US Tax Filing Question

[alexander]

Hello,

This is my first post on this forum so go easy on me as I'm a newbie !! Being a recent expat from the UK my USC wife and I have just started looking into how we should look to file our tax return in the new year. To be honest, we are both totally confused how best to go about this. Hopefully by detailing some of our info below, someone in this forum will be able to give us some pointers ??

Our details are as follows

*I emigrated from the UK to the US in March of this year on a K-1 Fianc?e visa.
*I Married a USC in April.
*I only received my work permit at the end of October so I don't anticipate earning any money in this current tax year.
*My wife has an arrangement with her Ex where they take turns claiming their Daughter as a dependent. This year is our turn.
*Working as a teacher, my wife expects to be able to claim the Earned Income Credit again this year.
*I won't become a Legal Permanent Resident until Jan 18th, 2007

I'm hoping that with the info above, someone will be able to point us in the right direction concerning my wife?s status when filing and my status with regard to the US taxation system.

Thanks in advance

 

[andre]

Hey Alexander,
Welcome to the wonderful world of US taxes. I am no expert, but have filed every year since I was 15 years old so I have some knowledge. It's good thing you aren't employed as yet, you can spend your free time reading the tax books!

- Your wife can claim you as a dependent, you can file 2 ways: Married filing jointly is normally the lowest tax burden except in some special cases. Married filing separately is also an option, she can claim you as a deduction as long as you are married as of the last day of 2005 and you have no US income to report.
- You will need a social security number, which you need anyway to work. If you can't get it before April 15th, you can get a taxpayer ID number that will work.
- One question you may have to address is any foreign income you may have. (like if you work outside the US or have unearned income from foreign investments) US citizens are taxed on their worldwide income and resident aliens are taxed on their US income, but I don't know about overseas income.
Good luck