Hello There,

I am on H1B Work Visa since last 2 years now and have been filing tax return as single in 2011.

I got married on 14th feb 2011 in India and have marriage certificate from india. My spouse came to USA on H4 dependent visa on March 6th 2011 and we stayed in USA till Sep 02, 2011.


I worked in USA for an IT company from Jan - Sep 2011 and now I am in India.

My questions:

1) Should I file as single or married filing joint or married filing separately ? 2) Which exact forms should I fill. My annual salary last year was 41000 US dollars ? 3) My wife was in USA for almost 6 months so Can I still claim her as my dependent for tax purposes or not ? 4) What is the procedure that I should follow to get her ITIN? 5) Since it might take a while to get ITIN I might pass the deadline of April 15th for filing State tax. How do I over come that ? 6) What are the different kind of exemptions that I can get if I file as married filing joint. 7) I do not have any deductions as such. The only thing I usually get every year is standard deduction. Does that make any difference if I file jointly or separate? 8) What is the best course of action if you were in my situation.

Thanks in advance and Regards,
Manish

Manish:

I assume you filed as a resident in 2010. That being the case, you have TWO options:

1) You can file as a dual-status alien, filing Forms 1040 AND 1040NR and claiming your wife as a dependent. You will NOT be able to claim the $5,800 standard deduction, but rather you must itemize. The advantage is that you are taxed ONLY on your U.S.-sourced income. This return MUST be mailed, though you MAY be able to efile the state return. You will also have to submit Form W-7 to get an ITIN for your wife.

OR

2) You can file jointly with your wife and file as a resident. However, if you file this way, you must claim your Indian income on the return. That requires Form 1040 with Form 1116 (for the Foreign Tax Credit). Again, the Form W-7 must be submitted for the ITIN, and the return will have to be mailed.

In either case, you will also need to submit a Residency Termination Statement to the IRS via mail to notify them that you have departed the U.S.

You probably need to model the return BOTH ways to determine which is best tax-wise.

NOTE: The dual-status return is NOT for amateurs; get professional help if you file dual-status.

If you want my professional help, double-click on my title above and scroll down to my profile/signature. You will find my email address and websites there.

I am dv 2012 winner and I am here in usa my procces was single. After I get a vissa my faincy told me we have 2 childeren.and then we maried the problem is how I can get my wife and our babies live together or how to they get vissa.

TamBoy:

The process for getting your new wife and children visas is a LEGAL question, not a tax question.

You should post your question on the LAW Forum under Immigration Law.