marrage and dependants

[HaoRan]

I've had my wife and son (8 years old) here in the US for over 3 months now and I want to claim them as Exemptions on my income taxes. They are both green card holders and my wife is not working.

 

Is this possible?

 

I saw this on one web page:

 

Citizenship

To qualify for an exemption your dependent must either be:

 

• a US citizen,

• a resident of the US, Canada, or Mexico for part of the year,

• a legally adopted foreign child who now resides in the US, or

• an adopted child living w/you the entire year in a foreign country.

 

 

Oh, also, we have no US marriage cert. Just the Chinese one which was used in the I-130 application process.

 

Thanks in advance,

[dnoblett]

I've had my wife and son (8 years old) here in the US for over 3 months now and I want to claim them as Exemptions on my income taxes. They are both green card holders and my wife is not working.

 

Is this possible?

 

I saw this on one web page:

 

Citizenship

To qualify for an exemption your dependent must either be:

 

• a US citizen,

• a resident of the US, Canada, or Mexico for part of the year,

• a legally adopted foreign child who now resides in the US, or

• an adopted child living w/you the entire year in a foreign country.

 

 

Oh, also, we have no US marriage cert. Just the Chinese one which was used in the I-130 application process.

 

Thanks in advance,

A green-card holder is a RESIDENT of the USA.

[HaoRan]

Cool. I'm a retard... Thanks!!

[warpedbored]

As long as they became a LPR by Dec 31 you can claim them on your 2009 taxes.

[HaoRan]

As long as they became a LPR by Dec 31 you can claim them on your 2009 taxes.

 

In what way? What kind of claims can I make? I haven't added them as Exemptions yet.

 

tks

[dnoblett]

As long as they became a LPR by Dec 31 you can claim them on your 2009 taxes.

Note, they did a CR-1 and CR-2 visas so were LPR the moment they entered the USA.

[dnoblett]

As long as they became a LPR by Dec 31 you can claim them on your 2009 taxes.

 

In what way? What kind of claims can I make? I haven't added them as Exemptions yet.

 

tks

Claim child, and file married joint return.

[warpedbored]

If they don't have a Social Security number yet get them one before you file your taxes. File married, joint return and claim the child as a dependent as Dan said.

[Randy W]

Not true here folks - if they are married on Dec 31, they can file a joint return, regardless of residency in the US or any foreign country. The only issues are getting an SSN or ITIN, and how to treat any foreign income.

 

More information than he wants, but -

 

Filing Jointly While Your Spouse is in China or Otherwise Ineligible for an SSN

 

You will need an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (

ITIN

). See

http://www.

irs

.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html

 

IRS

issues ITINs to foreign nationals and others who have federal tax reporting or filing requirements and do not qualify for SSNs. A non-resident alien individual not eligible for a

SSN

, who is required to file a U.S. tax return only to claim a refund of tax under the provisions of a U.S. tax treaty, needs an

ITIN

.

 

Documents acceptable for identification include the passport, or two of the other documents listed at

http://www.

irs

.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html

(e.g., National ID, driver's license, birth certificate). Note that these must be the original documents, or notarized copies. Since China is not a party to the Hague Convention, a copy of the document must be notarized either at a Consulate, or here in the

US

. Originals may be mailed in (they will be returned, although this is not recommended), or may be taken to an

IRS

office.

 

Apply using Form

W-7

,

Application for

IRS

IndividualTaxpayer Identification Number

, which must be attached to an income tax return and mailed to the

ITIN

Operation Service Center in Austin, TX. Use this address for both the

W-7

and the return instead of the one listed in the instruction book.

 

For your first year filing jointly, you will want to get a copy of Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, particularly if the foreign spouse has income in China that needs to be reported. The First Year Choice may allow you to declare your spouse a nonresident alien for part of the year, and a resident for the rest, which

can

have big advantages if your spouse has substantial reported income in China.

 

As long as you are married on Dec 31 of that year, you should be able to file married filing jointly, even if your spouse is classified a non-resident alien for the entire year. This is usually the best option for those of

us

whose spouses have had no reportable income for the tax year. This option allows you to file a married filing jointly return with no complications except for the

ITIN

.

 

From Publication 519:

Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident

 

If, at the end of your tax year, you are married and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien and the other spouse is a nonresident alien, you

can

choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident.

 

If you make this choice, you and your spouse are treated for income tax purposes as residents for your entire tax year. Neither you nor your spouse

can

claim under any tax treaty not to be U.S. resident. b]You are both taxed on worldwide income.

[/b]

You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice, but you and your spouse

can

file joint or separate returns in later years.

 

Attach a statement, signed by both spouses, to your joint return for the first tax year for which the choice applies. It should contain the following information.

• A declaration that one spouse was a nonresident alien and the other spouse a U.S. citizen or resident alien on the last day of your tax year, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year.

 

• The name, address, and identification number of each spouse. (If one spouse died, include the name and address of the person making the choice for the deceased spouse.)

The notation:

Consular offices at U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas may not certify true copies of foreign public documents and will refer applicants to the foreign authority that issued the document.

was added to the

W-7

instructions in March, 2009. At last report, the Beijing Embassy and Shanghai consulates were willing to notarize "true copies", Guangzhou was not.

[HaoRan]

Thanks all.

 

My wife and son are both green card holders since Oct 23rd 2009 and both have SS Numbers since early this year or late last year, can't remember.

[warpedbored]

Randy brought up some good points. I was thinking more on the lines of

K-1. I see from your signature you were married in 2007. You may be able to file an amended return for 07 and 08 as well.