Filing Taxes While waiting on NOA2

[ms_bobdog 501]

14 hours ago, Fereshteh said:

Hey all,

 

My situation is a bit more complicated. I am the beneficiary of my USC husband. We currently live abroad (have been living abroad for a year now) and we just got the NOA2 for our I-130.

 

I lived in the US for 6 years before, I was getting paid and had an SSN and paid taxes - in my last two years (2015 and 2016)  there I was a resident alien. In 2017 I did not live in the US so I know for tax purposes I'm nonresident alien. Now does that change now that our I-130 is approved?

I could be wrong, but you shouldn't need to worry about US taxes until you get your CR-1 or IR-1 stamped on your passport. At least I am not worrying about it now even though NOA2 was received because it still doesn't make me a resident alien in any way.

[Fereshteh 4]

On 2/21/2018 at 1:09 AM, ms_bobdog said:

I could be wrong, but you shouldn't need to worry about US taxes until you get your CR-1 or IR-1 stamped on your passport. At least I am not worrying about it now even though NOA2 was received because it still doesn't make me a resident alien in any way.

Thanks. That's what I thought too, and it makes sense. I can't even enter the US as of now.

[ms_bobdog 501]

@Fereshteh I will be talking to an accountant some time in the week. If I find out anything else I will let you know. From my understanding, as a nonresident alien married to a USC, you can choose to be treated as a resident alien and taxed on your worldwide income (that comes under married filing jointly and then you can either apply foreign income exclusion or foreign tax credit) but it doesn’t seem like you are interested in that (I am not, at this point). Were you out of the US for the whole of 2017 or partially? 

[Fereshteh 4]

On 2/24/2018 at 7:58 PM, ms_bobdog said:

@Fereshteh I will be talking to an accountant some time in the week. If I find out anything else I will let you know. From my understanding, as a nonresident alien married to a USC, you can choose to be treated as a resident alien and taxed on your worldwide income (that comes under married filing jointly and then you can either apply foreign income exclusion or foreign tax credit) but it doesn’t seem like you are interested in that (I am not, at this point). Were you out of the US for the whole of 2017 or partially? 

Yeah please let me know if you learn anything.

I understand the same: that we can file as resident alien if file jointly or if we do "married filing separately" we file as non-resident alien. IRS itself tells people you are entitled to choose whatever way you pay less which in my case would be filing separately since I have foreign income that will not be subject to tax if we file separately. I spent the first 7 days of 2017 in the US on H1-B visa and then later in December 2 weeks on tourist visa.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Fereshteh