Hello,

This is my second visit to US and I am here in State VA from 3rd Sept 2009.
In my last visit, i got my SSN and my Wife's ITIN as well. After that I submitted my Returns online and got the returns.

This time in Yr 2009, I came to US alone and in yr 2009, my dependent wife is not planning to come and join me. So in this case, can I still file my Returns as Filing Married ??

Am I eligible to claim the benefit of filing as married and get the deductions even if my wife is not here in US?

Kindly reply.

AtlantaTaxExpert

Yes, you CAN and SHOULD file your return jointly with your wife. Her physical location is irrelevent to your eligibility to file jointly.

You must claim ALL of your world-wide income for 2009, but you can claim at least the Foreign Tax Credit (using Form 1116) and MAY be able to claim the Foreign Income Exclusion (using Form 2555), depending on your visa status and the duration of your stay in your home country.

Filing jointly will almost certainly be more advantageous tax-wise than filing Married Filing Separately.