Hi AtlantaTaxExpert,

My wife left to india with kid in mid 2009, I have filed joint returns for the year 2009. She was in USA without kid in 2010 for a while (2 months), I also filed joint returns 2010. She is in india in whole 2011 with kid. Can I file joint returns and claim them as dependents? I will have to pay penalty for them as they do not have health insurance, in my state health insurance is mandatory. Now we may end up in divorce. We are not divorced yet as per today. Can I file joint returns and claim them as dependents for the tax year 2011? Or do I have to payback to IRS if I claim them as dependents?

For 2011, you can STILL file a joint return. Your wife's physical location is irrevelent.

However, you CANNOT claim the child as a dependent on your 2011 return UNLESS the child is a U.S. citizen, which would be the case if the child was born in the United States. Children who are NOT U.S. citizens must have SOME physical presence in the U.S. in 2011 to be claimed as dependents on the U.S. return.

As for the state health insurance issue, what state are we speaking about?

My child was born in United States and the state was Massachusetts. Thanks for your help. So now I can claim both my wife and child on dependents. Thanks.

Your wife is NOT your dependent; she is your co-filer. THAT is the reason she does NOT have to be physically in the United States.

There is a process by which you can be excused from having medical insurance for your family if they are not physically located in Massachusetts, but the process is too complex to explain on a forum mof this nature.

For this reason, I suggest you get professional tax help.

If you want MY help, please double-click on my title above, then scroll down to the bottom of the page where my signature is located. You can find my email address in my signature block.