Hi,

I came here to US in April 2008. My wife and kid came in to US in July 2008. Can you please some one answer the following questions.

1.Will my wife and kid are eligible for tax befefit from the beginning as they came in to US in July and I came in April?

2.Can I apply for I-TIN for them without their presence?

Thanks,
Giri

Hi,

Without more detailed information, it is hard to answer your question for sure. There could be different ways to file your 2008 tax, one of them may yield higher refund (lower tax) than the others.

1. Yes, you can. But, depend on your status, you might be not able to claim the treaty (if your country has one) if you file a joint return. Please refer to IRS Publication 901.

2. Yes you can, for your kids at least. If you have all the numbers you need, just file form W-7 together with your other paper works. I don't know for sure if you can sign the W-7 form for your wife, she might need to sign it by herself as you are NOT her guardian.

Hope this will help,

Anthony Bu
IRS VITA, SPEC area 3

Hi,

I came here to US in April 2008. My wife and kid came in to US in July 2008. Can you please some one answer the following questions.

1.Will my wife and kid are eligible for tax befefit from the begining as they came in to US in July and I came in April?
2.Can I apply for I-TIN for them without their presense?

Thanks,
Giri

Which visa do you have? Your citizenship?

Giri:

If you have a WORK visa (E, L or H series), then you can file jointly with your wife and you both CHOSE to be treated as resident aliens. This will allow you to claim the $10,900 joint standard deduction plus two $3,500 personal exemption (for yourself and your wife) plus one $3,500 for your child PLUS the $1,000 Child Tax Credit.

You will need to submit Forms W-7 to apply for ITINs for your wife and child. A notarized photocopy of their passport needs to be stapled to the W-7.

The downside is that you must declare ALL 2008 world-wide income, but you can at least partially offset any double taxation by claiming a Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116).

Even with the downside, this is probably the best way for you to file.

The wife MUST sign the Form W-7 AND must sign the tax return, so if she is not here, you will have to mail her the return and W-7 for signature, then she must mail it back to you.

If you need professional to do this, contact me at [email protected]. We handle this situation all of the time. It will take some time, but it CAN be done.