A long time client got married on 10/31/11 to a woman who came here from Vietnam for the purpose (I don't know what kind of Visa she had or whether she was a resident or nonresident alien or what) and has since been naturalized and received a ssn valid for work. I am working on the 2011 return. She is very up on the law other than taxes and will know the answers to my questions if yall can tell me what questions I need to ask. The reason I ask is that their income as a married couple is low enough to qualify for EIC. I want to claim it if they are entitled and not otherwise. I am thinking that her immigration status is irrelevant to EIC because she did not make a home in the US for more than half the year. If that's right, do I need to know anything about her situation beyond what is here? Only income is wages and the only tax savings are sch A and his educational expenses. Oh and she naturally incurred moving expenses and she has gone to work so am thinking moving expenses deduction if her moving from overseas does not change anything.
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Foreign wife
As long as they are married and she has a ss# they can file joint and receive EIC.I do not understand the living here for more than half the year that is for a dependent if the are married at the end of the year they are married. -
My take
You do not mention any children so I am assuming there are no children. To qualify for EIC they both have to live in a house in US for more than 6 months and they would have to file a joint return. From what you said she did not so no EIC. If I misread the part about where she lived then if she was a NR alien for part of 2011 she would have to agree to be treated as a resident alien/citizen for the whole year and report her worldwide income for the whole year so they could file jointly.Comment
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I agree. If no children, no EIC under the circumstances you describe. As for the moving expenses, very interesting. It appears from what I can find, that they can be taken if moving from the US to a foreign company if otherwise qualified. I can find nothing indicating it doesn't work the other way around, nor can I find a specific reference to it at all.Comment
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No EIC
The income threshold for married couples without children to get EIC is lower than I thought it was.Comment
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Did she have her new job in the US BEFORE moving here? For international moving expenses to be deductible, you would have to have the job BEFORE moving here to prove you moved because of employment. You can't move to the US and THEN start looking for a job and take the deduction.
I've had NR aliens move to the US and take a deduction for the move but they had their job (fellowships actually) all lined up before moving.
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