captainsensible

Hi,

My USC wife, who resides in the USA, recently filed her tax return - given that I am not yet residing in the USA myself, which status should she have filed it under?

Married filing seperately doesn't seem to apply as I didn't file at all.
Married filing jointly doesn't seem to apply as I am not there yet!

She filed under Head Of Household - was this correct?

I am trying to get my head around the IRS website but I can't find any mention of this circumstance but I presume it happens a lot!

Thanks

HarryTheSpider

Are you resident in the US for tax purposes?

I'm no expert - they'll be along soon, I'm sure, but I have a feeling they'll ask...

ian-mstm

Since she's already filed, what does it matter now?


She should file under whichever category gives her the greatest tax advantage.

Ian

captainsensible

More googling found this:

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/...=96734,00.html

Which helped a lot.

And why does it matter now? I guess it doesn't now I know that Head Of Household was valid to select. Which was the question I was asking, not whether it mattered or not.

Jscl

She can only file head of household if she has a person to be head of household to (e.g. a child, other dependent who satisfies a rather strict set of conditions (not a spouse)). She'd also have had to live apart from you for at least the last six months of the tax year.

As she is married, she could only ever file Married Jointly, Married Separately or Head of Household. The best one for her is one she qualifies for and gives her the smallest tax burden. There may be other issues as you are non-resident (as far as I can tell).

They say (and I don't know how reliable it is) that Head of household is one of the biggest flags for an audit, because it is so often abused (imo because the rules for it are confusing to many).

Bomjeito

When I lived in the UK or USA (I'm the USC) whilst married to my husband who hadn't yet set foot as a PR in the USA, I filed married, filing separately. Never Head of Household as I did not qualify for that designation. On my return there is somewhere I put that he's a non-resident and a UK citizen.

The year we moved to the USA, we had a choice to file married, jointly or married, filing separately. As he'd had less that 187 days in the USA on that first return with him as a PR, tax-wise, it was advantageous for us to file separately, with him as a non-resident alien.

The first full year we filed, it worked best for us as married, filing jointly.

I'm an accountant by training (but not practicing) and this is an area highly flagged, as the HoH must prove they supported half at least...its mostly for that year of folk who are in two households for whatever reason and HoH is normally supporting the child/qualifying dependents.

All tax situations are personal, so depends on your family situation. (Not just that she lived 6 months away from you in the tax year.) The point is the situation on the last day of the tax year - where is she and why?


From TurboTax:
If you are married, you may still be able to file as Head of Household. If on the last day of the year you:

File a separate tax return,
You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home during the year,
Your spouse did Not live in your home during the last 6 months of the year (their absence the last 6 months cannot be due to illness, schooling, or military service),
Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year.

Again, your family situation is personal yourselves, but merely the fact that she is married to a non-resident (you) doesn't qualify for for HoH designation. Only a tax accountant can determine that. And if she filed federal taxes as such, then she did the same for her state taxes, assuming she is in an income tax state...so that could potentially be a problem as well if she mis-filed.

captainsensible

From reading the page I linked to, I would have said that she could do neither of the 'Married' options as I don't have a SSN yet (or an ITIN).

She can answer Yes to all of the questions relating to Head Of Household that have been posted here, so I am not sure how she can have mis-filed?

Oh, and I am no expert, I'm only learning!!

Jscl

You haven't mentioned that you have a child (or other dependent, such as an elderly parent), who lives with and is supported by your wife, for most of the year. She needs that for HoH.

You have to apply for an ITIN so your wife can claim MFJ or MFS if those statuses apply to her, you can't just say that because you haven't got an ITIN, she can't file that way.

If she fulfills all the criteria for HoH then she can use it, we just don't know that she does given what you've told us, so we want you and her to be sure.

captainsensible

She has a son (not mine) who lives with her (he's 12).

Jscl

Well then she could well be good with HoH, as long as she's been through all those questions and made sure each applies to her

Some states actually contact a percentage of HoH state filers as a matter of course (California is one) so it's wise to be prepared!

ian-mstm

If she's married, she must file as married. It doesn't matter whether or not you have a SSN or ITIN... she must file as married. If she did, great. If she didn't, well... that's going to cause problems down the road.

Ian

Bomjeito

Again, it all depends on the particularities of your personal situation. You worried that she may have mis-filed but if she fits the HoH designation, then she filed what she should have filed.

I'm sure she read what she felt she understood; however if she isn't sure, a tax accountant consulation is often free or nominal.

She can also call or stop into her local IRS office who does have folks there to clarify.

ETA: Your not having a SSN or ITIN doesn't impact her filing if you are a non-resident. My husband never had one until he became a PR of the USA.