Hi all,
I am very confused with my taxes this here. Could you please help me with my questions.

I am a graduate student on F-1 visa. I came to US in June 2005. I am citizen of India.

My wife came to US in Jan 2009 and she is a dependent on me.

December 2010, my son born here in US and now I have two dependents (my wife and my son).

Here are my few questions,

1) For year 2010, am I resident alien or non-resident alien? This year would be my 6th tax return.

2) Can I claim now three exemption (myself, my wife and my son). As I recall, students and business apprentices from India can claim exemptions for their spouse and children as well.

3) Till June 30th 2010, I was given salary by my department; so I have W-2 form. But from July to December, I was on fellowship, so 1042-S form. My university did not deduct any taxes from the fellowship.
Is fellowship money non-taxable.

4) Am I eligible for "child tax credit" (Does it matter that If I am resident alien or non resident alien)

5) Am I also eligible for "Making work pay credit"? Both my and my wife, meaning $800?

6) If I am a resident alien, do I still need to fill form 8843.

Please help, thanks a lot in advance.

Unless you choose to try to retain your non-resident status, you are a resident alien for tax purposes, and will file Form 1040 jointly with your wife, claiming your child as a dependent. You WILL get the $1,000 Child Tax Credit and the $800 Making Work Pay Credit. You BOTH will need to sign a statement about your residency status.

Form 8843 need no longer be submitted.

Both your wife and child will need an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN), so you will need to submit Forms W-7 WITH the tax return, along with a notarized photocopy of their passport and visa picture pages.

The IRS will issue the ITINs based on the Forms W-7, insert them in the tax return, then send you both the refund and the ITINs in letter form. You can then use the ITINs for file your state tax return.

The fellowship money IS probably tax-exempt, but I would have to examine the Form 1042-S to be sure.

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