Question About Taxes?

[danielm2]

My fiancee arrived in the US in mid-October 2007, and we were married in early January 2008.

 

Because we were not married in 2007, we can't file jointly. She had no income for 2007 (in China or the US), so does she have to file a tax return?

 

I am horrible when it comes to taxes. Luckily everything for my situation is pretty straight forward.....I'm just not sure if I need to file a return for my wife or not.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Dan (and Xuejing)

[Randy W]

She would file only to get a refund of any withholding, or if she were eligible for the rebate.

[NY-Viking]

Randy's advice is correct; with no income, no need to file.

 

While I know there were other factors involved (romance, picking the "perfect date", availability of locations, etc., etc.), from a tax standpoint, it really is too bad you didn't marry late in December 2007. That way, you could have filed jointly and had the benefit of bigger deductions, and since she didn't have any income, you wouldn't have had to add anything. Plus, with the stimulus package, you would be eligible for a bigger rebate; and now it doesn't seem that she'd be able to benefit from the rebate on her own since she didn't have any earned income, or ss benefits, etc. Oh well ... live and learn ... you can always plan for kids to be born at the end of the year.

[danielm2]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I ended up just filing her taxes because they were so simple (with no income, stocks, bonds, etc.), and I figure going through the visa process, getting her into the IRS system can't hurt anything.

 

Thanks again!!

 

Dan~