doubly taxed?

[rst]

Starting to think about what happens after my sweetie arrives. Hopefully it will be before the end of the year. Wondered if that meant I could file "married" status. Just read through some of the posts in this forum, and I believe the answer is yes, if we get her an ITIN. But the one thing that surprised me was the requirement to report her local income. Isn't that double-dipping, assuming local governments take care of taxing their own citizens? Did I understand that right?

[Beachey]

If your girl arrives before the end of the year, you shouldn't need an ITIN as she should have a SSN before April 15th. Where an ITIN is needed is when you get married overseas but don't have a SSN by April 15th because you haven't completed the immigration process. There is no requirement that the SSN be issued by the end of the year.

 

I think there is also a way to exclude your wife's income for the first year only by declaring her a resident for only part of the year but I am not familiar with that portion of the law.

 

If your girl has overseas income that is taxed by a foreign government you can take a Foreign Tax Credit to offset the US taxation. It is slightly complicated but not overly so if you are the type that normally does your own taxes. Dig though the forums again or come next April 15th, there likely will be a discussion going surrounding this topic.

 

And once you are married, you file either married filing jointly or married filing separately. Filing Single is not really a choice even though some do but they do so knowing they will have to file an amended return.

 

 

[Randy W]

If you file married filing jointly, you are declaring your wife as a resident (for income tax purposes) for the entire year. Her income is supposed to be included, but then up to $93,000 (2010) may be excluded from your taxable income through Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income.

 

If she earned over $93,000, it MAY be to your advantage to file Married filing separately and use the rules for first year residents.

 

http://www.taxbarron.com/faqs.php

http://www.taxmeless.com/IRS593Publication.htm

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=182017,00.html

 

If you are married as of Dec. 31, regardless of whether she is in the US or China, you are eligible to file with Married status for the entire tax year. Married filing jointly is generally the most advantageous.

Edited October 12, 2011 by Randy W (see edit history)

[credzba]

 

If she earned over $93,000, it MAY be to your advantage to file Married filing separately and use the rules for first year residents.

 

If she was earning over $93,000 in China, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU THINKING BRINGING HER TO AMERICA WHERE SHE WILL BE JOBLESS !?!

 

 

[dnoblett]

Here's our timeline..

 

My wife entered the USA around March 2008, and we married, so our first Joint return was for the year of 2008, in our case my wife worked her old job in China perhaps the month of January, and worked a short Job in the USA during the year 2008. When we filed our Joint return we did not even bother accounting for her foreign income.

 

Again what was earned in China before immigrating can stay in China, this is not about income of a US Resident, or Citizen, it is foreign income of a Chinese citizen while resident in China before becoming a US resident, in my opinion it does not need to be reported, on the 2011 return next April.

 

As for ITIN, this would on be needed, if you married prior to end of year and are in process of getting a spouse visa, and your spouse is not yet in the states when you file the IRS return. If your fiancee comes to the USA before the first of the year, can get a SSN, and file a joint return if married before first of the year.

[Randy W]

Here's our timeline..

 

My wife entered the USA around March 2008, and we married, so our first Joint return was for the year of 2008, in our case my wife worked her old job in China perhaps the month of January, and worked a short Job in the USA during the year 2008. When we filed our Joint return we did not even bother accounting for her foreign income.

 

Again what was earned in China before immigrating can stay in China, this is not about income of a US Resident, or Citizen, it is foreign income of a Chinese citizen while resident in China before becoming a US resident, in my opinion it does not need to be reported, on the 2011 return next April.

 

As for ITIN, this would on be needed, if you married prior to end of year and are in process of getting a spouse visa, and your spouse is not yet in the states when you file the IRS return. If your fiancee comes to the USA before the first of the year, can get a SSN, and file a joint return if married before first of the year.

 

Dan, you need to be doing some reading

 

Q: I understand that IRS requires U.S. citizens and residents to report world-wide income from whatever source. If I file jointly with my foreign spouse, must she/he also report world-wide income?

 

A: Yes.

 

 

. . .

 

Q: I already report my income to my foreign country of residence. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion eliminates that income for U.S. tax purposes. So why should I report to IRS?

 

A: Because if you don't report your earnings - even though they are 100% excluded - the IRS can later deny you the exclusion and tax you on that income (even though the foreign country already taxed the income).

 

While it is all but certain that they WON'T discover the unreported foreign income, following the tax laws takes a few minutes of your time and a few drops of ink, and doesn't cost anything.

[yuehan123]

It's been a few years since my sweetie arrived. I recall detailed threads from that time period on tax choices and their consequences.

 

Sadly, my recall is limited to this:

 

1. A standard recommendation to seek competent tax advice.

2. Something about a 'used to be required' first year statement regarding filing status required by the IRS.

[Randy W]

It's been a few years since my sweetie arrived. I recall detailed threads from that time period on tax choices and their consequences.

 

Sadly, my recall is limited to this:

 

1. A standard recommendation to seek competent tax advice.

2. Something about a 'used to be required' first year statement regarding filing status required by the IRS.

 

Most of us will file Married filing Jointly

As long as you are married on the last day of a tax year, you may file as Married, whether jointly or separate. You may choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident. Publication 519 says, "If you make this choice, you and your spouse are treated for income tax purposes as residents for your entire tax year. . . . You generally make the choice when you file a joint return." I believe this means that in order to file jointly, you must report your nonresident spouse's income. Use Form 2555-EZ Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and Inst 2555-EZ to exclude up to $91,500 (for 2010) of her earned income while in China.

 

Tax Guide for Aliens

 

The 'First Year Choice' is not available to a 'Married Filing Jointly' filer (since they are treated as a resident for the entire year), but IS available to someone filing 'Married Filing Separately'. This MAY be advantageous if your spouse earned more than $93,000 on an annualized basis while in China.

Edited October 15, 2011 by Randy W (see edit history)