Tax filing status after you are married in colombia

[jediknight]

can i file as married even though my wife is still in colombia?
JK

[doombug]

can i file as married even though my wife is still in colombia?
JK

I once wondered this too, and somewhere along the line I recall encountering the twin hurdles of SSN/ITIN and residency requirements.

Some food for thought:

You can claim an exemption for a qualifying child or qualifying relative only if these three tests are met.

• Dependent taxpayer test.
• Joint return test.
• Citizen or resident test.

[...]

You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico, for some part of the year.

[...]

Tests To Be a Qualifying Relative

#2.  The person either (a) must be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who do not have to live with you, or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household (and your relationship must not violate local law).

[...]

Relatives who do not have to live with you.  A person related to you in any of the following ways does not have to live with you all year as a member of your household to meet this test.

• Your child, stepchild, eligible foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild). (A legally adopted child is considered your child.)
• Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.
• Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.
• Your stepfather or stepmother.
• A son or daughter of your brother or sister.
• A brother or sister of your father or mother.
• Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#d0e1868

You must list the social security number (SSN) of any dependent for whom you claim an exemption in column (2) of line 6c of your Form 1040 or Form 1040A.
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#d0e1868

Each foreign person who does not have and cannot obtain a social security number must use an IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) on any U.S. tax return or refund claim filed. For additional information on ITINs click on Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw73.html

Peace out, shizznizzle!

[Ray]

can i file as married even though my wife is still in colombia?

Yes and no.

I went through all this in tax year 2000 so the rules may have changed since then. The key was obtaining an ITIN for your wife, which is required before you can file jointly while she is a non-resident. Getting her an ITIN under the rules back then would have been a major hassle and it may be even harder now.

I found that the easiest way to do it was to simply wait until she arrives in the U.S. and obtains her SSN before filing a joint return. If she isn’t here by the filing deadline, you can extend the filing date without penalty in most cases if any tax due is paid on time. You also have the option to file as single and then file an amended return later as married filing jointly after she arrives.

She also had to make an election for nonresident spouse to be treated as a resident for tax purposes which means she would choose to be taxed as a resident on any foreign income. I think that subject was covered in IRS Pub 519.

For state taxes, we had to file a California Non-Resident return for two years until she had been a resident for the complete tax year.

Check with a tax expert to be sure…

[Calipro]

Yes and no.

I went through all this in tax year 2000 so the rules may have changed since then. The key was obtaining an ITIN for your wife, which is required before you can file jointly while she is a non-resident. Getting her an ITIN under the rules back then would have been a major hassle and it may be even harder now.

I found that the easiest way to do it was to simply wait until she arrives in the U.S. and obtains her SSN before filing a joint return. If she isn’t here by the filing deadline, you can extend the filing date without penalty in most cases if any tax due is paid on time. You also have the option to file as single and then file an amended return later as married filing jointly after she arrives.

She also had to make an election for nonresident spouse to be treated as a resident for tax purposes which means she would choose to be taxed as a resident on any foreign income. I think that subject was covered in IRS Pub 519.

For state taxes, we had to file a California Non-Resident return for two years until she had been a resident for the complete tax year.

Check with a tax expert to be sure…

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html#who

Under the new rules you have to send in the application for the ITIN with your completed tax return. It seems simple and straight forward enough.

I read that UtopiaCowboy filed with a ITIN while his wife and her children were still in Colombia. I wonder if he got to claim all of her kids as dependents as well.

[jediknight]

thanks guys for the tips, ya'll got an appreciation vote 
i will look into obtaining an ITIN to see if i can file as married, otherwise filing a 1040X once she's here with a SS# would make sense. i think we're given 3 years for filing the ammended return. i'll also write to Ucowboy and see if he can shed some light on the subject.
JK

[utopiacowboy]

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html#who

Under the new rules you have to send in the application for the ITIN with your completed tax return. It seems simple and straight forward enough.

I read that UtopiaCowboy filed with a ITIN while his wife and her children were still in Colombia. I wonder if he got to claim all of her kids as dependents as well.

Good memory! Yes, I did. I got tax ids for all of them and was able to file jointly as well as claim them as dependents. I did have to go to the IRS office in San Antonio with the supporting documents and file the applications for the tax ids with the return itself. The IRS is a lot easier to deal with than the USCIS.