File Seperately? Jointly? Doing my taxes makes me feel stupid.

ANY help would be appreciated:
I've read all 44 pages of IRS publication 54 and I still have questions.
-I'm a USC, I earned income in the US until April 2009 and have the W-2s from my employer
-paid about $6,000 USD in student loan interest I would like to report (1098-E)
-$900 in federal taxes withheld from a gross distribution taken from a profit sharing plan      that I would like to report (1099-R)
-I did not earn any income in the UK in 2009

I was going to file seperately and fill in NRA for my UK spouses SSN however, if I do, does that mean I can't claim the student loan interest or other federal taxes withheld? Should we file jointly? How do I calculate what is the best option?

How do I file state taxes? Do I only need my W-2 for state taxes?

Thank you for any help you can give me.

I can't really answer some of your questions. But, if your spouse is a UKC, then you would select married filing separately and just write non-resident alien where it asks for a social security number. You wouldn't need to list any income for your spouse, only your own.

As you haven't earned any income in the UK, I would think you should file as you usually would. I'm not sure of the specifics, as my situation differs from yours. But if you have your W-2s and understand which forms to use for student loan payments and interest, then you should be able to just fill these items in on your tax form and go from there. As far as state taxes go, I have no idea, as I am from Texas and don't pay state taxes.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Maybe someone else will come along who is better with taxes. I just read the booklets and struggle through. 

Married filing separately does not allow you to take the student loan interest credit. It sucks

I'm in this situation and Turbo Tax is telling me to file jointly. I'm a bit confused. Is it because of my student loan interest??

I would guess so.

You can of course only file jointly if both spouses elect under section 6013(g) by filing an election and the NRA spouse obtains an ITIN.

I called the IRS to ask a question and was told to file married, but separately. The guy told me my husband needs to apply for an ITIN since the form requires it. I know some people on here have said to just put NRA for the SSN, but this conflicts with what I was told. Also, if he DOESN'T need an ITIN, can I just put NRA for my state taxes as well?

-paid about $6,000 USD in student loan interest I would like to report (1098-E)

You may already be aware, but you're not required to submit the 1098E to the IRS. Your lender is the one who does that (in Feb, I believe), and the IRS will just confirm that the amount on your return matches up with the one that they've received from the lender. You want to keep your copy of the 1098E for your own records.