Hi

I came to US on 31st Aug 2006 on H1B Visa. After that I got my SSN.
My Dependent Wife landed in US on 7th Oct 2006 on H4 Visa. Yet I have not applied for her ITIN Number and she is not eligible for SSN.

For the year 2006,
1) How should I file my IT Returns, as a Single or Married filing Jointly or any other type which will help me getting best possible returns? :confused:

2) On one TAX Site, I read that if I am not completing 182 days is US, I am not liable for any tax. How it affects in my case in getting the returns ? :mad:
If I should file the returns for Year 2006, should I wait till I and my Wife complete 182 days stay and then file the returns?

3) I checked in the IRS dept for ITIN Number of my wife. They informed me that I need to file W-7 along with Passport copies with my Returns. Is it OK ? Or Do I have to do anything else from My end?

4) In my 4 Months stay in US I earned around $ 20,000. Considering all above cases, when should I file my returns to get maximum possible deduction? What will be my aprroximate returns?

Please help me.

Regards,
Rahul

Rahul:

1) You can file jointly with your wife as resident alines, but doung so makes ALL the income you earned in 2006 (both in the U.S. and in your home country) liable for U.S. taxes. That may be offset be the fact that you get a double personal exemption of $6,600 and a double standard deduction of $10,300, making the first $16,900 of your income tax-free. You can avoid the tax on your home country income by filing dual status and claiming your wife as a dependent, but you LOSE the $10,300 standard deduction. In either case, you need to wait until you wife exceeds 183 days in country to meet the Substantial Presence Test.

2) The other tax site is wrong. You are liable for taxes on income earned in the U.S. in 2006 if you will exceed the 183 day threshold in 2007.

3) What the IRS told you is right, though I would send a notarized photocopy of the passport. The IRS would return the original passport, bjut they also might lose it.

4) Need to how you plan to file (joint or dual-status) and how much you made in your home country (presumably India)?