Tax time help - from Canada

[MarkYYC 0]

Hi everyone

I am working on our taxes (last minute, I know! argh!), and things are going ok, but VERY confusing! I have a few questions:

As a little background, we did a K1 visa, and I entered the USA with it on October 1, 2013. We got married on November 2, 2013. I applied for my EAD late January, and then a surprise - I785 (Permanent Residency) was approved on February 26th, 2014!!!

Now for my tax questions:

#1 - I have been told we should be filing in the US as Married Filing Jointly. Is this correct?

#2 - I have also been told that I need to report my Canadian income. I am using TaxAct, and so far it is working well. To report my Canadian income, can I use 1040/1040NR FEC?

#3 - I have been told to use Form 2555 to exclude my Canadian income from US tax. Is this true?

#4 - I was partially self employed in Canada, where do I report this income?

#5 - For Canadian taxes, my wife is also a Canadian citizen. Should I file as married or single when I file in Canada?

Any other tips? They would be greatly appreciated, I am pretty close to losing it!

Thanks,

Mark

[NikLR 13,228]

1) you can file MFS or MFJ. Jointly apparently allows more tax credits

2) ...pm...

3) if you meet the requirements yes you can exclude your canadian earnings from the 1040 with the

4) dunno - never had that situation

5) You always file married in Canada if you were married at the end of the year, just like in the USA, BUT you do not need to include your wife's income in your taxes unless you stand to gain from it. For example; last year even though my husband is a non-resident and doesn't have an SIN, I included his income in my taxes because it helped. This year I did not because it did not benefit. If she didn't work in Canada she doesn't need to file taxes in Canada. Canada doesn't have the requirements that the USA does about taxes. You file if you are resident, not because you're a citizen.

Don't forget schedule A and schedule D when you do your Canadian taxes (due on the 30th)

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Hi everyone

I am working on our taxes (last minute, I know! argh!), and things are going ok, but VERY confusing! I have a few questions:

As a little background, we did a K1 visa, and I entered the USA with it on October 1, 2013. We got married on November 2, 2013. I applied for my EAD late January, and then a surprise - I785 (Permanent Residency) was approved on February 26th, 2014!!!

Now for my tax questions:

#1 - I have been told we should be filing in the US as Married Filing Jointly. Is this correct?

You can file as married filing separately or married filing jointly. Married filing jointly usually results in the lowest tax liability. Since you were a nonresident alien during 2013 the only way you and your spouse can file a joint return is if you both make the election to treat you as a resident alien for the whole year.

#2 - I have also been told that I need to report my Canadian income. I am using TaxAct, and so far it is working well. To report my Canadian income, can I use 1040/1040NR FEC?

If you file a joint return then you are required to include the income you received while still in Canada. The joint return should be filed on Form 1040.

#3 - I have been told to use Form 2555 to exclude my Canadian income from US tax. Is this true?

Yes, you can used Form 2555 to exclude the earned income from Canada. The exclusion does not apply for passive income like interest or dividends.

#4 - I was partially self employed in Canada, where do I report this income?

Earnings from self-employment are reported on Schedule C or Schedule C – EZ. You need to check whether or not your self-employment income earned in Canada is subject to the Self-Employment Tax (Social Security).

#5 - For Canadian taxes, my wife is also a Canadian citizen. Should I file as married or single when I file in Canada?

I can’t help you with that question.