I have tax questions. Please help

With the information I received from the IRS people yesterday, I'm sure now I will file 'MFS' but my question now is that can I file 'MFS' and still be the 'head of household'?
Normally, a taxpayer must be unmarried on the last day of the year. Unmarried means a person is not married (either because he or she is single, divorced, or legally separated under a separate maintence decree). (Internal Revenue Code section 7703(a).) State law determines whether a person is married or not married; except in the case of same-sex married couples and domestic partners, whose marriages are not recognized by the federal government under the Defense of Marriage Act.
A taxpayer may be considered as if he or she is unmarried for the purpose of qualifying for head of household status. To be considered unmarried, the taxpayer needs to be legally married and has lived in a separate residence from his or her spouse for at least the last six months of the year (July through December). Furthermore, the taxpayer would need to file a tax return separate from his or her spouse, would need to provide for more than half the cost of maintaining a home for himself or herself, and would need to have a child, stepchild or foster-child residing at his or her home for more than half the year. (Internal Revenue Code section 7703(b), and Publication 501.)

This is what I've gotten from a source other than 'Irs' site.
I do have my Mother and 14 year old sister who lives with me and I provide for both of them and I have claimed them on my year end taxes and I used to file 'Head of household'.

Please note that my wife visited me from November 10, 2012 to Nov. 25, 2012. Now reading from above can I still file 'MFS' and 'head of household'?

Your post was very clear, cheesebiscuit. I suspect the OP was undergoing information overload at the time and may have missed its significance. It doesn't help when a tax adviser in the US tells them something different. In spite of the tax advisers' comment "that filing from abroad is not complicated" (which, in the right circumstances, it isn't), perhaps the adviser would benefit from a refresher course in international returns.

I gree with you about tax advisers in US who are not up to date on international filing. That's why from now on I'll get free but sound info. From IRS call centers. Thanks for your help though

When you file 'MFJ' then your spouse who is abroad and has NO assets in the US still has to file 'FBAR' if his or her accounts reach $10k in a calendar year. Beacuse of the fact they were claimed on an American fed tax by their spouse.

When an election is made for an NRA to be included on an MFJ 1040 return, they are treated as being a resident of the US (thus, a US Person) for the entire tax year. They must declare all income, interest, ISA's, most benefits, possibly some pension items, lottery winnings, dividends, items that fall under under PFIC's or Trusts, etc...., from any where in the world. That includes filing FBARs and Form 8938 (jointly) if the threshold is met, amongst possibly others. The whole ball of wax.

Now reading from above can I still file 'MFS' and 'head of household'?

You can not file as both. You must file as one or the other (IMHO).

If you were to consider 'head of household', read the qualifications that are required carefully.

If I wanted to avoid the trouble of filing FBAR's for my wife or the headache of showing her income on my taxes, could I just apply as the head of household as I've done in the past?
I called IRS and the rep. Did a status check and told me even if I'm married I could still file as head of household. So I called this tax place and explained my situation and I was told that I should drop off all my info with a $75 deposit and once they decide if they can help me they'll set up a follow up appt. to prepare my taxes otherwise ($75) deposit will be used as a consultation.
I am confused I dont know what to do.

You can not file as both. You must file as one or the other (IMHO).

If you were to consider 'head of household', read the qualifications that are required carefully.

The IRS rep asked questions like.
Was I married on the last day of 2012? I answered, Yes
Do we both (my wife and I) agree to file a joint return? i said, No
Do I have any dependents who received mfrom my income for the most of 2012, who cannot be claimed by anyone else? I said yes i do have dependents.
At the end of all questions she told me I could file as the head of house hold.

I am confused I dont know what to do.

We can not advise you as to what to do. You must make this decision yourself, or with the assistance of a professional adviser.

We can not advise you as to what to do. You must make this decision yourself, or with the assistance of a professional adviser.

Thank you. I will just go and file 'MFS'. Just get over with it for this year. I dont want to take this headache to England. Thanks everyone

Sounds like you do need some help with your taxes.  UK/US can be tricky.  I would suggest that you seek advice.   
http://www.taxadvisorypartnership.com/us-tax-services/us-tax-compliance/ [nofollow]

Oops, she may have misled you again.

You can chose MFJ, but be aware of the following for electing to file MFS in a following year:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf
Pages 6 and 7.

Sorry, so I'm just going through Pub 54--Please let me know if I'm reading this right:  I can choose to file MFJ, but in order to MFS the next year, I'd have to "revoke" my previous choice.  So if I choose to do MFJ for student loan interest benefits this year (2012), if I want to do MFS next year(2013)- it's just a matter of including a signed letter to state this?  Then (if I want) I can choose to do MFJ in 2014 and revoke again in 2015?

Obviously I wouldn't flip flop every year, I'm just trying to understand the process/implications of choosing MFJ versus MFS. 

Obviously I wouldn't flip flop every year, I'm just trying to understand the process/implications of choosing MFJ versus MFS. 

If you elect MFJ with an NRA, you must notify the IRS in a document signed by both parties. The NRA will need either a ITIN or SSN.

From then on, you can file either MFJ or MFS, But, the NRA also has to file every year the election is in place. If it's MFJ, then it's one return. If it's MFS, then both must file a return.

You can revoke that choice according to the table in Pub. 54, But once revoked, the election can never be taken again.

This is how I interpret it. I could be wrong.

I thought this site was useful as to the MFS versus MFJ question. It is not a decision to take lightly.

http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/1347881-chadcreveling/1602471-american-expats-with-foreign-spouses-choosing-your-u-s-tax-filing-status [nofollow]

I am married to a UK citizen now, and residing in the UK. I would like to file Single... what business is it of the US about my UK spouse. But I cannot find any information to support this. I feel like the arm of US tax law is far too long and should be smacked down, once it tries to reach into non-resident-non-US aliens  pockets. Do I have to voluntarily submit my spouse and her name?


joe7sch

This may be helpful to some...


Nonresident alien spouse.   You are considered unmarried for head of household purposes if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the year and you do not choose to treat your nonresident spouse as a resident alien. However, your spouse is not a qualifying person for head of household purposes. You must have another qualifying person and meet the other tests to be eligible to file as a head of household.

Choice to treat spouse as resident.   You are considered married if you choose to treat your spouse as a resident alien. See Publication 519.


From: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch02.html [nofollow]