Hello,

I am in the navy, stationed in ct, filed state taxes in California for the past 8 years after joining up, recently married a canadian in September and am working towards getting her citizenship.

Come January when I go to file taxes, we are unsure what state she should file taxes in.

She has never shared domicile in California with me prior to this ( I read the new relief act for military spouses signed in 2009).

About me:

-ct drivers license
-bought a house in ct
-don't pay ct state taxes

About her:

-doesn't work
-resided in ct with me for over half of a year
-has alien registration number


She most likely will not be a full fledged citizen come tax time.

Do I...

File jointly both fed and state? I believe we must file fed and state the same way...

Or

Should we file separately and just bite the bullet, as I fall into a higher tax bracket with an adjusted gross income of roughly 37k?

No hurry on this "free" help of course.. and thanks a bunch

Nathan

I believe I answered you via email.

However, the simple answer is that you will file jointly with your wife, submitting a Form W-7 to get her an ITIN (unlessl she qualifies to get a SSN; you need to call the Social Security Administration to see if she qualifies). If allowed, she can a SSN in about a week.

She will also sign a statement that she is a non-resident alien spouse of a U.S. citizen and shoe CHOOSES to be treated as a resident alien for all of 2010. This signed statement is attached to the joint tax return which you BOTH will sign.

She signs the Form W-7 and staples a notarized photocopy of her passport picture page, then paper clips BOTH documents to the tax return.

The return, the statement and the Form W-7 are mailed to the address in the Form W-7 instructions in Austin, Texas.

If you mail EARLY in January, you should get the ITIn back in about 3 weeks. You then use her ITIN to file the state tax return in whichever state you file.