[Nola07nov]

Hi, I have a tax question and thank you in advance.

Here is my background:

I’ve been holding H1-B since 2006. My husband and I are both Taiwanese. We got married in USA in 2007 Nov. He didn't have any 2007 income in US.

For 2007 tax, I filed married jointly with W7 form(to apply my husband's ITIN number) and a statement saying we both choose to be treated as US residents for 2007 tax year. Later I got the 2007 tax refund and my husband's ITIN number.

And now I have a few questions for 2008 tax.

For 2008, my husband only spent the first 11 days in January in the US(NYC). The rest of the time in 2008, He lived and worked in Taiwan. He didn't have any 2008 income in the US. And he will pay 2008 Taiwan income tax by 2009 June. In 2008 I kept living and working in NYC. We have no kids.

My question is, how do I file 2008 tax correctly?
1. Should I keep filing MARRIED JOINTLY? Or should I file Married Separate, or SINGLE?
2. Can I use e-file for 2008? (I use Turbo Tax)
3. Do I need to provide any documents for my husband? If I do what are those documents?
4. In 2008 tax, what is my husband status? We choose to be treated as US residents in 2007 tax. But in 2008 he only had 11 days in US. Is he a US residents or not in 2008?

Thank you!
Best,
Nola

[MukatA]

1. You can still file joint return as residents.
2. yes
3. No requirement. You must both report your worldwide income for 2008. Read: Your U.S. Tax Return: U.S. Citizen or Resident with Foreign Income
4. It does not matter as long as you are resident. He can opt to be treated as resident.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Nola:

You Can file jointly with your husband, but if you do so, he must declare his Taiwanese income. It can be offset by the Foreign Income Exclusion (Form 2555) or by the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116). Note that the Foreign Income Exclusion is probably best.

You can also file separately and, if your husband had NO U.S.-sourced income, you can claim your husband's personal exemption on your return. However, if he does this, your husband is ending his choice to be treated as a resident alien!

Once the choice is ended, it cannot be resumed! That is something to consider should he return to the U.S.

[Nola07nov]

Thank you, MukatA and AtlantaTaxExpert!

I am using Turbo Tax. Can I place my husband's ITIN number in his SSN blank? Will this cause any issue in Federal and NY state tax refund?

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Yes. TurboTax should accept the ITIN with no problems, and both the IRS and NY state will process the return with the ITIN.