I got married in june 2006, and started working in USA on sep 2006?

Question

My wife had some visa issues she is still back in my home country.
My payroll status is single with no dependents.
should i file taxes as single or married with the fact my wife never being in US last year, she is coming however in mid march.Do i need ssn or some income tax number for her to apply.should i wait her to come to apply.

Answer 1

Call your local tax office or go to IRS.GOV

Answer 2

Since your wife is a non-resident alien, you can't file a joint return UNLESS....

You wish to report and pay income taxes on your worldwide income and provide all supporting documentation on that income to determine the tax liability. You can also elect this status for the 2007 tax year since your wife is also a nonresident alien for part of the 2007 tax year.

So if your wife doesn't make too much in her country and you do make a lot here, it might be beneficial to pay taxes on here income but get all the benefits of the married filing jointly return status. You'd get an additional personal exemption, higher standard deduction and lower tax rates.

Answer 3

You are married, so you cannot file single. Assuming that you arrived in the US in Sept 2006 and did not leave the US since, and you were not in the US prior to arriving on Sept 2006....here are your options.....

1. File as a nonresident, married filing separately. You get no standard deduction and must itemize. You are taxed only on the money you earned in the U.S., however, you are taxed at a flat rate of 30%.

2. File as a dual status resident, married filing separately. You have to file a nonresident return for the period from January to Sept 2006. You have to file a resident return for the period from Sept 2006 to the end of the year. You are only taxed on the income earned in the US, but you are taxed using the marginal tax rates, and you can claim standard deduction.

3. File as a full year resident, married filing jointly. You file a full year resident return, but you must elect to be taxed as a resident for the full year (election made in accordance with Section 7701(b)(4)). You also must file an election to file jointly under Section 6013(g). You are taxed on worldwide income, but your income (and your wife's income) would be either exempt from tax under the foreign earned income exclusion or the US tax on that income would be offset by the foreign tax credit. You would get the higher standard deduction for a married couple, plus the additional personal exemption for your wife, plus the favorable tax rates for married filing joint.

In any case, you would need to file a Form W-7 in order to request an ITIN for your wife from the IRS. This number will be used in lieu of a social security number for tax purposes. In many of the client cases I have dealt with in the past, option 3 is predominantly the most beneficial as far as reducing your overall tax liability.