First Year Paying Taxes in the US

[Siam Sam 6]

I hope this is the correct forum. Please move it if it's not.

My Thai wife and I went through the process in Bangkok, she was granted her Immigrant Visa, and we now live in Hawaii. I arrived here on August 1 and my wife on September 29 after I found a home. We are settled in and awaiting her green card, which we were told would arrive about year-end.

My question is taxes. Our marriage has been recognized by the US government for decades while we were living in Bangkok. I always filed my US taxes separately but in listing myself as Married, I ticked the box that said my wife would be filing separately. She has a US Social Security number, so I included that on the tax forms. But since she never had any income taxable in the US and was not a citizen, she was never required to file, so I showed only my income. All right and proper.

Now however, my wife is living in the US as a Permanent Resident. As a retired civil servant, she has a small pension equal to about $500 a month, deposited automatically into her bank account in Thailand. She can pull the money out here using her ATM card. Since she is now living in the US and pulling out money and using it in the US, should she be reporting this on a US tax form? And should we now be filing jointly rather than separately, and if so, should this income be included?

I have a job here in Honolulu now but will also have to list my Thai income through March. That and my wife's pension are the only income we have.

Thank you in advance for any advice. We want to do the right thing but are worried about doing the incorrect thing and screwing up her visa.

[Anitafeliz 1,133]

You dont have to be a citizen to file taxes.

she never had any income taxable in the US and was not a citizen.

The flag on the side lets us know she is from Thailand...my thai wife

Edited November 13, 2016 by Anitafeliz

[Maagiclady 29]

This is a question for the tax accountants. However, taxes are for money earned in the US. My understanding is that if I make the money in the US I pay US taxes on it. But If I spend it in Mexico, I dont pay income tax in Mexico, because I did not EARN it in Mexico. Similarly with state tax, you pay state tax based on which state the money was earned in.

[WOODHIKER 30]

US citizens and US green card holders are taxed on worldwide income. So it doesn't matter where the income is earned, it must be included on your US income tax return. However, if your wife already pays tax to the Philippines on her pension income, then your wife may be entitled to a foreign tax credit on your US income tax return for taxes already paid to the Philippines government.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/income-from-abroad-is-taxable

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-tax-credit

It is up to you whether you want to file jointly or separately. Usually, but not always, filing jointly is more beneficial, but each couple's financial situation is unique.

[Siam Sam 6]

It's Thailand where she files, as she's Thai and from Bangkok. We always file our Thai taxes separately these days, because now we have to. Thailand ended joint filing a few years ago. Filing my US taxes, it just seemed simpler for me to file one return for myself since I was subject to US reporting laws and she wasn't.

But thanks for the info that now she's a Permanent Resident in the US, her Thai income, paltry though it may be, needs to be reported to the IRS even if it's not enough to be taxed. I don't think we'll have to pay much in taxes at all this year, if any. She'll have the $6000 pension for the year. (And it'll amount to less than that if the baht keeps crashing.) My Thai income ended in early March, while my full-time US job did not start until the middle of last month. Between those two times, we lived on savings. But I want to be sure we file correctly.

I have an accountant in Thailand who is an American. But he never wants to give advice, just do as I instruct. I can tell him to file for us jointly now, and he'll know what to do regarding tax credits and such.

Thanks again.

Edited November 15, 2016 by Siam Sam