I am a Canadian citizen/resident. I did live in the US, but returned to Canada in 2014 and since then have had no income, investments, etc. whatsoever in US. Last US tax return was filed in 2015.
In 2017 I married a US citizen who is still resident and working in US, and we are working on her moving to Canada later in 2018. Intent is that she will file US return for 2017 as married filing separately (reasons are another story). My question: am I required to file a US return?
Thanks!
Canadian citizen/resident, married US citizen/resident
Moderator: Mark T Serbinski CA CPA
You are not required to file.
If she is willing to pay the extra tax associated with filing separately, so be it. She can still claim you as an exemption (for 2017) if you apply for an ITIN.
If you filed jointly, likely all your income would be either exempted of have sufficnt tax credits to make it worthwhile to file jointly. You would not be subject to FBAR, FATCA, etc, but would have to report any internal TFSA income.
If she is willing to pay the extra tax associated with filing separately, so be it. She can still claim you as an exemption (for 2017) if you apply for an ITIN.
If you filed jointly, likely all your income would be either exempted of have sufficnt tax credits to make it worthwhile to file jointly. You would not be subject to FBAR, FATCA, etc, but would have to report any internal TFSA income.
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Thanks for your response.
Choosing to file separately because I have an ongoing dispute with the IRS -- when I filed my final return in 2015, they logged the check as being foreign currency and applied an exchange rate. Despite providing them with documentation from my bank (cancelled check image, account statement, letter from the bank), they thus far seem unable to acknowledge that they made a mistake -- even the taxpayer advocate has been rather unhelpful. Until this is resolved, I am unwilling to expose her to liability.
At present, I have no taxable income. Are you saying that she could claim me as an exemption for 2017 if she files "married filing separately" (and if she did, would she incur potential liability for my tax issue)? Or can she only claim me if she files jointly (and would I then need to file a return)?
Of course, if my issue is resolved within three years, she can file a corrected return and claim me for the added deduction.
Choosing to file separately because I have an ongoing dispute with the IRS -- when I filed my final return in 2015, they logged the check as being foreign currency and applied an exchange rate. Despite providing them with documentation from my bank (cancelled check image, account statement, letter from the bank), they thus far seem unable to acknowledge that they made a mistake -- even the taxpayer advocate has been rather unhelpful. Until this is resolved, I am unwilling to expose her to liability.
At present, I have no taxable income. Are you saying that she could claim me as an exemption for 2017 if she files "married filing separately" (and if she did, would she incur potential liability for my tax issue)? Or can she only claim me if she files jointly (and would I then need to file a return)?
Of course, if my issue is resolved within three years, she can file a corrected return and claim me for the added deduction.
Us citizens married to Cdn residents can claim them as dependents on their MFS tax return if the spouse has no US income.
I have no idea if this would cause them to collect back taxes that you are considered owing.
I have no idea if this would cause them to collect back taxes that you are considered owing.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing