Tax filing as married?

[Sally Elle 0]

Hi guys,

I have a question about doing taxes this year and the I-864 form. My non-US citizen and I got married literally at the end of the year.He did not work in the US during this time. My father will be a co-sponsor for the AOS.

Since it's March, it's probably best to include 2014 tax return instead of 2013 as the most recent. But when filing for income tax, do I file as "married" eventhough he didn't earn any income? My taxes will be very simple...so can I do this be e-filing via turbotax?

Thank you for any kind of help.

[amartins 11]

It's extremely simple: if you were married on 2014-12-31, then you are forbidden from filing as 'single'. You must file as married, either jointly or separately. And the reverse is true.

You can use TurboTax, but I'd strongly recommend that you use TaxAct instead. It does the same job, but it's drastically cheaper, and TaxAct doesn't spend millions lobbying against congressional simplification of tax filing.

[novedsac 355]

If your taxes are simple - skip the software altogether - IRS provides everything you need - free instructions and forms, 'free file' software, etc. Really nothing more to it - any software north of $0.00 is a waste of money, though if you itemize deductions then you can take an income deduction for the cost of tax preparation aids

Yes, your filing options are MFJ and MFS, with HOH available in very limited circumstances for married individuals.

[Sally Elle 0]

Thank you guys!! I really appreciate it! It would have been so much harder filing for the visa and everything if not for all your help

I filed with TurboTax last year. Really, really simple and fast. I heard something negative about them this year year, so maybe I will try TaxAct.

Thanks again. And yeah, we got married 12/30/2014...almost the very last day of the year LOL

Edited March 13, 2015 by Sally Elle

[Sally Elle 0]

Another question...On either TaxAct or Turbox tax, it doesn't have the option for me to select that my spouse is a non-resident. It just asks for either the SSN or ITIN.

Any ideas, guys?