I am retired, and my wife works here in Poland. We live in Poland year round. If we file a joint tax return will the u.s. gov't demand that she pay taxes on her polish salary? Or is it tax deductable. I get different answers from different "tax experts" HELP!!!
Other - Taxes - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
No, and unless you are making more than 75,000 your exemption should cover you as well (if you were in Poland the entire year, otherwise it's prorated, partly on the overseas exemption and partly on the US exemption) unless the rules have changed in the last 5 years. Our family lived in Austria for many years. Anything over your exemption is taxable, and your wife's income should be irrelevant if she is not a US citizen and did not live in the US for any part of the year. To be certain, I suggest you call a missionary or charitable organization that sends workers overseas and ask for the accounting dept., I'll bet you'll get the most accurate answer like that. Perhaps try calling TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission) in Carol Stream, Illinois, or World Relief in Wheaton, or Wycliffe Bible Translators in West Chicago.
2 :
In short yes. You should, before you have a stroke, look at the rules for Form 2555.
3 :
That depends upon your wife's tax status. If she is a US resident alien (green card holder), her world-wide income is automatically subject to US taxes. If you wife is a non-resident alien, you can only file a joint return with her if you BOTH agree to have her world-wide income taxed by the US. You need to attach a joint statement signed by both of you to your joint return agreeing to have her world-wide income taxed by the US. Your wife needs an ITIN to file a joint return if she is a non-resident alien. You can attach Form W-7 to your joint return and send it to the Austin, TX service center if she doesn't already have one. If she refuses to consent to US taxation, you cannot file a joint return. You would have to file Married Filing Separately. Your tax situation is complex. If you don't approach it properly you could make some VERY expensive errors. Get copies of IRS Pub 501, IRS Pub 54 and IRS Pub 519 from the IRS website to get started.
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