Filing Taxes with NRA

[ABodden 3]

Hi,

My husband worked form January 2019-June 2019 in Canada when he lived there. He came to USA in July 2019 & we got married the same month.... Now I'm trying to figure out if we should file taxes separately or not. He did call Canada and ask but I was reading that we could file together even though he does not have a green card yet so i'm still confused. They told him that he has to print out a Canada Departure Tax Return. So does this mean I have to file separately from him or can we still file jointly in the USA & he still mails in the departure tax return to Canada? I'm just lost and looking for anything that could help. Thank you in advance.

[Crazy Cat 41,858]

Taxes and reporting requirements for the first year after entering the US can be a little complex if the foreign spouse has foreign income, bank accounts, or assets.  I suggest all new immigrants with foreign income consult a competent tax professional who can run the numbers for filing both separately and jointly......in general, there are many factors (income, foreign income exclusion, tax treaties, asset reporting, etc) which should be considered when determining the lowest legal tax liability and required reporting requirements.  Good luck.....just my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2020 by missileman

[Crazy Cat 41,858]

***Topic moved to Tax and Finance during US Immigration****

Edited January 31, 2020 by missileman

[arken 4,197]

To add another point: 

Don’t call another country to ask how to do taxes in the US. Too much of foreign interference talks going on these days.. 😁

[ABodden 3]

11 minutes ago, missileman said:

Taxes and reporting requirements for the first year after entering the US can be a little complex if the foreign spouse has foreign income, bank accounts, or assets.  I suggest all new immigrants with foreign income consult a competent tax professional who can run the numbers for filing both separately and jointly......in general, there are many factors (income, foreign income exclusion, tax treaties, asset reporting, etc) which should be considered when determining the lowest legal tax liability and required reporting requirements.  Good luck.....just my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, we are setting up an appointment to speak with someone. 

[ABodden 3]

1 minute ago, arken said:

To add another point: 

Don’t call another country to ask how to do taxes in the US. Too much of foreign interference talks going on these days.. 😁

I get that, that's why I still was confused cause we've been told many things that were incorrect. Thanks, we have an appointment set up for tomorrow to speak with someone about it.

[NikLR 13,227]

There's a forum called the Serbinski forums which is about USA/Canada tax issues.

 

You have two options MFJ and MFS.  

Regardless he files exit taxes in Canada

If you choose MFJ you need to count his worldwide income on the 1040.  He will be able to use form 2555 to exclude his foreign income from being taxed due to a tax treaty between the USA and Canada.

If you choose MFS he doesn't count his worldwide income and if he made over the threshold to file in the USA  he will also need to file a MFS tax return.  This is what my husband and I did my first year here. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by NikLR

[Crazy Cat 41,858]

3 minutes ago, NikLR said:

If you choose MFS he doesn't count his worldwide income and if he made over the threshold to file in the USA  he will also need to file a MFS tax return.  This is what my husband and I did my first year here. 

That is what we did the first year also.  Taiwan does not have a tax treaty with the US, so she could not exclude her foreign income.  Thus, it made more sense for us to file separately.  She was a dual status alien that year......and as you said, she only had to report her US based (income received after her arrival).....for that year.........In years since, we have filed jointly.

[ABodden 3]

8 minutes ago, NikLR said:

There's a forum called the Serbinski forums which is about USA/Canada tax issues.

 

You have two options MFJ and MFS.  

Regardless he files exit taxes in Canada

If you choose MFJ you need to count his worldwide income on the 1040.  He will be able to use form 2555 to exclude his foreign income from being taxed due to a tax treaty between the USA and Canada.

If you choose MFS he doesn't count his worldwide income and if he made over the threshold to file in the USA  he will also need to file a MFS tax return.  This is what my husband and I did my first year here. 

We will look into the Serbinski forum, thank you. My husband has not made any money in the US since he's been here. We are still waiting on his EAD card unfortunately. We are just really worried about messing something up & having to pay for it... Hopefully H&R Block can help us understand everything.

[arken 4,197]

18 minutes ago, ABodden said:

I get that, that's why I still was confused cause we've been told many things that were incorrect. Thanks, we have an appointment set up for tomorrow to speak with someone about it.

Just be careful that lots of these low level seasonal tax agents have given incorrect tax advices, as witnessed in this forum, so don’t blindly trust them, take that as a guidance. If any of them say you need to file single, just slap them.

 

Just commenting on whether you can file jointly or separately. As others have already said, you can file MFJ or MFS, your choice.

If your husband has a SSN or doesn’t mind going thru getting ITIN (if no SSN), then you can file MFJ.

If no SSN and you two don’t want to go thru ITIN process, then you file MFS, put NRA in his SSN box and do paper filing.

 

 

Edited January 31, 2020 by arken

[Crazy Cat 41,858]

6 minutes ago, ABodden said:

Hopefully H&R Block can help us understand everything.

Ask them if they will file your FBAR (if one is required)......

[ABodden 3]

14 minutes ago, missileman said:

Ask them if they will file your FBAR (if one is required)......

Noted but i'm not sure what that is... lol

18 minutes ago, arken said:

Just be careful that lots of these low level seasonal tax agents have given incorrect tax advices, as witnessed in this forum, so don’t blindly trust them, take that as a guidance. If any of them say you need to file single, just slap them.

 

Just commenting on whether you can file jointly or separately. As others have already said, you can file MFJ or MFS, your choice.

If your husband has a SSN or doesn’t mind going thru getting ITIN (if no SSN), then you can file MFJ.

If no SSN and you two don’t want to go thru ITIN process, then you file MFS, put NRA in his SSN box and do paper filing.

 

 

He does have a SSN. I read that it's better to file jointly but I wasn't sure if that would cause any issues for him in canada.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

50 minutes ago, ABodden said:

Noted but i'm not sure what that is... lol

He does have a SSN. I read that it's better to file jointly but I wasn't sure if that would cause any issues for him in canada.

In most cases, filing jointly has the lowest US income tax liability (biggest refund, or smallest amount you owe), but that's not always the case (if your spouse had relatively little foreign income compared to your income, or didn't have extremely high income in a country that has a tax treaty with the US, it's usually best to file jointly). It can be more complicated to get the paperwork right for this.

 

As far as immigration is concerned, the only thing that's problematic is filing as single when you're married.

Edited January 31, 2020 by DaveAndAnastasia

[NikLR 13,227]

9 hours ago, ABodden said:

Noted but i'm not sure what that is... lol

He does have a SSN. I read that it's better to file jointly but I wasn't sure if that would cause any issues for him in canada.

If you don't know and they don't know then they shouldn't be helping you!

 

Doesn't matter.  He files exit taxes which he only files based on his Canadian income.  It doesn't cause any issues.  He needs to paperfile for Canada.