A very common question, one that we've been seeing a lot recently probably because everybody is
filing their taxes is what to do when your spouse is a foreign national. They're an immigrant and
they don't have a Social Security Number yet. What are you supposed to do when you're filing
your taxes? A lot of individuals think that they are supposed to file single or
they're stuck and they're not sure what to do. We want to let you know that a lot of you might
use programs like H&R Block and TurboTax and things like that. Those are really very basic
form-filling software that can't handle more complex and other unique situations like
having a spouse who is a foreign national. For those of you who are married to individuals
who live in another country and they haven't received their green card and don't have
a Social Security Number yet and you're still going through the immigration process but
you're legally married. You should really be filing taxes jointly because you are married.
I want to preface this with: I'm not a tax expert, I am not going to give tax
advice but I will give advice from an immigration standpoint and what I do
know about taxes. We've seen a lot of individuals that say, "I was trying to file on
TurboTax or H&R Block and it asks for my spouse's Social Security Number.
He or she doesn't have one yet. Do I file single or
what are my options here?" From an immigration standpoint, if you're married
you want to show immigration that you have a real relationship. A lot of you are just starting
out in your immigration journey or those who are in the middle of your journey know that one of
the parts of your immigration case is showing immigration that you have a real relationship
based on love. That you are joining your lives together so filing taxes single would be
something that would hurt you because that's usually something that you can use for evidence
that you file your taxes jointly like a married couple would. What a married couple does
also from a tax standpoint, there are certain things that you can't claim. There are
certain instances when you can't file head of household or you shouldn't legally file
single. What we recommend is that you look for someone, a Certified Public Accountant.
Someone who is more than just an H&R Block form filler. Not to bash on H&R Block, all of those
programs are great for individuals. For whom those programs can work that have a more basic
filing. But you really want to find someone who can help you prepare your taxes that understands
that you're married to an individual who lives in another country and doesn't have a Social Security
Number yet. There is something called an ITIN, an Individual Tax Identification Number that's
typically used for individuals who are not yet lawful permanent residents or United States
citizens. Finding someone who can give you expert advice in the realm of taxes and
help you to properly prepare your taxes to be filed jointly is going to help you because
you want to be in compliance with tax law in the United States and also because typically
married couples get certain deductions that are beneficial. You also want to take advantage of
that. So that's from a tax perspective and then also from an immigration perspective
filing your taxes jointly combining your lives, having commingling, is what immigration calls it.
Commingling of finances and showing you have a real relationship. It's definitely worth it
to get that expert advice and have your taxes done properly. Hopefully that helps answer
that common question we've been seeing in our Facebook group regarding filing taxes.