Saladmonster

Hi all....I am from the UK but also US citizen. Got married to my UK born hubbie in May. I moved back to the UK to join hubbie in June. Its surreal living here again....so many life changes to deal with at once.

I am completely freaking out now about tax returns. I naively thought I could do a turbo tax return for me but I think I have messed up. Turbo tax wanted my husbands SSN - which of course he doesn't have, neither will he.......which led to my discovery that I need to apply for a tax id number for him, and I think he has to file a tax return....

Should I have done something or filled out a form to tell someone federal that I was moving out of the US?

Anyone have a clue where to start so I can calm down and figure the tax return situation out?

Sorry.....a little bit exasperated by it all at the moment!!

Sue

Hi,

I know you have moved back to the UK, but figured the best place for your thread would be the USA forum as they may be more people in this section who have non-US spouse and can help with info.

lansbury

When my USC wife lived in the UK she never included me in her tax return. She just filed for herself. I didn't get a SSN (and no tax ID) until we moved back to the US. She did it like that for 10 years both Federal and State and no problem.

Saladmonster

Hi Iansbury - I moved from Hillsboro, Oregon in June. Miss it, I have to say....

Did your wife file married separately? Did she declare you on the 1040? It looks like my hubbie needs to file as a non-resident alien?

Where do you even put uk earnings on the 1040? Pretend it came from a W2? I have read around in circles!

Saladmonster

Thanks Sue, I wasn't sure where to post so appreciate your help!

civilservant

you should file married filing separately - his income, Wholey earned and taxed in the UK, shouldn't be included.

theOAP

You are trying to do either one of two things, file married filing jointly, or claiming your UK NRA spouse as a dependent. If you wish to persist with either of these two directions, then your spouse will need an ITIN.

Be advised, in spite of the hundreds of comments which will follow, it is usually better (as with most folks in your situation) to file MFS (married filing separately). Run the figures both ways to be sure, but if you file jointly with an NRA, both of you are going to have to sign an election to that effect, and your NRA spouse will have to file as a US Person forever after (not technically true, you can elect to stop the election, but you can never file MFJ again, at least with that same spouse ).

No. A new address on your 1040 will suffice.

Bluegrass Lass

Yep, his UK income shouldn't be included. I think you might have to file for an ITIN for him, since he doesn't (and shouldn't) pay US taxes (or report his UK earnings). Another site that might suit you better is www.talk.uk-yankee.com. Its for USCs (or other ex-pats) living in the UK. There is a whole forum there dedicated to US/UK taxes and lots of good info to search.

Saladmonster

I wasn't planning on including my hubbies income on my return, but the form does ask who my spouse is. Was planning to:

1. File married separate for myself (including his name on the spouse part of the form)
2. Apply for a ITIN for spouse and have him do a non-resident tax return 1040NR.

Is this wrong? I don't want to do anything for him, but also don't want to break any rules.

Many thanks

Saladmonster

@ theOAP: thanks for your reply - I just re-read it and I wanted to check I am interpreting you correctly.....if I file married separate my hubbie doesn't need a tax number nor to file a return?

Sorry if I'm being clueless here.....

rpjs

You'll have to file as married filing separately. There's a guide on how to file taxes as a US ex-pat on the wiki: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Taxes_..._IRS_in_London

theOAP

That's correct. The problem is TurboTax. It requests a number for your spouse, although it's not needed.

Some bright spark will probably post the work around on this. The alternative is let TT do your return leaving the requested number blank, but do not file it electronically. Instead, print off copies, write NRA where it requests a number for your spouse, and then mail (or courier) it to Austin.

JAJ

It's tempting to blame TurboTax, but would the IRS accept an e-filed return with "NRA" for spouse tax number? It's understood that they will accept this by mail.

That said, there may be value in obtaining an ITIN for the spouse to allow an exemption to be claimed. Claiming the exemption (when filing Married-Separate) does not require the spouse to file a U.S. return.

If there are children or other dependents, Head of Household may be a filing option.

nun

Just to make sure here your husband does not need to file a US tax return unless he has US source income.

You should file a 1040, married filing separately. You can print it out from turbo tax, write NRA in place of spouse's SS# and file by mail or get a ITIN for your husband and e-file.

civilservant

They will - the wife did this last year.