[wondering08]

I am very confused. When my sister was here on an H2B visa they had her put her dependents on her w2 that were back in her home country. Now, when we filed for her taxes the accountant says she can't claim them and she now OWES money to the Federal Government. She doesn't have the money and I will be stuck paying it if I can't get an answer to this. The accountant I don't feel really knows what to do in this situation. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

If her dependents include parents, siblings and/or children, she probably CANNOT claim them because they were NOT here in the U.S. with her.

Her spouse is a different matter, because the spouse is NOT considered a dependent, but rather a co-filer. She can file jointly with her husband regardless of his physical location.

He could be on Mars for all the IRS cares.

He just needs to apply for an ITIN and declare ALL of his 2007 income on the tax return. The taxing of his home country income can be offset by either the Foreign Tax Credit or the Foreign Tax Exclusion, and the resulting addition of his personal exemption and possibly the double standard deduction of $10,700 could save your sister from writing a check.

That is the best I can advise given the limited information provided. If you email me more specifics (home country, amount earned, amount withheld, date of entry into U.S. etc.), I can better analyze her situation.