[kantik.sarkar]

I am a citizen of India.
I went to US on May 2008 and moved out of US to India on April 2010.Have paid my US taxes for 2008,2009 as SINGLE.
On 31st Jan 2010 I got married and my spouse is a non resident alient , citizen of India who never went to US till date.My spouse is a homemaker who had a valid dependent VISA (H4), though she chose not to travel to US.

Wages:
I have W2 for year 2010 for my wages from 1st Jan 2010 till 31st March 2010.After I came back to India , I am employed and have paystubs starting 1st April 2010 till 31st Dec 2010.

Question;
# Which form should I fill for tax returns ( 1040NR/EZ or 1040A/EZ).I have SSN but my spouse does not have SSN or ITIN.[I guess I need to fill 1040NR as I was NOT physically present in US for 183 days in 2010 and my tax home was India effective April 2010]
# What other forms do I need to fill?
# What documents are required from my end?
# Can I give my current India`s address in the return form though my W2 will report my previous US address?
# What to mention in the box which requires my wife`s SSN?
# Am I eligible for standard deduction and what docuements are required for foreign tax credit?
# Am I required to fill form 8840 and what supporting documents are required from my end?
Thanks

[MukatA]

You are resident up to March 2010 and nonresident after that. You will file dual status tax return.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Actually, you have a choice:

1) You can file dual-status, which would tax you ONLY on your U.S.-soruced income earned in the first three months of 2010. You CANNOT your wife on that return, because she was NOT with you in the U.S. nor can you claim the $5,700 standard deduction. Note that the dual-status tax return IS NOT FOR AMATEURS; get professional tax help bysomeone with experience filing dual-status returns.

OR

2) You can file jointly with your wife and you both choose to be treated as residents for ALL of 2010. This will require you report ALL world-wide income earned in 2010, but you can offset any double taxation by claiming the Foreign Tax Credit using Form 1116. This allows you to claim your wife's personal exemption, PLUS a joint standard deduction of $11,400, PLUS the $800 Making Work Pay Credit. You will have to submit Form W-7 to get your wife an ITIN, which means you have to have photocopies of her passport notarized and you will need to get an apostille (certification of authenticity of the passport) from the Indian government).

More than likely, Option #2 will be the BEST way for you to file.

In EITHER case, you need to submit a Residency Termination Statement with the tax return.

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