place married or single on taxes?

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,094]

23 hours ago, geowrian said:

Only possible options are Married Filing Jointly (need an SSN or ITIN - can be requested at the time of filing), Married Filing Separately (write in "NRA" for the spouse's SSN), and Head of Household (in limited circumstances). Single is not a valid filing status for somebody who is married.

And note that you are married for tax purposes if you were married one second before midnight on New Year's Eve of that tax year.

 

So if you married in 2019 (at any point, in any country), then when one of you files US income tax forms for the 2019 tax year (usually this is in early 2020, because you typically don't have all the needed documents February or so, and the normal filing deadline is April 15 or the Monday after if the 15th is a weekend) you file using one of the statuses valid for married people listed above.

[MadamG 26]

@geowrian I was advised with no kids and because my husband still lives abroad I can file head of hh as I don’t have any minor kids in my home and pay my rent and so on and so fourth,

[geowrian 22,337]

Just now, MadamG said:

@geowrian I was advised with no kids and because my husband still lives abroad I can file head of hh as I don’t have any minor kids in my home and pay my rent and so on and so fourth,

If you met all the conditions on that link, then you can. But having a spouse that you don't live with doesn't meet that criteria in itself.

The 1040 instructions (page 16) also describe these circumstances: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

[MadamG 26]

@geowrian I didn’t click on the link and I’m not going too. Thanks though 😊

Edited December 14, 2019 by MadamG

[MikeMinusWife 42]

I consulted my tax professional regarding both this question and claiming for my stepchildren who also live overseas.  The advice was that I can file as Married filing Jointly if an ITIN is requested on a W7 which can be submitted at the time of filing.  There is a clause regarding children being "resident" to claim for that tax relief so I have elected not to claim for them until next year when hopefully they will be US residents.

 

I must admit it has made a significant (positive) difference to my tax liability for 2019.

[Dante2019 9]

On 12/13/2019 at 6:41 AM, geowrian said:

Only possible options are Married Filing Jointly (need an SSN or ITIN - can be requested at the time of filing), Married Filing Separately (write in "NRA" for the spouse's SSN), and Head of Household (in limited circumstances). Single is not a valid filing status for somebody who is married.

My and social security  numberwife and I (US citizen) both live in Korea.

 

So Even if I check the option of Married Filing Separately, do I need to put her name because it says "If joint return, spouse's first name and initial"?

[NikLR 13,231]

On 12/13/2019 at 6:53 PM, MadamG said:

@geowrian I didn’t click on the link and I’m not going too. Thanks though 😊

Then go to the IRS website. 

[geowrian 22,337]

9 hours ago, Dante2019 said:

My and social security  numberwife and I (US citizen) both live in Korea.

 

So Even if I check the option of Married Filing Separately, do I need to put her name because it says "If joint return, spouse's first name and initial"?

Yes. Use "NRA" for their SSN/ITIN.

 

9 hours ago, NikLR said:

Then go to the IRS website. 

I read it as the equivalent of sticking your head in the sand hoping it won't become an issue. 🤷‍♂️

[NikLR 13,231]

9 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Yes. Use "NRA" for their SSN/ITIN.

 

I read it as the equivalent of sticking your head in the sand hoping it won't become an issue. 🤷‍♂️

You may be right.  Guess we'll see. 

[Dante2019 9]

12 hours ago, geowrian said:

Yes. Use "NRA" for their SSN/ITIN.

 

Do I also have to do her taxes and send her 1040 with mine if I do MFS? Or can I just check MFS, do my own taxes, put her name, put NRA for her social security, and not worry about her taxes.

 

The reason why I'm asking about this is because I've been reading that I have to do her taxes with mine and fill out a W-7 form. It seems like just filing MFS is easier and quicker because doing a joint tax return has zero beniefs with my own taxes.

 

My son is a US citizen, but he doesn't have a social security number, do I also put NRA for his part?

[geowrian 22,337]

31 minutes ago, Dante2019 said:

Do I also have to do her taxes and send her 1040 with mine if I do MFS? Or can I just check MFS, do my own taxes, put her name, put NRA for her social security, and not worry about her taxes.

If you do MFS, she doesn't have to file a return unless she has US income that requires filing a return as a non-resident (I'm assuming she does not work in the US so that would be a "no").

 

31 minutes ago, Dante2019 said:

The reason why I'm asking about this is because I've been reading that I have to do her taxes with mine and fill out a W-7 form. It seems like just filing MFS is easier and quicker because doing a joint tax return has zero beniefs with my own taxes.

The W-7 would let her apply for an ITIN with the return, and is generally used when filing jointly.

Filing jointly has benefits in some (most IMO) cases. The doubled standard deduction goes a long way at knocking down one's own tax liability, assuming you have any tax liability. It requires claiming the alien spouse as a resident for the entire year, which means reporting all their worldwide income as well. That foreign income may or may not be excludable via the FEIE.

 

MFJ is more complex here, but it can have significant benefits too. When I did MFJ with my wife who had no US-based income + I could use the FEIE to write off her foreign income, filing MFJ resulted in almost $5,000 more in a tax refund versus MFS.

 

31 minutes ago, Dante2019 said:

My son is a US citizen, but he doesn't have a social security number, do I also put NRA for his part?

He should probably get an SSN. He is not a Non-Resident Alien (NRA).

[Nitas_man 3,100]

On 12/13/2019 at 6:16 AM, Andres Gipo said:

Thank you very much everyone for taking the time to respond, we will consider all your advice.

That’s the IRS “advice”.  

[Rachel & Ghassan 3]

So I filed my 2019 taxes as single because both myself and my husband reside in a foreign country. My accountant told me that there is no way to file "married" because the IRS will reject my return since my husband does not have an ITIN or SS#. He also told me the ITIN would take 3-4 months from now. 

 

I am not sure what I should do and if this is going to negatively impact our petition. My accountant did say he would provide us a letter to explain the taxation laws and the reasons for filing single. 

 

Any advice?

[Just Paul 4,595]

3 hours ago, Rachel & Ghassan said:

So I filed my 2019 taxes as single because both myself and my husband reside in a foreign country. My accountant told me that there is no way to file "married" because the IRS will reject my return since my husband does not have an ITIN or SS#. He also told me the ITIN would take 3-4 months from now. 

 

I am not sure what I should do and if this is going to negatively impact our petition. My accountant did say he would provide us a letter to explain the taxation laws and the reasons for filing single. 

 

Any advice?

Clearly the accountant is incompetent. How is it possible that he is an enrolled agent with the IRS?    You are married so you filed as married.   You can go thru the steps to get an ITIN to file as MFJ.  We did that in Hong Kong  with an IRS acceptance agent.  You can also file the W7 with the tax return and passport.

 

You can file MFS and you write in NRA for your wife's ssn.   To do this you file on PAPER.   So Lazy. 

 

Re read this post - all of you answers are in this post.  

 

[geowrian 22,337]

4 hours ago, Rachel & Ghassan said:

So I filed my 2019 taxes as single because both myself and my husband reside in a foreign country. My accountant told me that there is no way to file "married" because the IRS will reject my return since my husband does not have an ITIN or SS#. He also told me the ITIN would take 3-4 months from now. 

 

I am not sure what I should do and if this is going to negatively impact our petition. My accountant did say he would provide us a letter to explain the taxation laws and the reasons for filing single. 

 

Any advice?

So the accountant really couldn't find the 1040 instructions or something?

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf, page 13

Quote

Married Filing Separately

Check the “Married filing separately” box at the top of Form 1040 or 1040-SR if you are married and file a separate return. Enter your spouse’s name in the entry space below the filing status checkboxes. Be sure to enter your spouse’s SSN or ITIN in the space for spouse’s SSN on Form 1040 or 1040-SR. If your spouse doesn’t have and isn’t required to have an SSN or ITIN, enter “NRA.”

or this (to file jointly, although a W-7 to get an ITIN would be needed)? https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

 

Some accountants just make me shake my head. If you don't know, then don't advise, find out the answer, then advise. Because I am confident they did not have a reputable source affirmatively saying "there is no way to file "married". At best they did not know how to do so.

 

Anyway, this is an IRS issue, not an immigration one.

But you should file a 1040X to amend the return and resolve the issue.