Filing Taxes when your spouse is non resident alien.

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Naaz2004

Registered Users (C)
As an LPR how one is supposed to file taxes if married but his/her spouse is still in another country?
My case: As some of you might know, I am married in the past 8 months of 2004 and my hubby still not in the usa due to pending I 130 and will take anotehr 2-3 years, known fact :(
So my question is this that: How to file my taxes and does he have to file taxes along with me as he worked in another country? Can I claim him as a dependent? He lives in India now. I am confused how to handle this tax return for 2004. Please advise me from your experience as I am sure many of you might have come across this situation. Thanks for all the advices and help always. :)
 
You should file as "married filing seperately". If you are paying for any dependents, you can file as "head of household" but your dependents will have to live with you. Your husband is not in
US and he is not a US resident/ citizen, so he does not have to pay US taxes on his income abroad. You cannot claim him as a dependent because he is not living with you in the US.

These are all my interpretetion. You should consult a professional tax preparer or study the IRS publication 501 thorougly.
-NS
 
Here are my thots:

I don't think one can show folks living outside the country as dependants whether it is parents, children or spouse. I am not sure if filing as HOH is possible. The only option is to file as Single (for tax purpose).

More than the fact that your spouse doesn't have to file taxes here for income earned abroad, he simply cannot!

However I have seen folks showing her H4 dependants (who lives in India primarily and visited the US for a few weeks a year) because they have TIN #.

Please check with a CPA.
 
North_Star said:
You should file as "married filing seperately". If you are paying for any dependents, you can file as "head of household" but your dependents will have to live with you. Your husband is not in
US and he is not a US resident/ citizen, so he does not have to pay US taxes on his income abroad. You cannot claim him as a dependent because he is not living with you in the US.

These are all my interpretetion. You should consult a professional tax preparer or study the IRS publication 501 thorougly.
-NS
Click to expand...

Thanks. Do I need a TIN for him if I file married filing separately? I also see that I can file jointly as well but that is a bit complicated I guess as u need to show his income abroad and etc. This is a difficult decision. I want to keep it simple but legal.
 
This is what I found in the IRS publication:

"Your filing status is single if, on the last day of the year, you are unmarried or legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree, and you do not qualify for another filing status. To determine your marital status on the last day of the year, see Marital Status, earlier. "

That's why I thought Naaz2004 could not file as a single.

In another paragraph:

"Married persons living apart. If you live apart from your spouse and meet certain tests, you may be considered unmarried. If this applies to you, you can file as head of household even though you are not divorced or legally separated. If you qualify to file as head of household instead of as married filing separately, your standard deduction will be higher. Also, your tax may be lower, and you may be able to claim the earned income credit. See Head of Household, later."

Anyway, I think a professional consultation is necessary to avoid the risk of audit.

-NS

PS - Showing a H4 who does not meet residency test (>183 days a year) as a dependent is a very risky business. I personally would not like to get into trouble with IRS for a couple of thousand bucks of deduction.
 
My understanding is that only a US citizen can claim a dependent living outside the country. A married non citizen whose wife is overseas or dependent(s) are overseas have to file as "single" and IRS makes it clear that tax filing status and married status are not the same always. If you have tax cut software, just go to help and do a search. I know of a collegue of mine who was in that situation and had to file "single" status even though he was married and his spouse was yet to join.
 
brb2 said:
My understanding is that only a US citizen can claim a dependent living outside the country.
Click to expand...

I think it is more like only a taxpayer can claim
a dependent living abroad only if the
depedent is a US citizen

(This condition is necessary but not sufficient)

1040 Form instruction give detailed
defintion of dependent for tax purpose
 
Naaz2004 said:
Thanks. Do I need a TIN for him if I file married filing separately? I also see that I can file jointly as well but that is a bit complicated I guess as u need to show his income abroad and etc. This is a difficult decision. I want to keep it simple but legal.
Click to expand...
If your husband is not in US, you cannot get a TIN for him. Nowadays, TIN is only issued to persons who is required to file a tax return (with US income) but does not qualify for SSN. In fact, you need to send them a completed tax return while applying for TIN. This has become much more strict than before.
 
AmericanWannabe said:
I think it is more like only a taxpayer can claim
a dependent living abroad only if the
depedent is a US citizen

(This condition is necessary but not sufficient)

1040 Form instruction give detailed
defintion of dependent for tax purpose
Click to expand...

Yes, you are right. The non resident dependent has to be a US citizen.
 
North_Star said:
If your husband is not in US, you cannot get a TIN for him. Nowadays, TIN is only issued to persons who is required to file a tax return (with US income) but does not qualify for SSN. In fact, you need to send them a completed tax return while applying for TIN. This has become much more strict than before.
Click to expand...

Thanks North_Star, I think I can either file as single for the tax purpose or head of household if I have a dependent in the US only. This much is I think clear to me now. From the research I have done, I have found that one may consider himself as single for the tax purpose if his spouse is not living in the US. I asked a USC freind with same situation and he has some tax knowledge too and he told me that he will file as single even though he is married but his wife still has not come to USA. Thanks for your help.

Naaz
 
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