Thai Spouse, Immigration, And... Taxes

[LittleBird]

Does anyone know about what happens when you try to mix these three? I have a feeling it's not very pleasant.

It all boils down to this:

Mr. LittleBird has never been over to the US, has never worked there or had any sort of financial dealings involving the US at all... Until he decided to marry me, that is. Now, since I live in a community property state, what's his is mine and what's mine is mine... I mean... his. Hehe. As tax season is quickly approaching, I'm wondering what to do.

It's going to be MFJ or MFS. HOH is probably not an option. Either way, I'll have to provide Mr. LittleBird's SSN. Yeah... right... That leaves requesting an ITIN. Good, right? Wrong. Eventually Mr. LittleBird will have his own SNN, since it'll be requested with the CR visa. Now how would that work out with him having both an ITIN and a SSN? Would his having an ITIN be an indication that he'd like to be considered a resident alien for tax purposes? I'm certain his intentions don't run in that direction.

If I did go the HOH path, would that have any impact on the above-mentioned visa? From other people's experiences and timelines, I'm expecting to be asked for my returns and supporting W-2s in April or May. Would HOH have any impact on that? Or would there be pesky IRS questions as to why I didn't include my lovely Mr. LittleBird on my return?

I used to wonder why so many people got so unnerved come tax time, but this year I have a much better understanding of that feeling. And it's not even January yet.

[rfukata]

Does anyone know about what happens when you try to mix these three? I have a feeling it's not very pleasant.

It all boils down to this:

Mr. LittleBird has never been over to the US, has never worked there or had any sort of financial dealings involving the US at all... Until he decided to marry me, that is. Now, since I live in a community property state, what's his is mine and what's mine is mine... I mean... his. Hehe. As tax season is quickly approaching, I'm wondering what to do.

It's going to be MFJ or MFS. HOH is probably not an option. Either way, I'll have to provide Mr. LittleBird's SSN. Yeah... right... That leaves requesting an ITIN. Good, right? Wrong. Eventually Mr. LittleBird will have his own SNN, since it'll be requested with the CR visa. Now how would that work out with him having both an ITIN and a SSN? Would his having an ITIN be an indication that he'd like to be considered a resident alien for tax purposes? I'm certain his intentions don't run in that direction.

If I did go the HOH path, would that have any impact on the above-mentioned visa? From other people's experiences and timelines, I'm expecting to be asked for my returns and supporting W-2s in April or May. Would HOH have any impact on that? Or would there be pesky IRS questions as to why I didn't include my lovely Mr. LittleBird on my return?

I used to wonder why so many people got so unnerved come tax time, but this year I have a much better understanding of that feeling. And it's not even January yet.

As I am not clear to your explanation, let me just give you some personal advice concerning the ITIN, SSN, W-2, W-4,etc

Don't mess with none of them. The IRS and FED governing body has a record of all of the above. They will track you down

if something goes wrong. Consult a certified CPA versatile in US tax law.

[mmcsusnret]

I beleive that the SSN will trump the ITIN if he has immigrated to the US. If not you would want to get the ITIN so as to claim the deduction for the dependent. I have tried for the past 3 tax filings to get an ITIN for my wife but they keep rejecting it even though I have sent in the proof required but they say they want something else each time even though the W7 instructions say that a notarized copy of the passport is the only stand alone document. This has caused my return to be incorrect and therefore have penalties added. I an going to go to the IRS office in November and try to get them to issue one for these by showing them the actual documents and then file a 1040x for each of the tax years in question. Hopefully, but I doubt it, they will also return the penalties, when they see the errors they have made. I am going to do this despite the fact that on the date that I see them, my wife will be getting the SSN issued from executing her IR-1 visa. I would recommend filing the W7 prior to you filing your returns to prevent them from changing your status and deductions. If they don't give your spouse an SSN your status becomes single vice married filing jointly or seperately. It might make a difference if you have other dependents, but I don't.