sherbert

Hi,

I own an apartment in Europe which I rent out (I am the sole owner; my husband has no involvement in the property). I make an insignificant amount of profit on this after the mortgage and bills are paid (± $100/month). I pay tax on my property in the country it's located in.

Now the tricky part. I'm on an H4 visa and need to file jointly with my husband when it's tax time. You have to declare all worldwide income. As we all know, one cannot earn any money while on US soil when on a H4 visa-from-hell. But the property is in my name only.

So what do I do?

Would anyone ever be able to find out if we just don't declare it?

Should we declare it in his name?

A bit worried...

Pulaski

Your premise is flawed. You aren't allowed to EARN income in the US, whereas your property is generating INVESTMENT income, which is legit whether the investment is in the US or overseas, no matter which visa you're on.

As a US resident you are subject to US tax, so it must be declared (you'll get a credit for foreign tax paid), and can be safely put on you and your husband's "married filing jointly" tax return.

sherbert

Fabs thank you, panic over...

Cook_County

You will already have filed your FBAR with FinCEN by 30 June reporting the bank account in the country where the income is received, so it not so much more work to file with the IRS.

sherbert

I have no idea what you are talking about... FBAR? FinCEN? What am I missing?

Just to be clear we are a non-resident aliens (greetings earthlings).

Owen778

You entered the US in April, right? You may be a non-resident alien right now, for tax purposes, but you will count as resident once you pass the substantial presence test later this year, and will therefore complete your tax return for 2014 as a resident.

FBAR is a tax form (also called FinCEN 114) where all US citizens and resident aliens (which you will be for 2014 tax reporting) must report all their foreign financial assets, providing those assets total over $10,000 at any time during the tax year (which will be the 2014 calendar year). This form is sent separate to your main IRS tax return, and reporting will probably be due by Jun 30 2015 for tax year 2014, with no extensions.

There is another form that goes in with your US tax reporting, called FATCA or 8938. The minimum reporting requirement is higher than FBAR and varies depending on your residency and tax reporting status (higher if married filing jointly).

The US tax regime is one of the most complicated in the world, especially for new immigrants. You will likely need to find a tax specialist who understands the rules for new immigrants (as we did last year), or buy tax preparation software and spend a lot of time learning about the relevant tax rules (as we did this year).