So Maddddd

[Traviesa 0]

His will be but mine are not...put them both together, and what if it pushes me over the edge to a new level of taxation? I'm getting a migraine...

Unless you file separately, no?

Ok I'd like to discuss this...if we file separately, and he files his own tax return and reports his Mexican income, then deducts all of it...what's the point even? Is there a necessary reason to file a tax return with a bottom line of zero or is it just a formality?

[tom&tata 2]

His will be but mine are not...put them both together, and what if it pushes me over the edge to a new level of taxation? I'm getting a migraine...

Unless you file separately, no?

Ok I'd like to discuss this...if we file separately, and he files his own tax return and reports his Mexican income, then deducts all of it...what's the point even? Is there a necessary reason to file a tax return with a bottom line of zero or is it just a formality?

Why would he need to file separately in US ? He is not permanent resident. Being resident for tax purposes is option, not mandatory

If you (USC) file for married filing separately, he does not have to report his income

Edited January 3, 2007 by tom&tata

[mawilson 2,133]

Let me get this straight.. you're willing to give the US Government thousands of dollars of your money because you don't want to tell them of the $80 per week that he gets that won't even be taxable anyways....

How about you give that money to me.... I'll put it to good use...

Indeed. MissLiss -- it looks like you'll get more money back if you file married jointly.

Whether or not you report his Mexican income is not important because his foreign income

(up to $80,000) will not be taxable anyway (assuming there's a double-taxation treaty

between the U.S. and Mexico -- zyggy, can you confirm this?)

[Traviesa 0]

Ok so when we file the joint tax return I will not put any number where his SSN is supposed to go and just include the W-7 with the return right?

[tom&tata 2]

Let me get this straight.. you're willing to give the US Government thousands of dollars of your money because you don't want to tell them of the $80 per week that he gets that won't even be taxable anyways....

How about you give that money to me.... I'll put it to good use...

Indeed. MissLiss -- it looks like you'll get more money back if you file married jointly.

Whether or not you report his Mexican income is not important because his foreign income

(up to $80,000) will not be taxable anyway (assuming there's a double-taxation treaty

between the U.S. and Mexico -- zyggy, can you confirm this?)

I read about the $80,000 limit - but I don't recall seeing that there is a condition on it (that there has to be double taxation treaty between the 2 countries). I would think the limit is set by IRS. Because people can choose whether they want to include the foreign tax credit on their foreign income or deduct the foreign income using that $ 80,000 limit.

[zyggy 9]

Ok I am sooo not into the idea of having to report his Mexican income! I don't even care if I can exclude it-that's none of their business and really has nothing to do with them, not to mention I have no reasonable way of figuring out how much it was....this whole thing is a huge pain! Is there any way I can just file without acknowledging him? Is Single status out of the question?

Well....if you don't want to report his income, then don't.

His Mexican earnings are probably below the taxable income threshold anyway.

Let me get this straight.. you're willing to give the US Government thousands of dollars of your money because you don't want to tell them of the $80 per week that he gets that won't even be taxable anyways....

How about you give that money to me.... I'll put it to good use...

It's not that I don't want to tell them about it...I don't think I should have to tell them about it. I can't see any reason whatsoever why they would need to know about it or how it would affect my tax payment. His income is his income that he makes and keeps with him in Mexico. It has nothing to do with my income or the taxes I'm supposed to pay. And I'm not exactly understanding how my failure to report that $80 or so a week is going to cost me thousands of dollars...I've never had to pay taxes yet, and I don't intend to start this year...(I mean by that that I always get a refund)

Uggh.... you have a lot to learn...

1) If you elect to have your spouse treated as a resident alien for tax purposes and therefore file as married filing joint you have to report his worldwide income on the 1040...

Ok here goes...

Let's say for argument that you earn $50,000 per year... your spouse makes $4,160 per year...

On line 7 of your 1040, you would put in 54,160...

You would then fill out Form 2555 and exclude the $4,160 per year whilch would still give you a taxable income of $50,000

Here's where it gets good...

If you file as married filing jointly you get to cliam a standard decution of $10,300 making your taxable income $39,700 instead of $44,850

and you would get 2 deductions instead of 1 while would result in a taxable income of $33,100 instead of $41,550.

a difference of $8,450 in taxable income... resulting in about $1,200 in savings...

A note.. you can't get the EIC if you file as married filing seperately...

[chiquita 0]

In your situation.. not filing married filing joint is lunacy...

I agree, it is your choice though.

[tom&tata 2]

Ok so when we file the joint tax return I will not put any number where his SSN is supposed to go and just include the W-7 with the return right?

Correct. Just make sure to mail your W-7 and the tax return to the address specified on W-7 form

Edited January 3, 2007 by tom&tata

[zyggy 9]

The 80k exclusion applies no matter where the foreign income is earned... Tax treaties come into effect if you earn more than that number and the Foreign Tax Credit doesn't cover you... (which it doesn't at times..)

But to answer the question, there is a tax treaty between the US and Mexico...

[Traviesa 0]

Ok I am sooo not into the idea of having to report his Mexican income! I don't even care if I can exclude it-that's none of their business and really has nothing to do with them, not to mention I have no reasonable way of figuring out how much it was....this whole thing is a huge pain! Is there any way I can just file without acknowledging him? Is Single status out of the question?

Well....if you don't want to report his income, then don't.

His Mexican earnings are probably below the taxable income threshold anyway.

Let me get this straight.. you're willing to give the US Government thousands of dollars of your money because you don't want to tell them of the $80 per week that he gets that won't even be taxable anyways....

How about you give that money to me.... I'll put it to good use...

It's not that I don't want to tell them about it...I don't think I should have to tell them about it. I can't see any reason whatsoever why they would need to know about it or how it would affect my tax payment. His income is his income that he makes and keeps with him in Mexico. It has nothing to do with my income or the taxes I'm supposed to pay. And I'm not exactly understanding how my failure to report that $80 or so a week is going to cost me thousands of dollars...I've never had to pay taxes yet, and I don't intend to start this year...(I mean by that that I always get a refund)

Uggh.... you have a lot to learn...

1) If you elect to have your spouse treated as a resident alien for tax purposes and therefore file as married filing joint you have to report his worldwide income on the 1040...

Ok here goes...

Let's say for argument that you earn $50,000 per year... your spouse makes $4,160 per year...

On line 7 of your 1040, you would put in 54,160...

You would then fill out Form 2555 and exclude the $4,160 per year whilch would still give you a taxable income of $50,000

Here's where it gets good...

If you file as married filing jointly you get to cliam a standard decution of $10,300 making your taxable income $39,700 instead of $44,850

and you would get 2 deductions instead of 1 while would result in a taxable income of $33,100 instead of $41,550.

a difference of $8,450 in taxable income... resulting in about $1,200 in savings...

A note.. you can't get the EIC if you file as married filing seperately...

LOL you would think my profession was not accounting and that I didn't take 2 semesters of tax accounting in college! The truth is, no I don't comprehend a lot of this but how you've just written that makes a lot of sense. I think it sounds like a good option, the only problem's going to be convincing Javier to spend a week's worth of income to make the trip to a US Consulate and get the passport notarized, so I can get some extra money that he won't see a penny of....hmmmmmm.....

[tom&tata 2]

Ok I am sooo not into the idea of having to report his Mexican income! I don't even care if I can exclude it-that's none of their business and really has nothing to do with them, not to mention I have no reasonable way of figuring out how much it was....this whole thing is a huge pain! Is there any way I can just file without acknowledging him? Is Single status out of the question?

Well....if you don't want to report his income, then don't.

His Mexican earnings are probably below the taxable income threshold anyway.

Let me get this straight.. you're willing to give the US Government thousands of dollars of your money because you don't want to tell them of the $80 per week that he gets that won't even be taxable anyways....

How about you give that money to me.... I'll put it to good use...

It's not that I don't want to tell them about it...I don't think I should have to tell them about it. I can't see any reason whatsoever why they would need to know about it or how it would affect my tax payment. His income is his income that he makes and keeps with him in Mexico. It has nothing to do with my income or the taxes I'm supposed to pay. And I'm not exactly understanding how my failure to report that $80 or so a week is going to cost me thousands of dollars...I've never had to pay taxes yet, and I don't intend to start this year...(I mean by that that I always get a refund)

Uggh.... you have a lot to learn...

1) If you elect to have your spouse treated as a resident alien for tax purposes and therefore file as married filing joint you have to report his worldwide income on the 1040...

Ok here goes...

Let's say for argument that you earn $50,000 per year... your spouse makes $4,160 per year...

On line 7 of your 1040, you would put in 54,160...

You would then fill out Form 2555 and exclude the $4,160 per year whilch would still give you a taxable income of $50,000

Here's where it gets good...

If you file as married filing jointly you get to cliam a standard decution of $10,300 making your taxable income $39,700 instead of $44,850

and you would get 2 deductions instead of 1 while would result in a taxable income of $33,100 instead of $41,550.

a difference of $8,450 in taxable income... resulting in about $1,200 in savings...

A note.. you can't get the EIC if you file as married filing seperately...

LOL you would think my profession was not accounting and that I didn't take 2 semesters of tax accounting in college! The truth is, no I don't comprehend a lot of this but how you've just written that makes a lot of sense. I think it sounds like a good option, the only problem's going to be convincing Javier to spend a week's worth of income to make the trip to a US Consulate and get the passport notarized, so I can get some extra money that he won't see a penny of....hmmmmmm.....

It's called marriage

[zyggy 9]

Ok I am sooo not into the idea of having to report his Mexican income! I don't even care if I can exclude it-that's none of their business and really has nothing to do with them, not to mention I have no reasonable way of figuring out how much it was....this whole thing is a huge pain! Is there any way I can just file without acknowledging him? Is Single status out of the question?

Well....if you don't want to report his income, then don't.

His Mexican earnings are probably below the taxable income threshold anyway.

Let me get this straight.. you're willing to give the US Government thousands of dollars of your money because you don't want to tell them of the $80 per week that he gets that won't even be taxable anyways....

How about you give that money to me.... I'll put it to good use...

It's not that I don't want to tell them about it...I don't think I should have to tell them about it. I can't see any reason whatsoever why they would need to know about it or how it would affect my tax payment. His income is his income that he makes and keeps with him in Mexico. It has nothing to do with my income or the taxes I'm supposed to pay. And I'm not exactly understanding how my failure to report that $80 or so a week is going to cost me thousands of dollars...I've never had to pay taxes yet, and I don't intend to start this year...(I mean by that that I always get a refund)

Uggh.... you have a lot to learn...

1) If you elect to have your spouse treated as a resident alien for tax purposes and therefore file as married filing joint you have to report his worldwide income on the 1040...

Ok here goes...

Let's say for argument that you earn $50,000 per year... your spouse makes $4,160 per year...

On line 7 of your 1040, you would put in 54,160...

You would then fill out Form 2555 and exclude the $4,160 per year whilch would still give you a taxable income of $50,000

Here's where it gets good...

If you file as married filing jointly you get to cliam a standard decution of $10,300 making your taxable income $39,700 instead of $44,850

and you would get 2 deductions instead of 1 while would result in a taxable income of $33,100 instead of $41,550.

a difference of $8,450 in taxable income... resulting in about $1,200 in savings...

A note.. you can't get the EIC if you file as married filing seperately...

LOL you would think my profession was not accounting and that I didn't take 2 semesters of tax accounting in college! The truth is, no I don't comprehend a lot of this but how you've just written that makes a lot of sense. I think it sounds like a good option, the only problem's going to be convincing Javier to spend a week's worth of income to make the trip to a US Consulate and get the passport notarized, so I can get some extra money that he won't see a penny of....hmmmmmm.....

Use the money to take another trip down there... that'll make it worth while...

[mawilson 2,133]

LOL you would think my profession was not accounting and that I didn't take 2 semesters of tax accounting in college! The truth is, no I don't comprehend a lot of this but how you've just written that makes a lot of sense. I think it sounds like a good option, the only problem's going to be convincing Javier to spend a week's worth of income to make the trip to a US Consulate and get the passport notarized, so I can get some extra money that he won't see a penny of....hmmmmmm.....

Or you could just ask him to FedEx his passport to your address in the U.S. and then mail it to the IRS.

[chiquita 0]

Ok so when we file the joint tax return I will not put any number where his SSN is supposed to go and just include the W-7 with the return right?

Yes

[chiquita 0]

LOL you would think my profession was not accounting and that I didn't take 2 semesters of tax accounting in college! The truth is, no I don't comprehend a lot of this but how you've just written that makes a lot of sense. I think it sounds like a good option, the only problem's going to be convincing Javier to spend a week's worth of income to make the trip to a US Consulate and get the passport notarized, so I can get some extra money that he won't see a penny of....hmmmmmm.....

But he is your husband, it will benifit the both of you. Figure how how much you will gain to have him file with you vs the $80 bucks he spends to get the passport notorized. Sound reasonable?

Or you could just ask him to FedEx his passport to your address in the U.S. and then mail it to the IRS.

I woundn't do that. What if he needs his passport back? It can take a while for IRS to resend it back to her. Beeter to get it notorized.

chi