[arpit86]

Hi,
I am a student on F1 Visa and got married last year (2012) November in India. My wife got her F2 Visa in December but she came to US with me on January this year (2013). I know I can claim a standard deduction and personal exemption for myself and another exemption for my wife but nothing more. Also, I can file only as "Single". Is there any other benefit I am missing? Please let me know. Thanks

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

I believe I just answered your email, but I will share the same information for public consumption.

You will file Form 1040NR as a MARRIED non-resident alien, which allows you to claim your wife as a dependent.

You will need to apply for an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) for your wife by submitting Form W-7, and that process has undergone some radical procedural changes this past year. Instead of the simple notarization process, the IRS now requires that your home country certify the photocopy of your passport as a true copy. This is due to rampant fraud in the ITIN submission process. The notaries simply cannot tell the difference between a fake passport and the genuine passport.

This certification can be done by the Indian (I assume you are from India) embassy in Washington, D.C. or at one of the consulates in San Francisco, Chicago, Houston or New York. Assuming you do NOT want to drive there, you need to call the nearest consulate and arrange to have this process done via the mail. This process, done via mail, can take up to three months to complete. My clients to date have had the best results by mail with the San Francisco consulate, getting the certified passport photocopies in less than 3 weeks.

Also, the IRS recently announced the opening of Tax Assistance Centers through which you may be able to have the passport verified as genuine, then submit the tax return and Form W-7 IN PERSON to be forwarded to the ITIN Processing Center in Austin, Texas for processing , without having to get the photocopies certified by your home country consulate. The list of the TACs are at the link below:

Taxpayer Assistance Center Locations Where In-Person Document Verification is Provided

The alternative is to mail in the actual passports themselves, something most of my clients are reluctant to do.

[MukatA]

On F-1 you are nonresident for 5 years; you do not pay social security tax and must file nonresident tax return. You will get exemption deduction for your spouse.

[arpit86]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Does the fact that my wife entered US in 2013 make me ineligible to claim any exemptions for her on my 2012 tax return?

Also, Do I need to file 8843 for my wife because of the same reason?

Can I claim standard deduction only for myself and not my wife?

These are pretty much all the questions I have. I would really appreciate if you could answer. Thanks

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

No; you can claim your wife even if she in India.

No; Form 8843 filing is just for you as the F-1 visa holder.

Standard deduction ONLY for yourself.

[arpit86]

No; you can claim your wife even if she in India.

No; Form 8843 filing is just for you as the F-1 visa holder.

Standard deduction ONLY for yourself.

Thanks AtlantaTaxExpert for answering my questions.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Glad to help!