Jason9785
Apr 17, 2008, 03:42 PM
I'm a U.S. citizen, but my wife is canadian. She resides in canada while our paperwork goes through for her visa. I was told to file my 2007 taxes as single, since my wife doesn't have a SSN yet. Also was told that her income (earned in canada) will not count against my own taxable income. I had originally tried to file married/seperate, but turbo tax wouldn't allow me to do that, so I went with single. I'm guessing that is a mistake, so was wondering if there is a way to do an amendment to file married/seperate and how would I go about doing that?
Thanks,
Jason
MukatA
Apr 17, 2008, 07:04 PM
1. You can file a separate return but it must be mailed and on the SSN of spouse write "Spouse nonresident alien."
2. You can also file a joint return. You will get standard deduction of $10,700 and exemptions for both of you.
You must both declare your worldwide income for 2007. If you have any foreign income, and on that income you paid taxes in the foreign country, then you can claim foreign tax credit. Read: Your U.S. Tax Return: U.S. Citizen or Resident with Foreign Income (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-citizen-or-resident-with-foreign.html)
You will complete forms W7 (application for ITIN) for your spouse and attach with your tax return.