Hello!

I got married on 20th Nov 2010. My wife was in USA for 8 days.
Then she went back to UK where she has a job and is paying taxes there.

We will be living apart till 2012.

Now, 2 questions:
1) Assuming I will be filing taxes married but not jointly, so how should I get my salary in 2011 so that I don't have to pay back money to govt.
(This paycheck had more money because of married status. I will be paying back extra money to govt as my wife is not dependent on me.)

2) To get maximum return while filing 2010 taxes, is there a way I can file taxes married and jointly with my wife?

Big Thanks in advance.

You CAN file jointly, even if your wife NEVER set foot in the United States.

When married, you ALWAYS have the right to file jointly if you are filing as a resident alien, green card holder or U.S. citizen. Your spouse's physical location is irrelevent! He/she could be on Mars for all the IRS cares!

Now, you DO have to report ALL of HER 2010 world-wide income on the joint return, but you can mitigate any extra tax by either claiming the Foreign Tax Credit (using Form 1116) or excluding her U.K. earned income (by using Form 2555), or some combination thereto. You will also need to get her an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) by submitting Form W-7 with the tax return with a notarized photocopy of her passport picture page.

You need to model the joint return BOTH ways to determine which is the best course of action.

If you need professional help in filing your return, email me at [email protected].