Dear Experts,

I am an American residing in the US, and I recently got married (Dec 09) to my Chinese wife. She is a Chinese citizen, and all of her income was (and still is) earned in China. We have begun the green card process, but for 2009 her only "official" connection to the US was through her marriage to me. I will be choosing married filing separately for my 2009 income taxes. Does my wife need to file at all? If she does, is the $91K exclusion applicable to her income, even though she is not a US citizen or resident alien? Your insights would be most appreciated.

_S

For 2009, you can file as married filing separately, married filing jointly or head of household if you have a qualifying dependent.

A U.S. citizen or resident can file joint return with a foreign alien spouse even when spouse has never been to the U.S. Your U.S. Tax Return: Filing Status for Married

You have a choice depending entirely on how much money your wife made in China.

1. Since you are a US citizen your wife can elect to be treated as a US resident for tax purposes under Sec 6013(g). Thus she may use the Exclusion up to $91,400 + the housing exclusion if that applies.
She must obtain an ITIN by filing Form W7 and submitting it with your joint return.
Here you get the benefit of an increase in your standard deduction and one more exemption.

2. In 2009 your wife was a nonresident alien. All her income was sourced outside of the US. She has no filing requirement.

Thanks MukatA and Five Rings! There is a lot of good information there. I especially needed to learn the term 'nonresident alien'. The pointer to Sec 6013(g) was quite useful. It first explicitly says we cannot file jointly, and then later says we can elect to treat my wife as a resident and file jointly. Without your guidance I would no doubt be going in circles on the Web.

On the joint return both must report worldwide income. If you paid taxes in the foreign country, you will claim credit for taxes paid in the foreign country by filing Form 1116 or can file form 2555 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.
Your U.S. Tax Return: U.S. Citizen or Resident with Foreign Income

I have a similar situation, and Mukata's answers here and in another thread are very useful, thank you.

However, a question remains: if "Married filing separately," I still have to enter my spouse's ITIN, which she does not have. Any solution, please?

I have a similar situation, and Mukata's answers here and in another thread are very useful, thank you.

However, a question remains: if "Married filing separately," I still have to enter my spouse's ITIN, which she does not have. Any solution, please?

Hey vadim0001, which thread are you talking about.. I'm almost in the same situation. So Maybe I could read it and get more understanding too. Thanks.

If you file Married Filing Separately with a foreign wife, put your wife's name on the return and the letters "NRA" where her SSN would go, then MAIL the return.

A bit unorthodox, but perfectly legal, and it DOES allow you to claim her personal exemption.