SS Tax--I must be dreaming???

[Love To Teach 161]

Hi. I am married to my husband from Pakistan for more than 2 years, and have applied for a CR1. Of course, he is still residing in Pakistan. I started receiving my Social Security while continuing to work this year. In doing my taxes, and the form for figuring out how much of my social security income that I have to pay taxes on, I came up with $0. This seems like it's too good to be true. One of the questions asked is whether or not you are filing separately but married, AND you haven't lived together during 2017. While he's not a citizen, etc., AND we have not lived together at all, I am wondering if I am allowed to check this box. OR would he have to be a citizen, married to me, AND not living together.

 

I just can't believe I don't have to pay more taxes on this. Am I reading this correctly? Anybody else with this experience? The other choices are that we are married, filing separately, AND lived together during 2017, OR married filing jointly.

 

Surely I have figured something wrong on the Social Security Benefits Worksheet--Lines 2-a and 20b?????

Thanks for any help!

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

3 minutes ago, Love To Teach said:

Hi. I am married to my husband from Pakistan for more than 2 years, and have applied for a CR1. Of course, he is still residing in Pakistan. I started receiving my Social Security while continuing to work this year. In doing my taxes, and the form for figuring out how much of my social security income that I have to pay taxes on, I came up with $0. This seems like it's too good to be true. One of the questions asked is whether or not you are filing separately but married, AND you haven't lived together during 2017. While he's not a citizen, etc., AND we have not lived together at all, I am wondering if I am allowed to check this box. OR would he have to be a citizen, married to me, AND not living together.

 

I just can't believe I don't have to pay more taxes on this. Am I reading this correctly? Anybody else with this experience? The other choices are that we are married, filing separately, AND lived together during 2017, OR married filing jointly.

 

Surely I have figured something wrong on the Social Security Benefits Worksheet--Lines 2-a and 20b?????

Thanks for any help!

Does he have a ITIN number for you to use when filing taxes?

[Love To Teach 161]

No, we didn't do that because he is self-employed and it's so complicated.  Also, the only other option on filing the social security stuff is that you are married, filing separately, and "you lived with your spouse at any time during 2017", which we didn't, only visits. So this option isn't true.

 

I'm wondering about applying for a W-7 for him. Would they accept faxed signed application forms? I don't know if I have time to get all that back and forth with original signatures.

Edited January 30, 2018 by Love To Teach

[Love To Teach 161]

The key to all this seems to be whether we lived together at all during 2017. We are filing separately, and he has no ITIN number. We didn't live together during the year, but maybe that only counts if he is a citizen? Geeze....

[Wuozopo 4,293]

On 1/30/2018 at 11:45 AM, Love To Teach said:

Hi. I am married to my husband from Pakistan for more than 2 years, and have applied for a CR1. Of course, he is still residing in Pakistan. I started receiving my Social Security while continuing to work this year. In doing my taxes, and the form for figuring out how much of my social security income that I have to pay taxes on, I came up with $0. This seems like it's too good to be true. One of the questions asked is whether or not you are filing separately but married, AND you haven't lived together during 2017. While he's not a citizen, etc., AND we have not lived together at all, I am wondering if I am allowed to check this box. OR would he have to be a citizen, married to me, AND not living together.

 

I just can't believe I don't have to pay more taxes on this. Am I reading this correctly? Anybody else with this experience? The other choices are that we are married, filing separately, AND lived together during 2017, OR married filing jointly.

 

Surely I have figured something wrong on the Social Security Benefits Worksheet--Lines 2-a and 20b?????

Thanks for any help!

There's a worksheet (Social Security Benefits Worksheet—Lines 20a and 20b)   on page 30 of the instructions https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

 

Fill in your numbers. This seems to be what you are stuck on...which to pick.

Worksheet #8 is $25,000 (because married filing separate and living apart)

Worksheet #10 is $9000 (same reason)

 

Do the math. Yes it's mathematically possible to no have Social Security taxed if your benefits are small and your earned income is small too. 

 

Don't forget that line 20a has to have a "D" instead of an amount per the worksheet.

 

 

Edited February 4, 2018 by Wuozopo

[Love To Teach 161]

Well, as it turns out, after reading and figuring, I have to pay taxes on 85% of it...dang it!