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uhhuduga · Jan 3, 2011, 10:40 AM

Hi,

I am currently working in the USA on F1-OPT.My status from Dec2009-Nov2010 was full-time employed on F1-OPT.I got married in June 2010 and my wife came over to the United States on a F2 visa on Aug 26th,2010.My company's payroll indicates this:

"Your record indicates that you are a nonresident alien.
IRS regulations require that your Federal Income Tax witholding status be "Single". "

Does this mean , that for tax purposes I am still single (although married) and I cannot in anyway change my status to married for tax purposes on F1? Also , would filing an ITIN for my wife make no sense since I am still single(cannot file taxes as married/joint and claim wife as dependent) for tax purposes?

Any help to clear the matter will be appreciated.Thanks.

AtlantaTaxExpert · Jan 3, 2011, 11:59 AM

No, it means that you have to WITHHOLD taxes at the SINGLE level to, in effect, make you OVER-pay your taxes. This is done to ensure that you pay all tax liabilities and have an incentive to file your tax return to get the refund of the over-payment.

Assuming you were still a F-1 student when 2010 ended, you will file as a non-resident alien. Now, depending on which country is your home country, you MAY be able to claim your wife as a dependent (if your home country is South Kora, Canada, Mexico or India). Otherwise, your wife is NOT a part of the return.

uhhuduga · Jan 3, 2011, 01:46 PM

Thank you so much for such a quick response.I appreciate it.
I understood the first part of your answer.

Regarding the 2nd part , yes , I was working on F1-OPT when 2010 ended and still am.My home country is India .You have said I MAY be able to claim my wife as a dependent , but my filing status for tax purposes is single and I haven't changed my status to married wrt my employer (Their systems,GLACIER etc).

If I do claim her as a dependent , I would have to file as married.Would that not contradict my status?
Thanks.

AtlantaTaxExpert · Jan 4, 2011, 11:57 AM

Righit or wrong, your employer dictatesthat you can only withhold at the SINGLE rate with no more than ONE allowance. But that is NOT really all that important, because it only dictates how much is WITHHELD by the employer. NOTHING is filed with the IRS using Form W-4.

What REALLY matters is how you FILE your 2010 tax return. You would file as a MARRIED non-resident alien, filing Forms 1040NR, 8843 and W-7. You claim your wife as a dependent on the Form 1040NR, and request an ITIN for her using Form W-7, which SHE will sign.

All of these forms are mailed to the ITIN Processing Center in Austin, Texas. Once you get her ITIN, you would then file the state tax return.

If you need help filing this return (the completion of the Form W-7 can be tricky for a non-resident alien), email me at [email protected].