For 2015 taxes, does it matter when I arrive in the US?

[afrocraft 313]

If I delayed my entry to the US on an immigrant visa till Jan 1, 2016 or thereafter, would I still be required to file US taxes for 2015?

Here are the facts: Married a US citizen in early 2015 and CR1 visa approved recently. I earned income outside the US during the year but used legal means available in my country, but not in the US, to reduce my tax burden. My flight is for December but I'm thinking of delaying it to January so I don't have to pay much higher US taxes. I know: how romantic...

Thoughts?

[EricAndOrn 30]

Depends how much money you made. There is a large foreign earned income exclusion in the US tax system.

from the IRS web site

If you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien of the United States and you live abroad, you are taxed on your worldwide income. However, you may qualify to exclude from income up to an amount of your foreign earnings that is adjusted annually for inflation ($92,900 for 2011, $95,100 for 2012, $97,600 for 2013, $99,200 for 2014 and $100,800 for 2015)

So, if you made less than the exclusion amount, it shouldn't matter.

Note: I am not a tax professional, you should consult one yourself.

[dwheels76 5,468]

If I delayed my entry to the US on an immigrant visa till Jan 1, 2016 or thereafter, would I still be required to file US taxes for 2015?

Here are the facts: Married a US citizen in early 2015 and CR1 visa approved recently. I earned income outside the US during the year but used legal means available in my country, but not in the US, to reduce my tax burden. My flight is for December but I'm thinking of delaying it to January so I don't have to pay much higher US taxes. I know: how romantic...

Thoughts?

You're not a US citizen you are required to file taxes at all until you live here and start working. If it was your husband living abroad that would be different.

[afrocraft 313]

Thanks but I'm not so sure that's accurate. I think all permanent residents must file taxes in the year in which they become US residents, so long as they earned income in that year. Since the US taxes worldwide source income, I'll be liable for taxes in 2015, regardless of when I start working in the States. Correct?

You're not a US citizen you are required to file taxes at all until you live here and start working. If it was your husband living abroad that would be different.

[afrocraft 313]

Yeah, I've done the math and it looks like the Tax Man cometh

Depends how much money you made. There is a large foreign earned income exclusion in the US tax system.

[Elf 146]

Thanks but I'm not so sure that's accurate. I think all permanent residents must file taxes in the year in which they become US residents, so long as they earned income in that year. Since the US taxes worldwide source income, I'll be liable for taxes in 2015, regardless of when I start working in the States. Correct?

If you have not yet entered the US on your CR-1, you are not yet a US permanent resident. You will become an LPR when your CR-1 is endorsed by CBP at the POE.

[Thozelle 16]

If I delayed my entry to the US on an immigrant visa till Jan 1, 2016 or thereafter, would I still be required to file US taxes for 2015?

The quick answer is no you are not.

You do however have the option of filing jointly if its beneficial in lowering overall tax debt.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Yeah, I've done the math and it looks like the Tax Man cometh

If you earned over $100,800 (converted to US dollars) then you would be taxed on the amount over, not the full salary.

[MariaR323 199]

If I delayed my entry to the US on an immigrant visa till Jan 1, 2016 or thereafter, would I still be required to file US taxes for 2015?

Here are the facts: Married a US citizen in early 2015 and CR1 visa approved recently. I earned income outside the US during the year but used legal means available in my country, but not in the US, to reduce my tax burden. My flight is for December but I'm thinking of delaying it to January so I don't have to pay much higher US taxes. I know: how romantic...

Thoughts?

If you were married in 2015 then you either file together as Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) or your U.S. citizen spouse can file Married Filing Separately (MFS) for tax year 2015 (filing in 2016). You as the non resident alien spouse have the option of not filing at all since for 2015 tax year you do not have a filing requirement. You are still considered a non resident alien (NRA) for "tax purposes" whether or not you enter the U.S. in December or not.

Your U.S. spouse (from the info in your post) sounds like they might be able to claim the spouse exemption (this is completely different from filing jointly). It simply gives the U.S. spouse a dependent exemption credit for a NRA spouse.

~Maria

[afrocraft 313]

If you were married in 2015 then you either file together as Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) or your U.S. citizen spouse can file Married Filing Separately (MFS) for tax year 2015 (filing in 2016). You as the non resident alien spouse have the option of not filing at all since for 2015 tax year you do not have a filing requirement. You are still considered a non resident alien (NRA) for "tax purposes" whether or not you enter the U.S. in December or not.

Your U.S. spouse (from the info in your post) sounds like they might be able to claim the spouse exemption (this is completely different from filing jointly). It simply gives the U.S. spouse a dependent exemption credit for a NRA spouse.

~Maria

Not sure I follow your logic, Maria. You mean that even though I get my green card in December, I will be a non-resident for tax purposes and don't have to file? That's at odds with everything I've heard so far. Kindly explain.

Also: How does this spouse exemption work, please?

Thanks!

[Thozelle 16]

Not sure I follow your logic, Maria. You mean that even though I get my green card in December, I will be a non-resident for tax purposes and don't have to file? That's at odds with everything I've heard so far. Kindly explain.

Also: How does this spouse exemption work, please?

Thanks!

You must file a return if you are a nonresident alien engaged or considered to be engaged in a trade or business in the United States during the year. However, if your only U.S. source income is wages in an amount less than the personal exemption amount (see Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information), you are not required to file.

[MariaR323 199]

Not sure I follow your logic, Maria. You mean that even though I get my green card in December, I will be a non-resident for tax purposes and don't have to file? That's at odds with everything I've heard so far. Kindly explain.

Also: How does this spouse exemption work, please?

Thanks!

For some reason I couldn't go back to edit my post. So here's the correction: If you enter in Dec you would be considered a resident alien from the day you enter the U.S.... so you technically have a dual status; you would be considered both a non resident and resident alien for 2015. You still wouldn't have a filing requirement for 2015 since it sounds like you wouldn't have U.S. source income in 2015.

It gets tricky because I don't know what your ultimate goal is or what you are specifically looking to achieve. You can make it so that you don't have a filing requirement or you can elect to be treated as a resident alien for the entire year so you can file jointly. Or if you are looking to not have a requirement at all and not be considered a resident alien at all - then the simple answer is Yes, do not enter the U.S. until after 12/31/15.

Here's a couple links to some IRS pages for further reading on the subject:

https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Nonresident-Spouse-Treated-as-a-Resident

https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Taxation-of-Dual-Status-Aliens

Here's a snip regarding claiming a spouse exemption and the link to it: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#en_US_2014_publink1000220762

Your Spouse's Exemption

Your spouse is never considered your dependent.

Joint return. On a joint return, you can claim one exemption for yourself and one for your spouse.

Separate return. If you file a separate return, you can claim an exemption for your spouse only if your spouse:

• Had no gross income,

• Is not filing a return, and

• Was not the dependent of another taxpayer.

This is true even if the other taxpayer does not actually claim your spouse as a dependent. You can claim an exemption for your spouse even if he or she is a nonresident alien. In that case, your spouse:

• Must have no gross income for U.S. tax purposes,

• Must not be filing a return, and

• Must not be the dependent of another taxpayer.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

You can claim an exemption for your spouse even if he or she is a nonresident alien. In that case, your spouse:

-Must have no gross income for U.S. tax purposes,

-Must not be filing a return, and

-Must not be the dependent of another taxpayer.

If he enters the U.S. and become a resident alien in Dec 2015, his worldwide income counts for 2015 US tax purposes. He has gross (worldwide) income. Right? I don't think the above would apply in his situation.

If he chooses to file jointly and did not earn (worldwide) over $100,800, then none of his income would be taxed because he could claim the foreign income exclusion. His wife's income would effectively get twice the exemption and twice the standard deduction allowance on a joint return. Plus joint is usually a lower rate than married filing separately.

Or if the wife chooses to go the generally more tax route of filing separately, he is still require to file if he enters the U.S. In 2015 and is a permanent resident any part of the year. But he may file as a dual status return and end up owing no tax.

Overly simplified, but the concept is--

Jan 1 to Dec 15- Non resident status. Only US source income reported and taxed. He has no U.S. income in that NR period, so $0.

Dec 16 to Dec 31- Permanent resident. Resident alien. Reports worldwide income earned in that resident period. Presumably he quit his job before he entered the U.S., so $0 earned anywhere from Dec 16-31.

Now there are many rules to read (Pub 519) and he may be pulling in income from sources not related to a job or employment he resigned. It depends on if he got paid anything from any source In those 16 days.

[MariaR323 199]

You can claim an exemption for your spouse even if he or she is a nonresident alien. In that case, your spouse:

-Must have no gross income for U.S. tax purposes,

-Must not be filing a return, and

-Must not be the dependent of another taxpayer.

If he enters the U.S. and become a resident alien in Dec 2015, his worldwide income counts for 2015 US tax purposes. He has gross (worldwide) income. Right? I don't think the above would apply in his situation.

If he chooses to file jointly and did not earn (worldwide) over $100,800, then none of his income would be taxed because he could claim the foreign income exclusion. His wife's income would effectively get twice the exemption and twice the standard deduction allowance on a joint return. Plus joint is usually a lower rate than married filing separately.

Or if the wife chooses to go the generally more tax route of filing separately, he is still require to file if he enters the U.S. In 2015 and is a permanent resident any part of the year. But he may file as a dual status return and end up owing no tax.

Overly simplified, but the concept is--

Jan 1 to Dec 15- Non resident status. Only US source income reported and taxed. He has no U.S. income in that NR period, so $0.

Dec 16 to Dec 31- Permanent resident. Resident alien. Reports worldwide income earned in that resident period. Presumably he quit his job before he entered the U.S., so $0 earned anywhere from Dec 16-31.

Now there are many rules to read (Pub 519) and he may be pulling in income from sources not related to a job or employment he resigned. It depends on if he got paid anything from any source In those 16 days.

Agreed, there are many rules in the non resident alien/resident alien tax filing world lol and without knowing what the ultimate goal of the OP is or all of the specific details surrounding his situation then we can't really say exactly what he might or might not be able to do to achieve that goal.

[FabtheFab 67]

I'm in the same situation.

Just to see if I get this straight... even if the CR1 person earned more than USD 100k in the year of 2015 abroad, if they quit their job and have no more earnings from it after they have their POE as resident, they do not need to report their income to the IRS for year 2015?