Tax Question

[Earmuffs 1]

My wife just started a new job today and the IRS is closed so I thought maybe someone on here would know..

Since I wont be working down here for the rest of this year and she will be.. Should she claim me and the kids? and can i still claim them on my canadian one?

Do i file taxes down here even if i haven't worked?

[reeses16 8]

You have an interesting question. What is your wife's citizenship? US? Where does she work(US/Canada)? Where do you work (US/Canada)? Also, you talk in terms of husband and wife, but your profile says K1. Did you enter the US as a K1, married, but haven't filed for AOS yet? Do you have a green card?

[Earmuffs 1]

she is USC and works here in maryland. I last worked in canada. I entered as K1 and married and just waiting on one last thing to come in to send of the AOS.

[jonandmary 0]

If they have SSN's I say claim the dependents (kids) since you are married..... when she did the K1 application its pretty much admitting that she plans to provide for the beneficiaries. Right? If filing jointly you will have a standard deduction of $10,700 for 2007. Form 1040 6a and 6b will be checked and you'll list the dependents below that. Adjusted gross income - deductions - $3400 per dependent = taxable income. Of course this is if you are not itemizing deductions and she doesn't make over 117k a year.

Now if you lived in CA for awhile and earned income and are filing taxes I say claim the dependents up there too if you did provide for them. The SSN and SIN #'s are different. Of course I am far from a tax professional in regards to Canadian tax law.

Edited November 12, 2007 by jonandmary

[jonandmary 0]

Sorry I missed some of your questions. If you dont make income you should still file taxes with your wife for the deduction benefit.

When you said claim - did you mean on income taxes or on the W4 on file with her employer ?

[Earmuffs 1]

I guess I shouldve mentioned that the one son is hers and the other son we had together here in the US.

so I guess she file here for all of us and I file for all of us in CA.

[jonandmary 0]

I guess I shouldve mentioned that the one son is hers and the other son we had together here in the US.

so I guess she file here for all of us and I file for all of us in CA.

Well did the kids live in CA? Do they even have a SIN #?

[Earmuffs 1]

no the kids dont have SIN neither does my wife.. but that shouldnt matter should it? Im still married..

and yes it was for her work

[jonandmary 0]

The W4 only is for withholdings. If you put the exemptions at 2 on the W4 and there is little to none un-taxed income then she will pay less taxes on each check and it should be closer to the amount owed to the IRS. If its set to 0 then you should get more back at the end of the year.

If you are immigrating to the US I would say that you could only file a tax return in CA for yourself. It would be different if your wife and kids moved up to you. With out a SIN # I don't know how you could list them as a dependent regardless of marriage.

Again, I am just applying what I know of the US tax law to CA - you should talk to a tax professional up there when its time for you to file.

[Delicia 1]

As far as Canadian filing, my husband claimed me as a dependent (and my son, his step-son) on his 2006 return (I was living there the entire year) although I didn't have a SIN. The CRA requested I provide a SIN on 2 occasions and each time, we wrote back explaining why I didn't have one (was still in process for Canadian Immigration). The CRA eventually sent me a temp SIN (I never applied for it). They allowed my 'dependent' status because we could prove I was residing in Canada during the tax period with a joint tenancy agreement.

[Delicia 1]

As far as the U.S. tax questions, see here for some starter info.