Married or single on USA tax return?

CatGirl says on Feb 3, 2008, 09:41:

Adrienne: I am pretty sure you file married. Because.....your married. It looks like you are now residing in Colombia? Correct? Not sure how long you lived in the US, but I still think even if you married at the end of 2007 you are supposed to file married. Maybe another PBH poster has some input.
Or you might want to contact an acct. or Tax company to be sure (avoid an audit).

Love and Time: the only two things that cannot be bought, but only spent

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slguy says on Feb 3, 2008, 09:49:

The pirate votes for filing whichever way is cheaper for you. since he has no US income to report, and you haven't registered the marriage in the US, use whichever status works out best for you.

but then, that's a pirate's viewpoint. others may differ.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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Papi de Alejo says on Feb 3, 2008, 09:52:

You have two options: Married filing jointly or Married filing separately. If you file jointly, you should include the income of your husband. If you file separately, they will ask you for his SS number and expect a tax return from him. If he pays income taxes on his Colombia taxes, I believe that there is a tax treaty (not sure if Colombia is a signatory) that precludes him having to potentially pay taxes to two taxing countries. What I would do and what I would recommend that you do may be two entirely different things. But, do the calculations in all possible ways and choose the one that is most beneficial to you.

PdA

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MaFe says on Feb 3, 2008, 14:27:

My aunt has a similar situation, she files married. I think once you are married, you file that you are married.

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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OneHappyBoy says on Feb 3, 2008, 14:57:

not quite that simple--

Issue one..you file married.

Issue two.. did you travel to the US last year? if you returned to the US once last year, even for an hour, your income is taxed, however you get to credit any taxes paid to the colombian govt. It doesn't matter if you earned it out of the country.

DON"T file married filing seperately.. It ALWAYS leaves you with a higher tax bill. Use his SSN and file jointly..

it would be worth the effort to contact a tax attorney in the US for a telephone consultation. The question you need to ask is if you have a filing requirement? Even though you have no taxable income, you may still be required to file for informational purposes.

Your friendly tax accountant

I

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lpdiver says on Feb 3, 2008, 16:14:

You are married. You must file married. How you file after that is a matter of ecomonics.

t

"cook some rice!"

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ColombianoGringo says on Feb 3, 2008, 16:23:

I've been told that you can ask for an Alien ID number from the IRS for your spouse and use that in place of a SS number. I will be looking into this in more detail as I would definitely like to file married for 2007 and save some money on taxes.

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Papi de Alejo says on Feb 3, 2008, 17:20:

I think that you are referring to a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). It is used the same as a SSN for a business entity. Can be used by a non-permanent resident alien in place of a SSN.

PdA

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ColombianoGringo says on Feb 3, 2008, 18:24:

There you go. I knew Alien ID didn't sound right. Being able to file as married will not only save me on taxes, it will also allow me to qualify for the $300 bribe from ol' George W. Shrub which I would not qualify for filing as single.

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bamacellist says on Feb 3, 2008, 21:33:

Check the IRS website http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq13-7.html and search the internet for info regarding income earned while living overseas. The IRS has a very generous exclusion for income earned by "bona fide" foreign residents for which there is a simple test. Your marriage is recognized legally in the US, so you are married for tax purposes. You have the option to file jointly or separately, though. It seems like a good idea for him to file even if he owes nothing, just to keep everything "official". Since it's likely his income will be completely excluded from US taxes it would probably help to file jointly so you will still get his deductible and you may be able to deduct from your joint return any taxes he paid in Colombia (warning!!! this very last bit is speculation and depends on how these are listed on the return... the form itself should make it clear). But check the IRS' info first. You will probably be pleasantly surprised.

"The future is much like the present, only longer."

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bamacellist says on Feb 3, 2008, 22:16:

According to the form 2555 the exclusion is up to $85,700.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2555.pdf

"The future is much like the present, only longer."

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lpdiver says on Feb 4, 2008, 03:40:

Aw come on UC er Ted. You know we like you.

t

"cook some rice!"

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guacharaca says on Feb 4, 2008, 08:55:

You are married in the eyes of IRS. File 1040 or 1040A. Since he is does NOT have a green card, he is not required to file. For that same reason, you have a choice whether you declare yourself as married, or not. You are usually better off claiming married in order to make use of his basic exemption. Once you declare marriage to a non-resident, you have to continue to do so in future years. The foreign income exclusion does not apply to you no matter what your current resident status is because your income was earned in the US. He does not need to claim the foreign income exclusion because he is not a US resident. Foreign Income exclusion is for those US citizens who live abroad and for income that was "earned" abroad. It only applies to "earned income". "Earned Income" does not include investment and rental property income no matter where in the world the revenue was derived. FYI: once one claims the foreign income exclusion, and then in a later year chooses to be considered a US resident, one can not claim the foreign income exclusion again for another five years.

Colombianos: Las armas os han dado independencia, las leyes os daran libertad. (Santander)

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adrienne79 says on Feb 5, 2008, 13:44:

Thanks all. We will file as married.

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