My husband and me both moved to America in April 2006 and live here since then. We worked in Germany until then, now he works here. We are Dual status, can we file jointly? When yes, wich forms do we have to use. We have rental income in Germany, what about taxes for that?

You cannot file jointly if you are dual-status. One can claim the other as a dependent if the dependent has no income.

If both have income, BOTH need to file his/her own dual-status return.

If you need my professional help, contact me at [email protected].

I think we can file jointly, when we declare that we want to be treated as residents for the whole tax year, can't we? I know we have to pay american taxes for our german income then. Can we then deduct our german mortgage payments?
Must our kids have a SSN for child tax credit?

Okay, you CAN file jointly and choose to be treated as resident alien, but, in doing so, you make your Germany-based income (to include the rental income) subject to U.S. income taxes.

You WILL be able to deduct the German mortgage payments, real estate taxes and other expenses on Schedule E. You will be able to depreciate the property.

You will be able to claim the Foreign Tax Credit on the income taxes you pay to Germany, using Form 1116.

You will need to apply for an ITIN for your children using Form W-7.

If you want my professional tax help, contact me at [email protected].