We moved across from the UK last October, 2009. I am the LPR, my wife the USC. My wife and I will be filing a joint Return for year 2009 however does anybody know whether I will need to declare my UK income/tax deduction for 2009 (up until I left the UK in Oct 09) despite this already having had tax deducted at source in the UK?

Many thanks..

I thought Florida didn't have a state income tax.

That's right-there is no state income tax in Florida.

Thanks peeps for that.

What about the Federal return which needs to be filed by mid April? Would my earnings in 2009 need to be declared, despite this being entirely accrued and taxed in the UK?

You likely won't have any US tax burden, but you should declare it, yes.

Ian

Cheers Ian for your help. Would I therefore need to file a form 1040NR (for the UK income) to supplement the joint return of 2009 with my wife, or would this be all encompassing in the joint return itself?

If you became a LPR during 2009, you would fail the "green card" test and therefore have to file 1040, not 1040NR. You would be treated as a "dual staus" alien though, so income earned in the UK before you arrived would be reportable but generally not taxable. To take this benefit you would have to file separate returns (since your spouse is a USC). Check out IRS pub 519.

Another option is to elect to be treated as US resident for the entire year, you could then file a joint return.

You should run the numbers both ways to see which is most advantageous.

Go to a tax advisor, eg...H&R BLOCK, they know all you need to file, it's worth the $103 i paid this year. they got me $1200 refund.

I don't know about H&R Block....there's been more horror stories out of those monkeys than most other places...plus there's a very low bar to entry to work for them.

I've been using H&R Block for 5 years now and have never been steered wrong yet.

Maybe i've just been lucky.

Stone the crows! Skimmed IRS Publication 519 and now my head is in a complete spin!

My understanding is pretty much this:

If I file jointly, declare myself a US resident for US tax purposes, I get the benefit of the deductions but not the double taxation treaty.

If I file separate, I don't have the benefit of deductions, but I have the benefit of the double taxation treaty.

I am inclined to file joint primarily for conditional visa purposes i.e., it would be favourable in order to remove conditions that I am seen to file joint... yet could this therefore mean I might have to pay tax on the UK income I made in 2009, that has already been taxed by the UK govt (by virtue of not having sufficient deductions)? If this is the case.. in the event that me and my wife have excess deductions, could I get some tax money back from the US govt, for that deducted by the UK govt? (something tells me that I don't think so )

Vis a vis H&R Block.. my wife has had a bad experience with them in the past so we are not inclined to use them.

Threre's plenty of tax experts out there, they're not all clowns.

You can also file online using TURBO TAX.