Snavemada5

I am a US citizen, my wife is a UK citizen, we live together in the US. We married in Oct. 2012 through the K1 visa process. We filed for AOS in December, but obviously have not received a green card yet.
She has no US income and did not have any income from the UK after moving here. All income has come from me,
We want to file jointly, but I want to be absolutely sure that I am not missing anything. Can I still use the e-file/1040-EZ? I just have a W-2 and a few 1099’s. Nothing too crazy.
Any help is appreciated!

RICH

Filing jointly is probably a good idea. You'll get 2 allowances vs one income.

Snavemada5

My thoughts as well, but I am wondering if I can file using the normal 1040/e-file and reporting only my income, or if I need anything special because she is not a citizen and does not yet have a green card.

nun

These might be helpful.

http://americansabroad.org/issues/ta...erican-spouse/

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p519...link1000222193

To file jointly with a NRA spouse you can elect to have the NRA spouse treated as a US resident for the entire tax year. If she had, or has, any foreign income or investnments you won't be able to use a 1040EZ.

If you choose to file married separately AND your NRA spouse has no US income and is not claimed as a dependant on another tax return you can claim an exemption for your NRA spouse.

Snavemada5

Thank you, that was a huge help... If we go with the #2 option and file separately, what form would she need to use (to report no income)?

Jscl

I know you said you married in October, but was your wife in the US before you married?

If you file separately you would include only your income in your return, although the tax rates are a little harsh compared to a joint return and you would have to itemise your deductions in order to get any deduction at all. You cannot use 1040EZ if you file separately, only 1040A or 1040. You would need to determine whether your wife would also need to file separately, which would depend on when she entered the country (and how long she'd been in the country in previous years) and when she had US income.

nun

If she has no US or foreign income she does not need to file, in fact the only way you can claim her as an exemption on your 1040 is if she has no income.

Snavemada5

Perfect. She entered the US on the K1 visa in mid September, we married in mid October. She has zero US income.

She did have foreign income, however... the link you posted said:
So, she would not have to file at all, and I can claim her as an exemption. Her foreign earnings prior to entering the US won't be taken into account. Is this correct?

nun

Yes.
To summarize:

If you chose to file jointly your NRA spouse would have to elect to be treated as a resident for the entire tax year and if she had foreign income before coming to the US you'd have to deal with that on your 1040.

If you choose to file separately you can include your NRA spouse as an exemption on line 6b of your 1040 if he/she has no US income. If she has US income she'd have to file a 1040NR.