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[savyandmanny]

Good morning,

I tried to look but did not find an answer to this question. Last year hubby and I filed taxes jointly. But it did not make a big deal because his earnings were very little. Now, this year we want to file jointly but I do not know what to do....do we need to file a 1040NR? or a regular 1040? Should we file separetely this year? can someone tell me how you guys have handle this....

thanks all.

[gigi0908]

Regardless of whether or not he made alot or little you should still file jointly. Just because he made more money doesn't make the situation anymore difficult.

AND by the looks of your timeline your not done with the USCIS yet, SO I would highly recommend everything you guys have should be together.

[Platana]

BM to the rescue.... 

[BanginMa]

BM to the rescue.... 

 

There was another post last week about this ..

You are not done with USCIS until he does his lifting of conditions and/or Citizenship

It is best to file jointly until then for some this means losing ALOT of money for others it saves them from paying

Either way you should still file married filing jointly as you have to provide and affidavit and/or proof of filing with USCIS

Married filing separate MAY cause some unwanted attention as you are supposed to still provide PROOF of ongoing relationship

[twincactus]

BM to the rescue.... 

 

There was another post last week about this ..

You are not done with USCIS until he does his lifting of conditions and/or Citizenship

It is best to file jointly until then for some this means losing ALOT of money for others it saves them from paying

Either way you should still file married filing jointly as you have to provide and affidavit and/or proof of filing with USCIS

Married filing separate MAY cause some unwanted attention as you are supposed to still provide PROOF of ongoing relationship

The ONLY person who ever said they payed MORE was MQ and I think she is wrong. I think her accountant is ripping her off but I can't prove it. For MOST people, jointly should ALWAYS be much less. Married separate is the single rate so that certainly isn't advised.

STS?

-Tim

[savyandmanny]

thanks ya'll

[Josue27]

It really depends on your income. If you and your spouse both make a decent amount or one makes significantly more money than the other than  you might end up losing out on getting a refund or get a smaller refund.  It all depends on your combined income. 

[twincactus]

I'm sorry but married jointly is NEVER more than the single rate. When I was with my EX EX, she made more than I did and married jointly was MUCH less than separate. In fact when we got divorced I was looking at $11,000 in taxes because of that since I would have had to file single.

-Tim

[BanginMa]

I'm sorry but married jointly is NEVER more than the single rate. When I was with my EX EX, she made more than I did and married jointly was MUCH less than separate. In fact when we got divorced I was looking at $11,000 in taxes because of that since I would have had to file single.

-Tim

I think this affects more the persons that file as head of household vs married joint/separate

It really depends on your income. If you and your spouse both make a decent amount or one makes significantly more money than the other than  you might end up losing out on getting a refund or get a smaller refund.  It all depends on your combined income. 

This comes into play when you exceed the threshold for the EIC (earned income credit) this is where the tax refund for many I know starts decreasing

For example if Hubby were to file alone he pays back because his W4 showed 4 exemptions throughout the year
When filing joint we get a decent amount but when I add my income we lose refund because we lose credits
Same would apply as I used to file head of household before and now I file married I get less money even with an extra dependent and hubby

That is the crazy world of TAXES ... 

[Josue27]

Exactly Yessie!  Tim it's not correct to say that you always get a bigger refund because that is simply not true and there are many variables that can affect this.

[twincactus]

Exactly Yessie!  Tim it's not correct to say that you always get a bigger refund because that is simply not true and there are many variables that can affect this.

Look, I know you do taxes but I am NOT talking about head of household here. This does not apply to most people. Maybe more in the immigrant community but not most other married folks. The single rate and the married separate rate are much more than the married filing jointly rate.

-Tim

[Surf2Salsa]

Sorry Tim, it's getting real busy at the office.

Any married couple who has not completed the USCIS process including citizenship should refrain from filing married separate, or play games with head of household or single status. Immigration officers tend to interpret such filings as an indicator that the relationship is not valid. When a couple has difficulty sharing tax refund or tax liabilities together it also indicates to USCIS the possibility that one of the two may have entered the relationship with other intentions.

In addition: A married couple LIVING together can only file married joint or married separate. The head of household status for a married person is ONLY IF that taxpayer is NOT LIVING with the spouse and qualifies for Head of Household status, e.g. a married woman with children abandoned by her husband, otherwise it's TAX FRAUD or and ADMISSION that the relationship is no longer valid.

I think that between me and BanginMa we should create a TAX thread with some of the basic question and answer about taxation relating to immigration.

   

[twincactus]

I think that between me and BanginMa we should create a TAX thread with some of the basic question and answer about taxation relating to immigration.

   

GREAT idea! You do it and I'll make it a sticky.

-Tim

[BanginMa]

S2S explained my post a lot more clearer

Tim is correct that we should only be talking married joint or separate and/or single if spouse is not here yet

BUT unlike most NORMAL things the immigrant community along with those that aid them find ways to get MORE money which usually means HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD

Unfortunately that is as S2S mentioned a huge concern for those still in the process as filing anything but MARRIED is not a good idea

[osvaldo19]

If you married you have to file your taxes together, I know this lady that married a USC here in the USA and they never filed together and when she went for her citizenship she was denied because of that, my 2cents.....

[mexicana]

Question: When Alex got here he worked a few months at a ranch. He filled out the W2 form and made a few thousand. My W2 has arrived BUT HIS HAS NOT! we have been calling the rancher to get the W2 but it has not helped. What can we do? We kept his pay stubs so we have proof of employment.

[sracastillo]

guys a friend of mine still is in the process of bringing her husband, she change her status to married and therefore she doens't know how to file this year as her husband still is in DR.  should she file as married separate?

[gigi0908]

guys a friend of mine still is in the process of bringing her husband, she change her status to married and therefore she doens't know how to file this year as her husband still is in DR.  should she file as married separate?

On her W4 she change her status to marriage at her job?

If I am not mistaken, when you are married less taxes are taken out.

If she files otherwise she may be having to pay back. Unless she wants to fill out a W7 on behalf of her husband so he can get an ITIN and they file taxes jointly.

If she does this, she has to file through mail, and can't do the efile

Not sure If I am correct...

S2S??

[mr_f3dz]

Can i still get the earned income credit for my wife and daughter if they have only been living with me since october? I was supporting the whole year anyways... they were just still in DR in 2009... This is the one final thing before i go ahead and file... the difference is almost 2thousand dollars in refund...

to EIC or to not EIC....

I think below 6 months living with won't qualify them... but what the hell, it was like they were here with everything i was paying... hahahaha

[gigi0908]

Can i still get the earned income credit for my wife and daughter if they have only been living with me since october? I was supporting the whole year anyways... they were just still in DR in 2009... This is the one final thing before i go ahead and file... the difference is almost 2thousand dollars in refund...

to EIC or to not EIC....

I think below 6 months living with won't qualify them... but what the hell, it was like they were here with everything i was paying... hahahaha

You can still file married and put your daughter as a dependent since that is what she is, but I doubt you can get the credit since your daughter came in OCT and the minimum is 6 months.

You will probably still get the marriage credit though.

Someone please correct me if I am mistaken.

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