"graphguy" <graphguy[at]nospam.com> wrote:

- quote -

Ever tried "Married Filing Separately"? Clearly you are not
single, and your wife is not subject to US taxation on what
you've stated.

--
David M. Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU
Woods Financial Services
Norwood, MA 02062
www.woods-financial.com

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

"graphguy" <graphguy[at]nospam.com> wrote:

- quote -

You do have some choices but filing as "single" is not one
of them; you are married so you must file either jointly or
separately.

I never use 1040EZ, so I don't know if married filing
separate is allowed.

In order to file jointly, you need to get an ITIN for your
wife. You also need to attach a statement to the return
that both you and your wife elect to tax her world wide
income as though she were a resident for the full year. If
she has no income, this is no problem but, if she does,
filing jointly could actually cost you more. With these
complications, I don't know if you can use 1040EZ, either.

If your wife has significant income, I would suggest you
either file separately or consult with an accountant who is
familiar with the rules for non-resident aliens. If she
does have income, it would probably pay you to consult the
accountant, as well.

Lanny K. Williams, CPA
Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd.
Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

I was married in August 2005, but my wife is a citizen of a
foreign country and has never even visited the USA yet. She
doesn't have a Social Security number or anything. Should I
just check "single" on the EZ form? If I put "married
filing jointly", that doesn't seem quite right either since
she has never stepped foot in this country. Thanks in
advance for any help on this.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >