Hi, I live in the USA for about 8 years since the year 2000 and I used to file my tax return as single. I got married in 2005 and I still filed my tax return as single because my wife is in China and she does not have social security number. The tax return agency could not file as I married. Since I got my citizenship in 2007 and I already started the paperwork to apply my wife to the US in the future. I wonder if I could file my tax return with my wife as a joint. Thanks !

If you are married without kids, you must file as married filing jointly or as married filing separately. You cannot file as single. You are not single. If you elect to file jointly, your wife will need to get an ITIN, she will be taxed in the U.S. on her worldwide income, and she can claim the foreign tax credit or the foreign earned income exclusion. If you file as married filing separately and she has no U.S. source income, then she has no U.S. filing requirements. Filing jointly is often better.

But my wife has never come to the US and she does not even have a social security number. I tried to apply tax return online. It did not go through without her SSN. Could you tell me the steps how to do that? Thank you very much!

Thanks for your help. Now I understand ITIN, but how can I get ITIN for her? Wich form do I need to fill? Could you explain more to me? Thank you very much!

See Form W-7 and instructions. You send a completed and signed Form W-7 and required documents, along with the tax return, to the special IRS address in the Instructions. They issue the ITIN, send a computer notice of the number issued for future return usage, and they process the income tax return using the new ITIN. Your wife will likely need to get certified copies of certain documents at the U.S. embassy in China.

IntlTax covers it VERY well. Though he was not explicit about, he inferred the following: Your wife's physical location is Irrelevant!

She could be on the moon for all the IRS cares! She is your wife and, if you choose, you can file jointly with her for each year you were married. It would require that you amend the taxes for 2005 and 2006, but that is easily done once you get her ITIN. Further, the deadline to amend the 2005 tax return is 15 April 2009, so you have time to correct those returns.

If you need professinal tax help, contact me at the email address below.