1st year of marriage filing status?

Hi all. I am very confused and am hoping someone might have experiences to help. So when I got married to my British (non-resident alien) husband this summer, I figured I'd have to file my taxes as Married Filing Separately. This sucks though cause it means I can't deduct the interest I've paid on my student loans. I considered filing jointly and claiming him as resident for tax purposes, but I made so little money this year cause I was out of the country for awhile and then got injured so I could not do my good-paying job anymore and have since been working retail. So with the little amount of money I've made and the really good salary he has, I'd probably end up paying a ton of my already-taxed income back if I filed jointly! And I can't file head of household because I don't upkeep a home (been staying with the folks since my last stint in UK cause I knew I was going back) and I have no dependents.
During one of my temp jobs this fall, I met an accountant who happened to have a friend who had gone through my situation the year before. She said that in my situation, I could actually file as single. I was confused and then she said to look at a W-4 form - it even SAYS to mark single if your spouse is a non-resident alien! But everywhere I look online it either says I have to file married separately, or is ambiguous. On the IRS website it says you can claim spouse is resident and file jointly, or if you don't want to you, you can file HOH if you qualify....it doesn't say anything about what to do if you don't qualify. Doesn't mention single or married separately at all! Does anyone have any idea???

Mazeltov on the marriage.

For the purposes of Head of Household filing status only, you are considered unmarried.

You are not actually unmarried and have already (sensibly) dismissed Head of Household filing status so your only choices if you were legally married in the jurisdiction where the ceremony took place are either Married Filing Separately or you and your husband jointly electing to file a joint return reporting all of his worldwide income and gains.

You may want to run the numbers both ways to compare.

Opening up your NRA spouse to US tax is a big step and often traumatic to people who have not grown up with the expectation of annual tax filing. The numbers are important, but so are the feelings of your spouse and the ability to use things like ISAa effectively and avoid the restrictions of the US on foreign accounts


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If your income is low, there is rarely any benefit to MFJ - it just opens many cans of worms.

However, if your spouse has no US taxable income (which he likely doesn't), he can get an ITIN and you can likely take an exemption for him. (This is not the same as a dependent for HoH status).

If your income is low, there is rarely any benefit to MFJ - it just opens many cans of worms.

However, if your spouse has no US taxable income (which he likely doesn't), he can get an ITIN and you can likely take an exemption for him. (This is not the same as a dependent for HoH status).

How can I take an exemption for him?

How can I take an exemption for him?

You apply for an ITIN for your NRA spouse.
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/General-ITIN-Information

On form 1040, under Exemptions, you list your NRA spouse using the ITIN in the column asking for a Dependents Social Security Number, and claim the exemption.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf

The provision for an NRA declared as a dependent is:
"If you do not file a joint return, you can claim an exemption for your nonresident alien spouse only if your spouse has no income from sources within the United States and is not the dependent of another U.S. taxpayer."
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Frequently-Asked-Questions-About-International-Individual-Tax-Matters#FilingStatusandDependents
*Under Filing Status and Dependents, question 1.

It's suggested you run the calculations both ways first (MFS without his exemption and MFS with his exemption) to find if there will be any tax saving advantage before actually applying for the ITIN.

You apply for an ITIN for your NRA spouse.
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/General-ITIN-Information

On form 1040, under Exemptions, you list your NRA spouse using the ITIN in the column asking for a Dependents Social Security Number, and claim the exemption.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf

The provision for an NRA declared as a dependent is:
"If you do not file a joint return, you can claim an exemption for your nonresident alien spouse only if your spouse has no income from sources within the United States and is not the dependent of another U.S. taxpayer."
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Frequently-Asked-Questions-About-International-Individual-Tax-Matters#FilingStatusandDependents
*Under Filing Status and Dependents, question 1.

It's suggested you run the calculations both ways first (MFS without his exemption and MFS with his exemption) to find if there will be any tax saving advantage before actually applying for the ITIN.

That sounds like a great option to look into - that you. Although I guess that means I have to do my taxes twice before I submit. lol. Is it too late for me to apply for an ITIN for my husband? I know expats get an extension on the deadline, but I'm not even in the UK yet so I don't think that applies to me.

The W-7 ITIN application form gets filed with the completed US return, so you are certainly not too late.

To save sending your husband's original UK passport to the IRS ITIN Unit, you may wish to use an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent in the UK.