social Security Number (within a few weeks after her arrival). I'll file under "Married: Filing Jointly." My question is: Though I fall under the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion $95,100 limit either way, do I include her 2012 income as well? It was all earned in Vietnam, as she's never worked in the U.S. Thanks for your help.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi. I lived in Vietnam for the last few years and again qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. I'm married to a Vietnamese woman who's a few weeks away from her interview. I'm in the U.S. now, and my wife (Vietnamese) will arrive from Vietnam in a few weeks and become a Permanent Resident, so I'm waiting to file my taxes until after she has her Social Security Number (within a few weeks after her arrival). I'll file under "Married: Filing Jointly." My question is: Though I fall under the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion $95,100 limit either way, do I include her 2012 income as well? It was all earned in Vietnam, as she's never worked in the U.S. Thanks for your help.

Your wife has no obligation to file a 2012 US tax return. You can file as married filing separately and report only your income.

If your wife wants to volunteer to file a joint tax return with you, then she must report her 2012 income. It doesn't matter that she did not earn anything in the US. If you want the benefit of filing a joint return, then she has the obligation to report her 2012 income.

Nothing requires her to file for 2012, she is choosing to do so by filing jointly with you. You can choose to file by yourself as married filing separately.

[aloram 1]

Your wife has no obligation to file a 2012 US tax return. You can file as married filing separately and report only your income.

If your wife wants to volunteer to file a joint tax return with you, then she must report her 2012 income. It doesn't matter that she did not earn anything in the US. If you want the benefit of filing a joint return, then she has the obligation to report her 2012 income.

Nothing requires her to file for 2012, she is choosing to do so by filing jointly with you. You can choose to file by yourself as married filing separately.

Thanks a lot, that makes complete sense.