Hi, I am US citizen who has just married a vietnamese wife in December of
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"tddaly" wrote
Your wife isn't a dependent, but filing married jointly will accomplish the same thing and be correct. She'll need a SSN or an ITIN, so look into those to see which is correct given her status.
IRS Pub 54
Yes. If you file a joint return, you can claim an exemption for your nonresident alien spouse. If you do not file a joint return, you can claim an exemption for your nonresident alien spouse only if your spouse has no income from sources within the United States and is not the dependent of another U.S. taxpayer.
You must use the married filing separately column in the Tax Table or section C of the Tax Computation Worksheet, unless you qualify as a head of household. (Also see Question 12 under General Tax Questions, later.)
A U.S. citizen or resident alien married to a nonresident alien also can choose to treat the nonresident alien as a U.S. resident for all federal income tax purposes. This allows you to file a joint return, but also subjects the alien's worldwide income to U.S. income tax.
Milt Baker CPA Retired Michigan
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