Filing taxes when spouse doesnt have a SSN

[No name 88 48]

Sorry; I tried to post the marginal tax rates for 2013 on my last post but they didn't copy correctly. But the link works.

Also every time this comes up some one throws out the term perjury. I suggest looking up the legal definition of perjury and the legal definition of fraud.

[Baub 2]

I've tried to give advice on this before as I have 2 accountants in the family but the bottom line is there is not exactly a "correct" filing status in immigration situations. It depend's on what your personnel financial situation is at the end of the year and that you payed your due tax obligation regardless of status.

If your taxable income was $25,000 for 2013 and your foreign spouse had no income you would pay 15% tax no matter what status you filed. The IRS gets the correct tax money that is due to them so they won't care about your status; it wouldn't even trigger a red flag.

My own personnel situation I'll be in the same bracket as single or married filing jointly. My wife is still overseas and has no income as she is a homemaker. I looked at getting an ITIN but that seemed more trouble than it's worth for my situation. This year I've decided to file as single status as it wouldn't matter for tax purposes and it simplifies my return filing for the 2013 tax year. My accountant family members told me I could do this as well as my over paid expat accountant. In the end make your own decision on how you wish to file your taxes; if you feel the need to get an ITIN for a lower tax bracket do it. In my case it doesn't matter. To just say married is married and that's it is ill informed. There must be a lot of stupid accountants because I've seen at least a dozen posts from other VJ members that were told to file single while married.

For those of you that will angrily reply that I'm wrong and doing it the "incorrect" way I don't care as I've made my choice so I won't respond; to each his own and good luck in your case. If the IRS gives me a problem at a later date I'll file an amended return. If I go 3 years without any issues from the IRS it's a non issue.

As far as what the USCIS and Consulates have to say about your filing status it's been posted on here many times that they don't care what your filing status is and are only using this information to see your above 125% poverty level.

Marginal Tax Rate^[13][14][15] Single Married Filing Jointly or Qualified Widow(er) Married Filing Separately Head of Household 10% $0 – $8,925 $0 – $17,850 $0 – $8,925 $0 – $12,750 15% $8,926 – $36,250 $17,851 – $72,500 $8,926 – $36,250 $12,751 – $48,600 25% $36,251 – $87,850 $72,501 – $146,400 $36,251 – $73,200 $48,601 – $125,450 28% $87,851 – $183,250 $146,401 – $223,050 $73,201 – $111,525 $125,451 – $203,150 33% $183,251 – $398,350 $223,051 – $398,350 $111,526 – $199,175 $203,151 – $398,350 35% $398,351 – $400,000 $398,351 – $450,000 $199,176 – $225,000 $398,351 – $425,000 39.6% $400,001+ $450,001+ $225,001+ $425,001+

The Red Flag was my main concern.

[ppihtr123 68]

I've tried to give advice on this before as I have 2 accountants in the family but the bottom line is there is not exactly a "correct" filing status in immigration situations. It depend's on what your personnel financial situation is at the end of the year and that you payed your due tax obligation regardless of status.

If your taxable income was $25,000 for 2013 and your foreign spouse had no income you would pay 15% tax no matter what status you filed. The IRS gets the correct tax money that is due to them so they won't care about your status; it wouldn't even trigger a red flag.

My own personnel situation I'll be in the same bracket as single or married filing jointly. My wife is still overseas and has no income as she is a homemaker. I looked at getting an ITIN but that seemed more trouble than it's worth for my situation. This year I've decided to file as single status as it wouldn't matter for tax purposes and it simplifies my return filing for the 2013 tax year. My accountant family members told me I could do this as well as my over paid expat accountant. In the end make your own decision on how you wish to file your taxes; if you feel the need to get an ITIN for a lower tax bracket do it. In my case it doesn't matter. To just say married is married and that's it is ill informed. There must be a lot of stupid accountants because I've seen at least a dozen posts from other VJ members that were told to file single while married.

For those of you that will angrily reply that I'm wrong and doing it the "incorrect" way I don't care as I've made my choice so I won't respond; to each his own and good luck in your case. If the IRS gives me a problem at a later date I'll file an amended return. If I go 3 years without any issues from the IRS it's a non issue.

As far as what the USCIS and Consulates have to say about your filing status it's been posted on here many times that they don't care what your filing status is and are only using this information to see your above 125% poverty level.

Marginal Tax Rate^[13][14][15] Single Married Filing Jointly or Qualified Widow(er) Married Filing Separately Head of Household 10% $0 – $8,925 $0 – $17,850 $0 – $8,925 $0 – $12,750 15% $8,926 – $36,250 $17,851 – $72,500 $8,926 – $36,250 $12,751 – $48,600 25% $36,251 – $87,850 $72,501 – $146,400 $36,251 – $73,200 $48,601 – $125,450 28% $87,851 – $183,250 $146,401 – $223,050 $73,201 – $111,525 $125,451 – $203,150 33% $183,251 – $398,350 $223,051 – $398,350 $111,526 – $199,175 $203,151 – $398,350 35% $398,351 – $400,000 $398,351 – $450,000 $199,176 – $225,000 $398,351 – $425,000 39.6% $400,001+ $450,001+ $225,001+ $425,001+

No anger here BUT it is clear that you have made the "Choice" not read the instructions associated with filling your taxes. As stated on page 13 of the instructions of the 1040.....http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040.pdf

Ignorance of the law is no excuse but you are free to make "your choice"!

Line 1

Single

You can check the box on line 1 if any

of the following was true on December

31, 2013.

You were never married.

You were legally separated according

to your state law under a decree of

divorce or separate maintenance. But if,

at the end of 2013, your divorce was not

final (an interlocutory decree), you are

considered married and cannot check the

box on line 1.

You were widowed before January

1, 2013, and did not remarry before the

end of 2013. But if you have a dependent

child, you may be able to use the

qualifying widow(er) filing status. See

the instructions for line 5.

[danrb 5]

For married filing separately you do not need an ITIN or SSN. Just write NRA in the SSN spot, print out the tax return, and mail it.

However for married filing jointly you do need an ITIN or SSN. BUT as the OP is at the NVC stage, I think, it's best for the beneficiary to not send away their passport.

Since the members spouse is Filipino, I found out the specifics on how this can be done, since I'm doing the same thing.

You can file a certified copy of her passport. To do this, a copy of the passport needs to be "authenticated" by an IRS agent. The RAO in Angeles CIty has an IRS agent on board. No need to send a passport.

[JRF 117]

20K? in one year?

Yes...I ran it three times to be sure. As it was I paid a lot in taxes....

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

I've tried to give advice on this before as I have 2 accountants in the family but the bottom line is there is not exactly a "correct" filing status in immigration situations. It depend's on what your personnel financial situation is at the end of the year and that you payed your due tax obligation regardless of status.

If your taxable income was $25,000 for 2013 and your foreign spouse had no income you would pay 15% tax no matter what status you filed. The IRS gets the correct tax money that is due to them so they won't care about your status; it wouldn't even trigger a red flag.

My own personnel situation I'll be in the same bracket as single or married filing jointly. My wife is still overseas and has no income as she is a homemaker. I looked at getting an ITIN but that seemed more trouble than it's worth for my situation. This year I've decided to file as single status as it wouldn't matter for tax purposes and it simplifies my return filing for the 2013 tax year. My accountant family members told me I could do this as well as my over paid expat accountant. In the end make your own decision on how you wish to file your taxes; if you feel the need to get an ITIN for a lower tax bracket do it. In my case it doesn't matter. To just say married is married and that's it is ill informed. There must be a lot of stupid accountants because I've seen at least a dozen posts from other VJ members that were told to file single while married.

For those of you that will angrily reply that I'm wrong and doing it the "incorrect" way I don't care as I've made my choice so I won't respond; to each his own and good luck in your case. If the IRS gives me a problem at a later date I'll file an amended return. If I go 3 years without any issues from the IRS it's a non issue.

As far as what the USCIS and Consulates have to say about your filing status it's been posted on here many times that they don't care what your filing status is and are only using this information to see your above 125% poverty level.

Marginal Tax Rate^[13][14][15] Single Married Filing Jointly or Qualified Widow(er) Married Filing Separately Head of Household 10% $0 – $8,925 $0 – $17,850 $0 – $8,925 $0 – $12,750 15% $8,926 – $36,250 $17,851 – $72,500 $8,926 – $36,250 $12,751 – $48,600 25% $36,251 – $87,850 $72,501 – $146,400 $36,251 – $73,200 $48,601 – $125,450 28% $87,851 – $183,250 $146,401 – $223,050 $73,201 – $111,525 $125,451 – $203,150 33% $183,251 – $398,350 $223,051 – $398,350 $111,526 – $199,175 $203,151 – $398,350 35% $398,351 – $400,000 $398,351 – $450,000 $199,176 – $225,000 $398,351 – $425,000 39.6% $400,001+ $450,001+ $225,001+ $425,001+

Marginal tax rates are not the only consideration in determining your final tax liability. By filing as Single when you are married you can actually report a tax liability that is lower than what you would have reported if filing as Married Filing Separately. There are several special considerations when filing as Married Filing Separately that would cause you to have a higher tax liability than filing as Single. Here are the items that you need to consider.

Special Rules

If you choose married filing separately as your filing status, the following special rules apply. Because of these special rules, you usually pay more tax on a separate return than if you use another filing status you qualify for.

1. Your tax rate generally is higher than on a joint return.

2. Your exemption amount for figuring the alternative minimum tax is half that allowed on a joint return.

3. You cannot take the credit for child and dependent care expenses in most cases, and the amount you can exclude from income under an employer's dependent care assistance program is limited to $2,500 (instead of $5,000). If you are legally separated or living apart from your spouse, you may be able to file a separate return and still take the credit. For more information about these expenses, the credit, and the exclusion, see chapter 32.

4. You cannot take the earned income credit.

5. You cannot take the exclusion or credit for adoption expenses in most cases.

6. You cannot take the education credits (the American opportunity credit and lifetime learning credit), the deduction for student loan interest, or the tuition and fees deduction.

7. You cannot exclude any interest income from qualified U.S. savings bonds you used for higher education expenses.

8. If you lived with your spouse at any time during the tax year:

a. You cannot claim the credit for the elderly or the disabled, and

b. You must include in income a greater percentage (up to 85%) of any social security or equivalent railroad retirement benefits you received.

9. The following credits and deductions are reduced at income levels half those for a joint return:

a. The child tax credit,

b. The retirement savings contributions credit,

c. The deduction for personal exemptions,

and

d. Itemized deductions.

10. Your capital loss deduction limit is $1,500 (instead of $3,000 on a joint return).

11. If your spouse itemizes deductions, you cannot claim the standard deduction. If you can claim the standard deduction, your basic standard deduction is half the amount allowed on a joint return.

You can find the special rules on page 22 of IRS Publication 17 - Your Federal Income Tax for Individuals. Here is the link to the publication:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

The bottom line is that if you were married at the end of 2013 the only correct filing statuses are Married Filing Separately, Married Filing Jointly, or in special situations Head of Household.

[Baub 2]

I finished amending my taxes today.I ended up paying more to the state.Nevertheless again I say thanks to all .

[BraveAmnay 56]

I'm In Lost me and my Us c married since Nov 2013 she already fllied her Taxes but as single ? Is that ok or it will cos Probelem with Uscis,?!!!

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to Tax & Finances During US Immigration forum.

Edited March 29, 2014 by Ryan H