First time Filing Taxes and Confused

[Nicole&Ilyess 3]

So this will be my first time filing with my husband who is here on K1. We have already applied for AOS in December. He did not get a social security number which is a long story. We have an appointment tomorrow with the IRS to apply for ITIN so we can file. I want to file jointly but having some difficulty finishing up the information on turbo tax because they won't let me go any further because he don't have a ssn. Is there a program that I can use that will allow me to finish up the taxes and print them, or will the programs not allow me to do this?  Also, I was told that I would have to add my husbands income but he didn't have any. Is there something I should be doing before I send in the taxes along with the W7 application?  I'm a nervous wreck over this. I have always done my own taxes so i'm overwhelmed with doing this right.

[NovaSprings 89]

You can try 9 "9"s to see if that works and go back and change it later.  Did your husband have any income in his native country in 2018 before he arrived here?  If he did you will need to include that on your US joint return.

Edited February 13, 2019 by NovaSprings

[EandH0904 1,184]

If you are applying for an ITIN you will need to file through a paper file. Can't do it online. You will send the W7, the certified passport copy and the certificate of authenticity that a certified acceptance agent gives you along with the joint return.  

 

Ours took 3 weeks for the ITIN and 3 more weeks for the refund. I used turbotax and just put in whatever number but DID NOT FILE online. At the end I printed the return INSTEAD OF filing it. Whited out the fake SSN, made a copy so it looks clean, and wrote "Applying for ITIN " in the box. 

[Nicole&Ilyess 3]

4 minutes ago, EandH0904 said:

If you are applying for an ITIN you will need to file through a paper file. Can't do it online. You will send the W7, the certified passport copy and the certificate of authenticity that a certified acceptance agent gives you along with the joint return.  

 

Ours took 3 weeks for the ITIN and 3 more weeks for the refund. I used turbotax and just put in whatever number but DID NOT FILE online. At the end I printed the return INSTEAD OF filing it. Whited out the fake SSN, made a copy so it looks clean, and wrote "Applying for ITIN " in the box. 

I knew we had to mail it in, just getting past that error screen with the SSN. Thank you for the response, that helps a lot. We have an appointment with the IRS so won't they authenicate everything there at the appointment? Eliminating the need to send the passport copy in? Or do they certifiy it there and give me the copy? 

[junkmart 320]

25 minutes ago, Nicole&Ilyess said:

I knew we had to mail it in, just getting past that error screen with the SSN. Thank you for the response, that helps a lot. We have an appointment with the IRS so won't they authenicate everything there at the appointment? Eliminating the need to send the passport copy in? Or do they certifiy it there and give me the copy? 

I went to CAA instead of an IRS TAC to have my passport authenticated. I'm not sure if TACs work the same way, but here was my experience.

 

I went to the CAA with my completed forms (1040, W-7, etc.) and passport. The CAA authenticated my passport and gave me a Certificate of Accuracy (COA). They also filled out the bottom of the W-7. I mailed all my forms to the address listed in the W-7 instructions, not the 1040 instructions. My package was in the following order:

W-7

COA

Copy of passport

1040

Schedule 3

1116 Foreign Tax Credit

8965 Health Coverage Exemption

[EandH0904 1,184]

1 hour ago, Nicole&Ilyess said:

We have an appointment with the IRS so won't they authenicate everything there at the appointment? Eliminating the need to send the passport copy in? Or do they certifiy it there and give me the copy? 

My husband was not in the US so we were not able to go to IRS and used the certified acceptance agent. Please update the thread and let us know what IRS said so others can benefit from the information 

[Nicole&Ilyess 3]

1 hour ago, EandH0904 said:

My husband was not in the US so we were not able to go to IRS and used the certified acceptance agent. Please update the thread and let us know what IRS said so others can benefit from the information 

I sure will! Thank you

[Nicole&Ilyess 3]

8 hours ago, EandH0904 said:

If you are applying for an ITIN you will need to file through a paper file. Can't do it online. You will send the W7, the certified passport copy and the certificate of authenticity that a certified acceptance agent gives you along with the joint return.  

 

Ours took 3 weeks for the ITIN and 3 more weeks for the refund. I used turbotax and just put in whatever number but DID NOT FILE online. At the end I printed the return INSTEAD OF filing it. Whited out the fake SSN, made a copy so it looks clean, and wrote "Applying for ITIN " in the box. 

When you filed did you get credit for having your foreign spouse on your taxes or it didn't make a difference? I was reading on the irs website that if you use the ITIN # then even if I file jointly it won't count, like there won't be an exemption for your dependent? When I read that I felt like then whats the since of filing jointly and going through all this.

[EandH0904 1,184]

15 minutes ago, Nicole&Ilyess said:

When you filed did you get credit for having your foreign spouse on your taxes or it didn't make a difference? I was reading on the irs website that if you use the ITIN # then even if I file jointly it won't count, like there won't be an exemption for your dependent? When I read that I felt like then whats the since of filing jointly and going through all this.

Yes we got the credit for married joint. 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

9 hours ago, Nicole&Ilyess said:

So this will be my first time filing with my husband who is here on K1. We have already applied for AOS in December. He did not get a social security number which is a long story. We have an appointment tomorrow with the IRS to apply for ITIN so we can file. I want to file jointly but having some difficulty finishing up the information on turbo tax because they won't let me go any further because he don't have a ssn. Is there a program that I can use that will allow me to finish up the taxes and print them, or will the programs not allow me to do this?  Also, I was told that I would have to add my husbands income but he didn't have any. Is there something I should be doing before I send in the taxes along with the W7 application?  I'm a nervous wreck over this. I have always done my own taxes so i'm overwhelmed with doing this right.

I use the TurboTax you buy and install on your home computer. It will keep saying you have an error if the SSN is blank, but you just ignore it, check your other errors and can move on and print for filing by mail.  Leave the SSN box blank. His ITIN will be written in when it is assigned at the Austin IRS center.

 

TurboTax Basic is sufficient but is harder to find because they promote Deluxe and up. Amazon has it for $29.99,  but not with state income tax included. The online programs assume you will e-file and will not let you move on mainly because everything has to be exact for an efile to be accepted. With installed software, you can view or print your forms at any point in the process, finished or not.

 

If you husband had zero income in his home country during 2018, then you don't put any income for him. 

You both need to sign a statement electing for him to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes.

 

From Publication 519:

Attach a statement, signed by both spouses, to your joint return for the first tax year for which the choice applies. It should contain the following information.

• A declaration that one spouse was a non- resident alien and the other spouse a U.S. citizen or resident alien on the last day of your tax year, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year.
• The name, address, and identification number of each spouse. (If one spouse died, include the name and address of the person making the choice for the deceased spouse.) 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

1 hour ago, Nicole&Ilyess said:

When you filed did you get credit for having your foreign spouse on your taxes or it didn't make a difference? I was reading on the irs website that if you use the ITIN # then even if I file jointly it won't count, like there won't be an exemption for your dependent? When I read that I felt like then whats the since of filing jointly and going through all this.

The terminology is messing you up. 

 

There are no exemptions in 2018 for anybody. It is a major tax overhaul year and that is one of the changes. But the standard deduction has been increased to $12,000 per filer. So file by yourself and you get $12k off your taxable income. File jointly and you get $24,000 off. 

 

In 2017 you would have only gotten a  standard deduction of $10,400 for the two of you.

[PhillipB 1]

Hey guys, i have a question, but i think there is no need to open new thread.

 

2018 was my first years in US, i gained green card through lottery .

 

I was in the US for a month, i didn't get any job, just used to open bank account and collect SSN, Drivers licence and green card.

 

So i didn't have any job, any income at all ,just made a deposit with money that i bring with me...

 

Do i need to file taxes at all? at least i did some kind of quiz at IRS.gov , and the result says i dont need to file taxes.... Just want to make sure with someone else .... 

[geowrian 22,337]

3 hours ago, PhillipB said:

Hey guys, i have a question, but i think there is no need to open new thread.

You should open a new thread for your own question.

 

3 hours ago, PhillipB said:

2018 was my first years in US, i gained green card through lottery .

 

I was in the US for a month, i didn't get any job, just used to open bank account and collect SSN, Drivers licence and green card.

 

So i didn't have any job, any income at all ,just made a deposit with money that i bring with me...

 

Do i need to file taxes at all? at least i did some kind of quiz at IRS.gov , and the result says i dont need to file taxes.... Just want to make sure with someone else .... 

If your income earned since you came to the US on the immigrant visa (the date of becoming a US resident) is under the filing threshold, then there is no requirement to file taxes.

Just to clarify, though...your worldwide income must be under the threshold, starting from when you became a US resident. Even if the income was earned abroad after you came to the US, it needs to be counted.

Income is what matters, not assets or deposits.

If you have at least $10,000 total in foreign accounts, you may need to file an FBAR.