[tsing]

I am a US citizen and my spouse came to the USA on a K-1 visa in early September, 2008. She has been living here ever since. We got married in October 2008, and she received her Social Security Number in October 2008 also.

For the 2008 tax year, we plan to file a joint tax return and make her a "Nonresident Alien Treated as a Resident" for tax purposes.

Can she get the Recovery Rebate Credit (ie line 70 on form 1040) if we file as "married filing jointly"? I received $600 of the Recovery Rebate already, but since she did not arrive till September 2008, she did not receive anything. Using the worksheet/calculator, we would receive an additional $600 if she could receive the credit.

I tried to look this answer up in previous questions/answers, but no one asked this particular question (other questions usually dealt with people who only had ITINs).

Thanks for any help you can give.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Tsing:

I would request the RRC on your 2008 tax return and let the IRS decide if you are entitled to the extra $600. Ultimately, that is the easiest and best way to handle it.