Tax Returns for 2022

[DesiJase 52]

Hi Friends, okay so as I am brand new to being married, how does it work when you're filing your taxes the first year? We've been married since October so will we file Married filing Jointly or will I file as head of household ? Do we include his income that he made in the UK before coming here ? A little lost and afraid a tax preparer might not know. 

[HRQX 4,145]

23 minutes ago, DesiJase said:

okay so as I am brand new to being married, how does it work when you're filing your taxes the first year?

For 2021 tax year he doesn't meet the substantial presence test: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test (But if his I-485 is approved on or before Dec. 31 then he'll meet the Green Card test and thus be a US resident for the tax year)

 

If you want you can elect "to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident" when filing a joint return https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse

Edited November 12, 2021 by HRQX

[SteveInBostonI130 3,454]

3 hours ago, DesiJase said:

Hi Friends, okay so as I am brand new to being married, how does it work when you're filing your taxes the first year? We've been married since October so will we file Married filing Jointly or will I file as head of household ? Do we include his income that he made in the UK before coming here ? A little lost and afraid a tax preparer might not know. 

Not head of household.

 

It will be MFS or MFJ.  Consult a tax accountant experienced in international income.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

13 hours ago, DesiJase said:

Hi Friends, okay so as I am brand new to being married, how does it work when you're filing your taxes the first year? We've been married since October so will we file Married filing Jointly or will I file as head of household ? Do we include his income that he made in the UK before coming here ? A little lost and afraid a tax preparer might not know. 

There’s a whole lot to your question, but briefly I would suggest you file a joint return. He is eligible to file a regular joint return as a “US person” simply for being the spouse of an American. Doesn’t matter when he arrived. He needs a SSN and that has to be sorted within his first 76 days in the country for a K1 to get one. You probably didn’t do that so he will need to get an ITIN number for filing which is some extra legwork. Or he needs approved EAD to get a SSN and it doesn’t look like you filed your AOS/EAD yet so will be a wait to get an EAD card.

 

on a joint return his UK income is “reported” but he will be eligible to exclude it using IRS  Form 2555 so he is not taxed on it because he already paid the UK tax on those earnings. You don’t ever pay tax twice on the same earnings even though the IRS wants you to tell them about the earnings.

 

Think of Head of Household as something for single moms. You are no longer single so are either Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately for 2021. Joint is going to save you money.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Wuozopo

[Chancy 6,241]

On 11/12/2021 at 9:44 AM, DesiJase said:

We've been married since October so will we file Married filing Jointly or will I file as head of household ?

 

If you live together with your spouse, you are not eligible to file as Head of Household, even if you actually have dependent children or other relatives.  You may only file as MFS or MFJ.  As others have said, MFJ is an option for couples married within the tax year, regardless of how long the non-citizen spouse has been present in the US.