Urgent HELP needed regarding Taxes for 2015

[coolman673 0]

hello everyone. I have a question that i been getting different answers from two different H&R block guys. I filed for a CR1 and my wife's interview is coming up in egypt on May 22nd. We were married on Feb of 2015. She never been to the U.S and she doesn't make any income as she is still a student there.

1) Can i file tax extension until she comes here before October hopefully and then she'll have her Social Security by then?

a)If i take the route, then during the file extension do i file as it as Married Filing Separate and then when i do file the Tax i can include her in it?

2) Will the interview ask for the 2015 income tax? and what would happen if i don't have it because i filed an extension, would that cause an issue?

i don't want to do the ITIN route because it requires her passport which she will need during the interview. I would appreciate any comments or advice i can get.

[NikLR 13,227]

1) you can try

a) yes

2) yes to both

OR

3) file by mail as MFS, handwrite NRA in the SSN spot. Your issue is mostly that the H&R guys want to send your return online and that won't let you do it without an ITIN or SSN.

[coolman673 0]

1) you can try

a) yes

2) yes to both

OR

3) file by mail as MFS, handwrite NRA in the SSN spot. Your issue is mostly that the H&R guys want to send your return online and that won't let you do it without an ITIN or SSN.

so am i able to file the taxes now and then amend it later to include her? thanks for the fast reply.

[NikLR 13,227]

Yes you can. Keep in mind that if you file jointly, she'll need to be counted as a resident for tax purposes. So if she was working, her income will now need to be included on your tax return.

My husband purposely filed MFS our first year together. We have filed MFJ every year since then.

[coolman673 0]

if i file MFJ then that means i would apply for ITIN. Instead i need to make sure that filing MFS does not affect her interview results. I want to wait until she has her social security to avoid the trouble of filing for ITIN. she is not here yet in the united states and she has NO income at all.

[NikLR 13,227]

MFS is still filing married. It will not negatively affect her.

Amend to MFJ after she arrives for a better tax refund or leave it as is. Up to you.

[coolman673 0]

MFS is still filing married. It will not negatively affect her.

Amend to MFJ after she arrives for a better tax refund or leave it as is. Up to you.

thank you so much! that the answer i needed help understanding. so i will file my taxes now in case they ask for it during the interview(even i sent them the last 3 income taxes) and file it as MFS and then when she comes i will amed it to MFJ .

[NikLR 13,227]

You're very welcome.

[suziesadek 0]

May I ask how you are filing? If you file MFS you still need to provide and ITIN or SSN. I filed single head of household. Which seems totally illegal but considering my husband has never stepped foot in America and also had little to no income last year. When I tried to include him in my taxes was unable to. If you file for an extension you can add her on your taxes later when she arrives. But honestly there is no time frame for her arrival. My Hubby's interview was March 17 2016. The CO did not ask for my 2015 tax forms. And I have not included him on my taxes due to him not having an ITIN or SSN

[coolman673 0]

May I ask how you are filing? If you file MFS you still need to provide and ITIN or SSN. I filed single head of household. Which seems totally illegal but considering my husband has never stepped foot in America and also had little to no income last year. When I tried to include him in my taxes was unable to. If you file for an extension you can add her on your taxes later when she arrives. But honestly there is no time frame for her arrival. My Hubby's interview was March 17 2016. The CO did not ask for my 2015 tax forms. And I have not included him on my taxes due to him not having an ITIN or SSN

hi, that's something that i will do with my accountant. I believe that you have to write NAR in the SS# when you file as MFS.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

NRA for non-resident alien

Also you have to file by mail.

[lukamari 6]

You don't need the actual passport for an ITIN... I have been living in Egypt since February last year with my husband. Before arriving, I had my taxes prepared at H&R Block, including the ITIN application. I was told to have a copy of my husband's passport authenticated at the US Embassy in Cairo. I sent the prepared taxes, ITIN application, and his authenticated passport copy by FedEx to the ITIN Operation in Texas, I believe. Once they assigned ITIN, they forwarded the our tax return to be processed. Not sure why H&R Block didn't tell you that you can submit an authenticated passport copy... This year, we were able to electronically file. Both years we filed married, joint. He's never been to the USA and had little income last year, which we were told didn't matter because he wasn't a resident of the USA. The H&R tax preparer put 0$ for his income last year.

[NikLR 13,227]

Technically they did that wrong. He was supposed to include the income then exclude the income. (It's more complicated than it really should be but it's due to the way the US has their tax laws.)

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

1) you can try

a) yes

2) yes to both

OR

3) file by mail as MFS, handwrite NRA in the SSN spot. Your issue is mostly that the H&R guys want to send your return online and that won't let you do it without an ITIN or SSN.

Actually, IRS no longer accepts NRA .

NRA for non-resident alien

Also you have to file by mail.

In addition, OP's wife has to sign the tax return. Original signature.

You can either file MFS now and amend when your wife gets here or you can amend later when you have W-7 signed and a certified copy of her passport.

[lukamari 6]

I can't get in trouble for that, can I? Since I had a tax professional prepare them? Hope not! Kind of tedious if we have to include then exclude, lol... What's the point? Pfft. But my point was you don't need to physical passport. An authenticated copy works.