Hi, I came to US in September 2011 on H1 with my wife. We went to a tax expert to guide us through the benefits of filing tax jointly. As per him, my wife needs to apply for SSN which is 'Not authorized to work' type SSN. However, I told him that I believe it is not valid to apply for SSN as she is on H4; but he was not convinced. He also added that I cannot file an ITIN for her and SSN is mandatory to apply. Also, he mentioned that I don't fall under the 1040EZ and fall under the 1040NR which is chargeable. He also could not provide us an approximate charge for 1040NR as that is system calculated.

Please help me how should I proceed with filing the tax return.

ITINs are for persons who are not allowed to work, but who need to file a tax return. If you file as a nonresident you may not file jointly. She will not need to file anything if she had no gross income.

You need to find yourself another tax expert; the one you are seeing does NOT know what he is talking about.

You can file jointly with your wife and you both CHOOSE to be treated as resident aliens. This will allow you to claim the $11,600 joint standard deduction plus two $3,700 personal exemptions (for yourself and your wife).

To apply for an ITIN, you need to complete Form W-7 for your wife. You need to make a photocopy of her passport, then get the photocopy notarized. This can be done at your local bank in most states in the U.S.

The downside is that:

• You must wait until sometine in May 2012 to meet the Substantial Presence Test before you can file for Tax Year 2010. You should file an extension (Form 4868).

• You must declare ALL 2011 world-wide income (wife's home country income, if applicable). There is an offset available by either claiming the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116).

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

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