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Monday, September 26, 2011

International Marriage This Year, Spouse Not in US Till Next Year

Another AskTaxGuru.com Junior Member asked:

Hi,
I was married in March of 2011, my spouse will likely not finish the CR-1 visa process until 2012. His income in his country is not high enough to be eligible for income taxes in his country. Mine is substancially higher, and I have filed every year since I was 10 or so. We have no dependents. I bought a house in 2009 so my only deductions other than the standard have been related to mortage interest, town real estate taxes, etc...

I have a few questions:
1) Do I now need to file as married as we are legally married and have started the immigration process for him to be come a permanent resident?
2) Should I be thinking about adjusting my withholding? I am currently claiming 0 exemptions and withholding at my old single rate, as I had no idea whether he'd be included or not and really didn't want to owe taxes for 2011.
3) Would his foreign income need to be reported on my tax return? If so, what documentation is required? He may not get much documentation since he is exempt in his country.

I know that is a lot to digest and probably tricky without details, if his country matters it is Jamaica. I am not sure who to ask while the immigration process is ongoing, he has not been approved for conditional permanent residence yet and that process is not likely to be completed this year.

I am gratefull for this forum and any assistance or commentary you have to point me in the right direction.

Thanks and Best Regards,
KReneeS

Our Tax Guru has answered this question here. What do you think?

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