Claiming UK spouse as an exemption

Hello Helen, I was reading through one of the publications and it says that as a US Citizen I can claim my UK spouse -a non resident alien as an exemption.  Last year I filed 1040 and under section 6 i only claimed my self...

are there any benefits to claiming myself and my spouse (who does not have a ss#number since i am filing married but separate).  Is it allright to claim him this year since i didnt last year ?  If so do i need to report his income...im a bit confused..sorry

thanks so much

I'm not Helen, but I hope this helps.

You can elect to file a joint return and treat your spouse as a resident alien. Be aware though that if you do this you have to report your spouse's income on your tax return just like any joint return. Also, if you elect to start doing this there are specific requirements to meet to revoke it in any later tax year. Here's a link for you. I used to prepare taxes for several U.S. military members who had German born spouses and they would do this. You also have to get a TIN number for your spouse. You can obtain one at the U.S. consulate. Your spouse would use that as his Social Security number on the tax return.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96734,00.html

I don't want to claim any of my spouses income , I want him to be listed as non resident...only want to claim him as an exemption if possible  (not involving ss numbers or tin numbers) ..thanks for the info though )

If you include your spouse in any way on your tax return he/she must have a TIN, even if they are a nonresident alien. Use form W-7 to apply for one. Having a TIN doesn't change their immigration status or entitle them to any Social Security benefits etc. It is strictly used for identification purposes. Requiring either SSN or TIN number on tax forms for every individual claimed stopped a lot of tax fraud.

Quote from IRS 1040 instructions:
Nonresident Alien Spouse
If your spouse is a nonresident alien and
you file a joint or separate return, your
spouse must have either an SSN or an ITIN.

I suggest you take a look at Publication 519 on the IRS website. Bottom line is pretty much this, if you want to receive the tax benefits available to a married person then you have to do the same as other married couples and report income from both parties.

Of course, there are always other things you might be able to claim on your return to reduce your tax liability. For example, if you live and work overseas you might be able to claim foreign earned income exclusion or foreign tax credit.

As Canys -girl said, you can make an election to deem your husabnd as a US citizen, therefore claim his personal exemption on your return. If you do this, he will need to have an ITIN number and he will need to report his income on the same return.

Alternatively, you can file as Married filing separate and NOT calim his personal exemption. In this case, he will not report his income on the return and will not need an ITIN number.

Does this answer your question?

You can elect to file a joint return and treat your spouse as a resident alien. Be aware though that if you do this you have to report your spouse's income on your tax return just like any joint return. Also, if you elect to start doing this there are specific requirements to meet to revoke it in any later tax year. Here's a link for you.

I tried to read that link ,but I don't understand.  I filed jointly with my husband last year, this year I filed "married filing separately"...

My husband is non-US nationality, we both live in the UK, he has no liability to file US tax returns, I only included him last year to reduce my tax burden when I inherited some money.  Am I suppose to include him on every return for now on, then???

I don't want to claim any of my spouses income , I want him to be listed as non resident...only want to claim him as an exemption if possible  (not involving ss numbers or tin numbers) ..

This seems a bit like wanting to have your cake and eat it, too.

Why don't you calculate approximately how much your tax with be if you claimed him as an exemption and reported his income, vs. how much if it would be if you did not claim him as an exemption and did not report his income, and do whatever allows you to pay the least tax.

edit: You should also take into account that, hopefully, your husband's income may increase in future years.