Claiming exemption for spouse on an MFS return

- A
- Arthur Kamlet
  
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posted
13 years ago

Wed, Jun 30, 2010 5:53 PM

Page 28

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says: "Resident Aliens "You can claim personal exemptions and exemp- tions for dependents according to the depen- dency rules for U.S. citizens. You can claim an exemption for your spouse on a separate return if your spouse had no gross income for U.S. tax purposes and was not the dependent of another taxpayer."

OK. Just how do you go about taking this exemption for your spouse? Is it as simple as checking the personal exemption box for spouse and filing MFS and listing spouses name and SSN?

Wouldn't IRS flag this as improper 99.++% of the time?

- D
- D. Stussy
  
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posted
13 years ago

Wed, Jun 30, 2010 10:26 PM

The other issue is why not file an MFJ return under such a circumstance?

- A
- Alan
  
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posted
13 years ago

Wed, Jun 30, 2010 10:28 PM

A taxpayer who files a married separate tax return can claim a personal exemption for a US citizen spouse or US resident alien spouse as long as the spouse does not have any gross income, does not file a tax return and is not a dependent of someone else. All you need is the name and SSN on the tax form. The same rule holds true if your spouse is a nonresident alien as long as the spouse has a taxpayer ID number (ITIN or SSN). Note that for a nonresident alien spouse, it is US source income that has to be zero.

- M
- Mark Bole
  
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posted
13 years ago

Wed, Jun 30, 2010 11:49 PM

Yes. I had a client in this situation several years ago, in her nineties, she got married to another resident of the senior living facility where she lived for a few years before his death.

Someone sent a letter, but I think it was California FTB, not the IRS, since CA does not allow an exemption credit in this situation (perhaps my software didn't allow for the CA situation). I don't remember the details.

You could always paper file the return and include a statement regarding the spouse's situation, just as you would if rightfully claiming a dependent that someone else had wrongly claimed, for example. That might head off a computer-generated letter following an e-filed return.

-Mark Bole