residence-deductions and credits

[mjhamilton1]

2021 tax questions

Background. 

Husband              U. S. citizen

                                Had a Florida address all of 2021

                                Had a Florida driver’s license all of 2021

                                Had a Florida bank account all of 2021

                                Married a non-resident alien (NRA) in November of 2020

                             Resided with NRA wife in the Dominican Republic (DR) Jan – Aug of 2021, then both

                                       moved to the U.S.

                                Has a step child (7 years old) with his DR wife.

Wife                      Citizen of DR, applying for immigration to U. S.

                                Is working in the U. S.

                                Personal residence information is Florida resident and foreign resident for 2021

Husband and wife are filing joint return in 2021.

QUESTIONS

What are the answers to the following three question under child care, EIC, and adoption credit, and child and other dependent tax credit?

TurboTax asks, was your main home in the U. S. for 6 months or more during 2021?

                Does he answer yes based on his U.S. address, driver’s license, and bank account although he

                was physically here only 4 months?

At another place TurboTax asks, did you and your spouse have a principal place of residence in the U.S. for more than half of 2021?  Do they answer yes or no?

Also, did John and Mary live in the U.S. for more than 6 months in 2021?  Yes or no?

Was the U. S. citizen husband time out of the U.S. considered as temporary? 

The child does not qualify as an IRS dependent for 2021.  The husband received all three stimulus payments. Is the wife eligible to receive the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit (stimulus) even though she did not move to the U.S. until September 2021?

[LoganathanB · Accepted solution]

Answers

1.was your main home in the U. S. for 6 months or more during 2021? Yes

2. Did you and your spouse have a principal place of residence in the U.S. for more than half of 2021?  No

Also, did John and Mary live in the U.S. for more than 6 months in 2021?  Yes or no? NO

3.Was the U. S. citizen husband time out of the U.S. considered as temporary?  Yes

The child does not qualify as an IRS dependent for 2021. DOES NOT QUALIFY

The husband received all three stimulus payments. Is the wife eligible to receive the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit (stimulus) even though she did not move to the U.S. until September 2021?  Yes She will qualify if she has Social Security Number

[mjhamilton1]

Thank you for the answers.  The returned was rejected for SN/name mismatch, so I have another question.

BACKGROUND.

The nonresident alien wife came to the U. S. in 2009,  got a SSN , worked awhile and returned to the Domimican Republic (DR).  Got married in the DR in 2015 then divorced.  Remarried a U. S citizen in 2020, returned to the U.S. in 2021 and is working again.  She is now using his last name.  She used her husbands last name on the joint return they filed for 2021. Her SSN is still valid.

QUESTION.

Should she use the name on her social security card to file a joint return with her U. S. citizen husband? 

[DianeW777]

Yes. The IRS matches last name, year of birth and social security number (SSN) to validate identity.  For the return to be accepted she must use the name on the social security card however she can use the following format 'last name on card space current last name'.

• An example might be 'Smith Jones'.

The first last name displayed on the tax return must be the one on the card.