Hi
I am from India and came to US on L-1 Visa (to WA State) in first week of Sept 2006 with Spouse and one kid as dependents.

My spouse is not working and I am getting salary in india from the indian entity of my US employer, the indian salary is being taxed (deduction at source) there itself.

I am also paying tax in US for the salary earned in india (as the work is being done in US) and also on the allowances I am getting in US from the US entity of my employer.

Not sure what to do about filing tax return and have following questions:

What Kind of Return i have to file?
Shall i file jointly with my wife?
If not, Does she need to file a return at all as she is not working?
Can i claim tax credit as i am paying taxes in India too?
If there is a way to claim tax credit, Will that be just for the tax related to earnings from Sept 2006 to Dec 2006 in india or for the whole indian financial year that is April 2006 till March 2007?


Would be very helpful I can get some expert guidance on this, thanks

With Regards
AK

You can file as a non-resident alien (Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ), but you cannot claim either your wife or child as a dependent. You would only pay on the income earned in the U.S.

OR

You can file jointly with your wife (Form 1040 or 1040A), claiming your child as a dependent and claiming ALL world-wide income and getting a credit for the taxes paid in India using Form 1116. The credit claimed will be ONLY for income earned in 2006, not before in 2005 or later in 2007.

If you do not file jointly with your wife, she does NOT have to file a return at all.

If you need professional help doing ANY of this, email me at [email protected].