Marital Status

[zidanea]

Hi,

I'm married and my wife lives in another country. She never visited USA, and still working to get her visa.

For the past couple of years I filed my taxes as "single". Is there anything I should do, what is it, and how ?

Thank you!

[Mike9241]

You;ve been filing using the wrong status. you're married. therefore, you should have been filing as married separate (possibly head of household). since your spouse does not have an SSN or ITIN and you have chosen not to file jointly, you'll need to mail in your return. 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse  

you should file amended returns for the open years where you claimed single. the only things that change are the filing status which may change your tax liability and listing your spouse 

[MichaelG81 · Accepted solution]

Thanks to Vanessa, original answer posted here.

Generally, a U.S. citizen or resident alien who is married to a nonresident alien uses the married filing separately filing status.  This is probably the simplest but may not result in the best tax benefits.

You do have 3 possible options

1. You can make an election to file a joint return (she will need an ITIN)or;
2. File as Head of Household IF you are maintaining a home for certain dependents or relatives other than your wife
3. Married Filing Separately (if your spouse does not have an ITIN you will need to paper file your return and write NRA in the space for your spouses SSN)

To make the Election to File a Joint Return:

• You and your spouse are treated, for federal income tax purposes, as residents for all tax years that the choice is in effect. However, for Social Security and Medicare tax withholding purposes, the nonresident alien may still be treated as a nonresident alien.
• You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice (but you and your spouse can file joint or separate returns in later years).
• Each spouse must report his or her entire worldwide income for the year you make the choice and for all later years unless the choice is ended or suspended.
• Generally, neither you nor your spouse can claim tax treaty benefits as a resident of a foreign country for a tax year for which the choice is in effect.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

Filing As Head of Household Qualifications

Although your nonresident alien spouse cannot qualify you as a head of household, you can qualify if (1) or (2) applies:

1. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was the principal home for the whole year for your mother or father for whom you can claim an exemption (your parent does not have to have lived with you), or
2. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home in which you lived and in which one of the following also lived for more than half the year:

• Your unmarried child, grandchild, stepchild, foster child, or adopted child. A foster child will qualify you for this status only if you can claim an exemption for the child
• Your married child, grandchild, stepchild, or adopted child for whom you can claim an exemption, or for whom you could claim an exemption except that you signed a statement allowing the noncustodial parent to claim the exemption or the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 support and claims the exemption under a pre-1985 agreement
• Any relative listed below for whom you can claim an exemption: (please click on link to see list of relatives)

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad-head-...

Married Filing Separate

You may (BUT DO NOT HAVE TO) still be able to claim an exemption for your spouse if the following apply:

• ·        Must have no gross income for U.S. tax purposes,
• ·        Must not be filing a return,
• ·        Must not be the dependent of another taxpayer.
• ·        Has an ITIN

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf  (page 25-26)

Nonresident alien or dual-status alien. Generally, a married couple can’t file a joint return if either one is a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year. However, if one spouse was a nonresident alien or dual-status alien who was married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of the year, the spouses can choose to file a joint return. If you do file a joint return, you and your spouse are both treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year. See chapter 1 of Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

For instructions on applying for an ITIN, click here https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-i-apply-for-an-itin

@zidanea 

[zidanea]

So I should do two things:

1- resubmit Federal and State taxes by mail with the status changed to married?

2- Submit form 1040 electronically?

[MichaelG81]

Check your state Department of Revenue for non resident aliens, as I do not know what state you are in. But for federal, once accepted you can amend if you meet the criteria, as per IRS guidelines. Your 2022, 2021, or 2020 federal Form 1040-X amended return may be eligible for electronic filing if the original return was successfully e-filed using TurboTax.

Yes, if you got another form like a W-2, 1099-MISC, or a different form that needs to be reported after filing or you forgot to add something (or change filing status), you can still fix your return. You'll want to determine if the IRS or state has “accepted” the information you already filed. If the IRS or state has accepted it, you'll see Accepted as the status of your return when you sign in to TurboTax (in Tax Home) or when you open the CD/Download TurboTax software. If they have accepted your return, then you may need to amend your tax return.

If your return was rejected, you can add the missing form or information, correct the reason for rejection, and resubmit.

If you forgot to add something like dependent information, a deduction you qualify for, or even used the wrong filing status it can have a significant impact to your tax bottom line (your refund increase/decrease or amount due). Some info doesn't make a difference monetarily, but can still be something the IRS or state needs corrected. Your best bet is to correct (amend) the information and send it back to the IRS or state.

Read carefully:

If you do want to change or correct some info on your tax return after you've filed it, you may need to amend your return. Here are some things to know before you begin:

• You have three years from the date you filed your return or two years after you paid the tax due (whichever is later) to file an amendment
• Make sure you really need to amend
• Wait until your return has been accepted (or mailed if paper-filing)
• Use the same TurboTax account you used to file your original return
• Once you begin your amendment, you'll see your original return. Only make changes to the areas of your return that need amending. The refund calculator will start new at $0 and only reflect the changes in the refund or tax due
• Any changes you make to amend your federal return will automatically be transferred over to your state return

Select your product below and follow the instructions.

TurboTax Online

TurboTax CD/Download

If you want to track the status of your amended return, use the IRS Where's My Amended Return? tracking tool. Allow at least 16 weeks for the IRS to process your amended return.

If you are not feeling sure whether to amend, this IRS Tool may help you decide.

@zidanea 

[zidanea]

I lived in CA up to 2022 and in WV since then. I married in June 2019. All my returns were accepted. Still not clear what exactly I need to do. 1- Submit From 1040 for all years where I filed as single after 2019, for CA, WV and Federal? Or is it a single form 2- Then I don't need to mail anything, nor to resubmit anything on turbotax ?

[MichaelG81]

Yes, if you want to change filing status (and may be beneficial), for example if you choose single and want to change to Married Filing Separately you would have to amend your federal taxes once accepted; may save a little money based off standard deductions for Single vs Married Filing Jointly, if applicable. See amending above in previous post, if necessary. Your wife would need an ITIN so apply now, instructions above. It would most likely just be federal taxes that you would be changing because non resident of CA and WV as long as they made no money in US are not required to file. However, changing filing status (single to MFJ) may make a small difference, if allowed by CA and WV state law.

Here is information for CA in the link. So, no need for non resident to file income in CA unless CA sourced income, but filing status may change and you have to enter your email address at the link in order to get the rules for CA filing status like married filing separately/jointly or single: This only applies if you’re (wife) domiciled outside of California. Visit Guidelines for Determining Resident Status (FTB Publication 1031) for more information. As a nonresident, you pay tax on your taxable income from California sources.

CA Sourced income includes, but is not limited to:

• Services performed in California
• Rent from real property located in California
• The sale or transfer of real California property
• Income from a California business, trade or profession

As a part-year resident, you pay tax on all worldwide income while you were a resident of California.

According to WV: Who must file a West Virginia income tax return? IN WV, married couples who spent different times in state must file separately. So no need for major changes here. And your wife does not need to file if no US money made from this state.

If you are domiciled in West Virginia and spent more than 30 days in the state, you must file a resident return and report all of your income to West Virginia. How do I request a refund? You can still check state for filing jointly/separately/single through email.

IF YOU CHOOSE THE MARRIED FILING JOINTLY STATUS, BOTH SPOUSES MUST REPORT THEIR COMBINED WORLDWIDE INCOME. If you have qualifying children it may also qualify you for Head of Houshold.

@zidanea 

[zidanea]

So if I understand you correctly, it's not required to amend? 

I'm not interested in getting more money, I know that filing single with zero deduction gets you less. 

I just wanted to know if it's required by law to do the changes. (amend) from single to married. 

And in case doing the amend, I can just amend married filing separately, since my wife is already never visited the states. So in this case I guess I would just need to submit the 1040 for the last 4 years for federal, amending single to married filing separately and that's it ?

[MichaelG81]

I apologize, it is more beneficial to amend because when you marry you must file as MFS or married filing separately, jointly, or even head of household if you have children, qualify and take credit. If you file married filing jointly you must include worldwide income for all spouses.

@zidanea 

[zidanea]

Ok, so if I just amend online using form 1040, married filing separately years 2019-2022, then everything should be fine. No need to do anything else.

[MichaelG81 · Accepted solution]

Yes amend, for the years you were married you want a MFJ married filing jointly or MFS married filing separately filing status. Remember, if you use MFJ you must include both spouses income worldwide, which in some cases can be beneficial if there is lower income, and in some cases not with higher incomes; if applicable. If you have kids you may even qualify for head of household.

@zidanea