Hello ,

For 2005 year the complete year i was on H1B and and i got married in july and my wife is in Student Visa (F1). She has started her OPT in December 2005. i made around 50k+ and she made around 3k for the whole year of 2005

i have a couple of questions,

1) What forms do i need to fill this year .

2) should i file jointly and save on taxes because i stand to gain $2K when i filled the tax calculator for 1040EZ.

3) if i file her along with me in 1040, can i fill next year 1040NR for her and 1040 for me ( Married filing separately)so that she can claim her Social security and medicare taxes( she stands to gain around $3500 in social security taxes before she gets H1).

This get me confusing because when i requested the SS taxes for myself last year, i had send my federal returns, paycheck and I20's etc..

So if they see that my wife had filed jointly will they question her why did she file differently this year. We tried telling the employer not to hold taxes but they seem to be ignorant saying "we dont know about u r taxes status so please dont bother us" .

I will greatly appreciate if any one was on that status before and what did they do in my case.


Thanks in advance

Happy Tax season

Kichubhai99

AtlantaTaxExpert

Kichubhai99:

There is no such thing as a happy tax season! They are ALL long and hard! The best I can hope for is a profitable one!

That said, go ahead and file jointly with your wife as resident aliens using Form 1040EZ. It should not affect her exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes as that is driven by her F-1 visa status, not whether she files as a resident alien.

Once you do this, however, she cannot switch back to filing as a non-resident alien for 2006 (not without the IRS' permission, which will not be forthcoming without a very good reason).

kichubhai99

Thanks Atlanta Expert

AtlantaTaxExpert

Kichubhai99:

See my previous answer above. The item in red is NOT CORRECT! Your filing status does affect your right to file a claim for the Medicare and Social Security tax refund.

Sorry for the confusion!

kichubhai99

Thanks atlanta expert i did not file taxes yet. so does this mean i would not be able to save taxes and would have to FILE MARRIED BUT FILING SEPARETLY.

this mean that i could not save on taxes for the standard deduction we could include from her income and personal exemption.

is there a way out that we can do

like

we file married filling separately next year in 2007 ( i fill 1040 and she fills 1040NR). and then send to IRS. Because we are trying to let the employer know not to withhold taxes but they don't worry about it.

Please advise,

thanks

Kichubhai99

AtlantaTaxExpert

As long as you are requesting or thinking of requesting the refund of Social Security and Medicare taxes, you must file Married Filing Separately on a Form 1040 and she must file as a "Other married non-resident alien".

Once you file jointly as resident aliens, shoe will forfeit any right to claim the Social Security and Medicare tax refund, and will lose her exemption from these taxes.

kichubhai99

I had a chance to check with the IRS office and they had told me on Page 11 of IRS pub519. Under the revocation law, my wife could file jointly this year and the next we file separately and then in 2007( for 2006 returns )she can revocate her status and file for 1040Nr and produce a statement and then claim as a NR.

since the tax jargoan is little confusing i will appreciate if you check the page 11 in pub519 and help me understand better.

Thanks in advance

Kichubhai999

AtlantaTaxExpert

Yes, it is possible to revoke her resident status. But the revocation is NOT automatic. The IRS can say no! You have to decide if you want to take the chance.