Taxes, first year with green card

[jordache463 0]

Can anyone help?

My husband will get his passport stamped January 3rd for an IR1 immigrant visa.

We will move to the usa April 20.

He will be earning foreign income in the meantime.

My questions are:

1. Does he file a tax return in 2017 for his 2016 foreign earned income?

2. In 2018, will he have to file taxes for January to April 2017, the foreign earned income made before flying to America?

I've read the flyers from the IRS and the pinned post from visa journey, I just don't understand!!!

Thank you for your knowledge!

[Kastrs 723]

Can anyone help?

My husband will get his passport stamped January 3rd for an IR1 immigrant visa.

We will move to the usa April 20.

He will be earning foreign income in the meantime.

My questions are:

1. Does he file a tax return in 2017 for his 2016 foreign earned income? Either you will file your return MFJ (married filing joint), in which case you would include your husbands income and it would end up excluded from US tax because of the foreign earned income exemption OR you will filing MFS (married filing separate) in which case prepare your return as normal with the exception that you will need to print your return to file and list your husbands SS# as NRA (or if he happens to have one list his SS# and you can efile as normal)

If you file MFS your husband does not need to do anything for the 2016 tax year

2. In 2018, will he have to file taxes for January to April 2017, the foreign earned income made before flying to America?

In 2018 you will either file MFJ, you would include your husbands income earned overseas and it would end up excluded from US tax because of the foreign earned income exemption as well as of course any income he makes in the US in 2017

OR

You will each file your own return MFS, in which case the process is the same for your husband he will prepare his taxes including the income earned overseas, and it will be exempt from US taxes because of the foreign earned income exclusion and your tax process would be as usual

I've read the flyers from the IRS and the pinned post from visa journey, I just don't understand!!!

Thank you for your knowledge!

[NewBrunswicker 19]

You file your taxes based on your residency. So while your husband resides in a foreign country and works there, he pays his taxes there and will have to file a tax return for that country. If he remains employed while residing in the US (and that is where I don't know how it works), it becomes foreign incomes and will have to be declared on his US tax return.

So back to your questions: 1) He shouldn't. 2) He should file a tax return in the proper country.

[Kastrs 723]

You file your taxes based on your residency. So while your husband resides in a foreign country and works there, he pays his taxes there and will have to file a tax return for that country. If he remains employed while residing in the US (and that is where I don't know how it works), it becomes foreign incomes and will have to be declared on his US tax return.

So back to your questions: 1) He shouldn't. 2) He should file a tax return in the proper country.

That is not true for US tax code

Her husband can chose to be a resident alien for the 2016 Tax year even though he has not lived here. For most couples it is more advantageous to file MFJ even in cases where the spouse has lived overseas for the whole year. For example, the year my husband and I were married, I filed MFJ even though he did not live in the US at all that year.

For the 2017 tax year, he will be required to file in the US (assuming he does move here in 2017) if he has earned any income over the threshold for filing limit (currently 10,300).

[jordache463 0]

That makes sense!!!!! It's how I've filled my taxes abroad every year!

Thank you so much for your time and your help!

[Ezy_and_Oghene 10]

By US law, all earned income in the US have to be reported by filing taxes annually, $500 or more.