Question related to revoke 6013(g) election?

[duyuustc]

My husband and I made 6013(g) election on tax year 2023 to file our tax jointly. In our refund from IRS, there is about $100 interest.  We plan to revoke 6013(g) election for tax year 2024 and file our tax separately.   Since we both live in Taiwan and I am a non-resident and doesn't have any US income except interest received from our 2023 joint tax return.  My husband would claim all IRS interest amount from 2023 in his 2024 tax return. I understand my husband need to file his US tax return for 2024. Do I need to file US return for 2024? I plan to submit 6013(g) revocation letter this October to the director of IRS service center since I think I am not required to file for tax year 2024.  On Feb 2025, my husband would file his 2024 return to claim all IRS interest amount from 2023 refund and we are all set.  Any thoughts on the procedure above? Thank you so much.

[pk · Accepted solution]

@duyuustc  from the actual statute of Title 26  code section 6013 (g) on termination of the election to be treated as a resident for tax purposes :-->

"  (4)Termination of election

An election under this subsection shall terminate at the earliest of the following times:

(A)Revocation by taxpayers

If either taxpayer revokes the election, as of the first taxable year for which the last day prescribed by law for filing the return of tax under chapter 1 has not yet occurred. "  

I have underlined the   words of import to me --- I interpret this to mean that the termination of the 6013(g) election need to be made  for the year before  the due date of the filing  AND during that year.    Therefore my suggestion would be to include  the "termination of election" letter during  filing of 2024 return.  Once  terminated you cannot  re-elect  to be under  6013(g) again  ( the statute does not say how long is the  blackout period ).

At the same time I do not  see any harm in filing the termination of  election   at any time  during 2024 -- just make sure that this  termination is effective first of 2024 i.e. for all of 2024 tax year and beyond..

For 2024 , your  husband recognizing the interest income in full while filing his 2024 return,  is the correct way to deal with this income.

Note that  as a  NRA  ( Non-Resident Alien )   even with a Tax ID  ( TIN )  but with no connection to US or No US  sourced income, you are not required to file a US return.

Here is a link to section 6013 -->    26 U.S. Code § 6013 - Joint returns of income tax by husband and wife | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / L...

Is there more I can do for you ?

[juju007]

I'm in the same situation and I was wondering what address to mail the 6013(g) revocation letter? We filed our taxes last year electronically. We did not mail it. Thank you

[BrittanyS]

The revocation request would be mailed to the Tax Center for "Where to file paper tax returns" for the state you lived in when the return was filed.  Please see the link below:

• Where to file paper tax returns

[duyuustc]

My husband mailed his 2024 tax as married filing separately this February.  In his return, he attached the revocation letter to revoke the 6013(g) election.  In his IRS account transcript, we can see transaction code 150 to indicate that he already filed the return, however, we cannot get any information about whether IRS already processed and approved the 6013(g) revocation letter in the return. How could we get information on this? Should we call IRS to get peace of mind on this matter? If so, which phone number should we call?  Thanks in advance.

[CatinaT1]

You will need to contact the IRS for information. 800-829-1040

 It might be easiest to set up an account with them.

IRS Individual Online Account  

• Taxpayers with a Social Security number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number can create or access their IRS Individual Online Account to get information they need to file their return.
• With an IRS Individual Online Account, people can:
• View balance owed, payment history and schedule payments.
• Cancel scheduled payments.
• Get transcripts.
• View or create payment plans.
• See digital copies of some IRS notices.
• View key data from their most recently filed tax return, including adjusted gross income.
• Validate bank accounts and save multiple accounts, eliminating the need to re-enter bank account information every time they make a payment.
• View, approve and electronically sign power of attorney and tax information authorizations from their tax professional. 

[juju007]

@duyuustc I'm in the same position as you, however, I just sent mine so it may be some time before it gets processed. It would be great if you can share your findings for myself and others. Thank you