Declaring "married" on W4 tax document.

[Kyle&Sara 0]

I suppose this question is geared towards the US spouses of Canadians. Did you immediately change your W4 from 'single' to 'married' while your spouse was still living in Canada, or only after they were granted their visa?

Thanks!

[Dave&Roza 748]

I suppose this question is geared towards the US spouses of Canadians. Did you immediately change your W4 from 'single' to 'married' while your spouse was still living in Canada, or only after they were granted their visa?

Thanks!

I have yet to change my W-4 to married and we have been married for almost 3 years now. It is better for our tax situation. Up to you when you make the change based on your tax situation.

good luck,

Dave

[Rob & Monika 87]

if you are absolutely sure you will be able to file married on your taxes for 2013, then it does not matter when you change the W-4.

[gwenstar 66]

When you change your status it changes the amount of taxes taken out. Since there is more of a tax break for married filing compared to single, if for some reason you end up not filing a joint return, you might end up owing money. If your status is single on the W4, it is fine to file as married at the end of the year -

To be on the safe side, I would wait until the Visa is approved. Personally I would rather get a refund than owe but that's just me I spoke with a CPA about some of the different options and he strongly recommended waiting until I am 1,000 percent sure/spouse is in the country before changing the W4. It seems as though tax filing for at least 1st year if either spouse has worked outside the country (and you are filing jointly), you actually pay fed taxes based on a worldwide rate on ALL income. The taxes paid in Canada to Canada are "credited" based on agreements with the US towards tax due on worldwide income. The agreements are different for each country and it may not be $1 to $1 credit - but the idea is that the foreign spouse is not getting "double taxed" since the income was actually earned/taxed outside the US. Don't know if that all makes sense.....ha. The other thing to think about is that if you are paying taxes filing jointly, household income may put you in a higher tax bracket - which again, could you to owe.

As is filing taxes wasn't enough fun already....

It really does just come down to your situation and what works best for you.