Tax Marital Status with employer if spouse is a non-resident alien

[r060106 109]

Hi all,

Maybe someone can help me out with this, because I'm extremely confused about it: my wife and I have been married for almost a month and I'm trying to change things with my employer on my HR profile page with them and there's a deadline of thirty days to do it. When I go to the page to change my Tax Marital Status there's this little note next to the selection box where I pick Married that says "If married, but legally separated or spouse is a nonresident alien, then choose Single."

What??? Why would I choose single when I'm married and am going to file jointly and get her an ITIN, which it seems is great proof for the USCIS/consulate? I've read multiple instances on the forums of people doing this and filing jointly and was planning on doing it. But now I'm a little hesitant to do so, because if my employers says I can't select single due to her being a nonresident alien, I don't think I can.

So, should I just ignore it and select married or not? I'm really kind of lost. I also heard you can run into big problems by filing as Single and being married to a nonresident alien, like that it's a big red flag during the process. Is that true? Please let me know if you can.

Any and all input and advice is welcome. Thank you very much!

Rysiu

[ShirahBet 42]

Your spouse is technically a NRA until you have the ITIN. That will function as the SSN once you get it. Your tax filing status with your employer is not what you submit with your affidavit of support - your actual taxes are. I'm still listed as single on my work withholdings. There's nothing wrong with that. I have a coworker that's been married for over 20 years and they have taxes taken out as if they are single so they don't end up owing massive amounts of money each year. It just depends on your tax bracket and all that jazz.

Now for your actual taxes that you file with the IRS, you'll file as married - filing jointly if you have the ITIN, or filing separately if you don't. But you won't have to worry about that until January/February of next year at the earliest.

[NikLR 13,227]

Getting an ITIN is not an easy process FYI. Even if you have single taxes taken off your checks, you will get the money back when filing as MFJ. My husband has his federal taxes taken off as married but state taxes taken off as single.

[newacct 688]

and I'm trying to change things with my employer on my HR profile page with them and there's a deadline of thirty days to do it.

What? This is unreasonable. You should be able to change your W-4 whenever you want.

[r060106 109]

Your spouse is technically a NRA until you have the ITIN. That will function as the SSN once you get it. Your tax filing status with your employer is not what you submit with your affidavit of support - your actual taxes are. I'm still listed as single on my work withholdings. There's nothing wrong with that. I have a coworker that's been married for over 20 years and they have taxes taken out as if they are single so they don't end up owing massive amounts of money each year. It just depends on your tax bracket and all that jazz.

Now for your actual taxes that you file with the IRS, you'll file as married - filing jointly if you have the ITIN, or filing separately if you don't. But you won't have to worry about that until January/February of next year at the earliest.

Oh alright. So even though I'm selecting single in my tax withholding I'll get more money back when I file Married filing Jointly in January/February, correct?

Getting an ITIN is not an easy process FYI. Even if you have single taxes taken off your checks, you will get the money back when filing as MFJ. My husband has his federal taxes taken off as married but state taxes taken off as single.

Alright, but I plan on getting the ITIN. Am I required to submit for the ITIN for her when I send in my 1040 or can I get the ITIN beforehand? I wasn't clear on that given what I read on the forum.

What? This is unreasonable. You should be able to change your W-4 whenever you want.

I might have misread somewhere. Have to double check.

Thanks everyone!

[ShirahBet 42]

Filing jointly doesn't necessarily guarantee you more money. It really depends on your financial situation, assets, kids, etc. For most people, yes, probably money back....but not guaranteed.

[NikLR 13,227]

***Moved to off topic as question does not have to directly deal with immigration***

Remember getting an ITIN requires sending her original passport to the IRS. I'm not sure when you can do this, I think at any time? Contact the IRS for more information on that.

And yes you aren't guaranteed to get money back, but the chances are more likely as they'll be taking off more tax than needed.

[r060106 109]

***Moved to off topic as question does not have to directly deal with immigration***

Remember getting an ITIN requires sending her original passport to the IRS. I'm not sure when you can do this, I think at any time? Contact the IRS for more information on that.

And yes you aren't guaranteed to get money back, but the chances are more likely as they'll be taking off more tax than needed.

Wow, that's a little unsettling. Her original passport? And if they lose it?? That would be terrible and I feel like my wife will tell me no. Does it hurt us within the process if we file married filing separately?

Filing jointly doesn't necessarily guarantee you more money. It really depends on your financial situation, assets, kids, etc. For most people, yes, probably money back....but not guaranteed.

Yes, I realize this. In general is what I meant.

[NikLR 13,227]

Wow, that's a little unsettling. Her original passport? And if they lose it?? That would be terrible and I feel like my wife will tell me no. Does it hurt us within the process if we file married filing separately?

Yes they might lose it. Someone else had a staple right though the darn thing. No it doesn't hurt you to do MFS. She can see if she can get a certified copy from issuing agency, they accept that as well.

[r060106 109]

Yes they might lose it. Someone else had a staple right though the darn thing. No it doesn't hurt you to do MFS. She can see if she can get a certified copy from issuing agency, they accept that as well.

Oh wow. That's terrible. Yeah, I'll see if she can get a certified copy from Poland. Hopefully that is a possibility. Thank you very much!

[rin and john 71]

Oh alright. So even though I'm selecting single in my tax withholding I'll get more money back when I file Married filing Jointly in January/February, correct?

Alright, but I plan on getting the ITIN. Am I required to submit for the ITIN for her when I send in my 1040 or can I get the ITIN beforehand? I wasn't clear on that given what I read on the forum.

What is your timeline for your visa (when do you estimate your spouse will arrive in the USA)?

Another option would be to file for an automatic extension for tax filing (will be 6 months, so would not have to file 2013 taxes until October 15th, 2014). By that time your spouse should be in the USA and have her SSN. Then you would not have to go through the ITIN process. Calculate your taxes as MFJ before April 15th 2014. If you are getting a return, file the extension. If you owe the IRS, then file the extension along with an estimated payment to cover what you owe.

[slvrfx576 15]

To clarify some of the above comments :

Whatever status you claim with your employer only has to do with how much $ they will withhold from your paycheck. It has nothing to do with the filing status that you will eventually claim on your tax return. Withholding for single is a higher percentage of your income than for a married person. Therefore it is more probable that you would get a larger refund if you are withheld as single but then file as married.

To apply for an ITIN you must send in a certified copy of the spouse's passport, issued by the passport agency of her country. Not the passport itself.

Also, generally you can only apply for an ITIN when you file your tax return. In your case this means when you file next spring for the 2013 tax year. So you have plenty of time to get the certified copy of the passport to apply for the ITIN. BTW, with a little bit of luck, your spouse may already be here and have a SSN by April 15, 2014 which would render the ITIN unnecessary. Furthermore, if you have no payment due on your tax return (i,e, you have a refund due) you will not be penalized by the IRS for not filing by April 15th....the deadline for a penalty is April 15th only if you owe taxes...not if they owe you !

[NikLR 13,227]

As stated above you can get a certified copy of the original from issuing agency OR send the original passport. The certified copy would be a better idea obviously, but I'm unsure how many passport agencies and governments provide certified copies of passports. One would have to inquire.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf

[child19 0]

Hi there i was in the same situation was a non-resident alien at the time and this was what my USC husband did... he filed as single by the time he got his refund i recieve my ssn,which i had apply for when i got my EAD.. the same day he went to collect his refund he did an amendment which cost $35,this time he filed married filing jointly ...and he got an extra $1090.00...we just did our interview in new jersey and the immigration officer approve us on the spot...and his tax return was the only thing we had jointly apart from our lease...we got married last year and stared the petition process in april of this year...so good luck to you and hope everything works out fine.

[NikLR 13,227]

If you are married you cannot file as single. You can amend a MFS to MFJ however. I think you have 3 years to do it?