Question

Wife resident in Germany / Husband remote based NYC job

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
April 11, 2022
1 reply
0 views

Hi,

My wife and I were married in Arizona last year in 2021. She is a resident of Germany and lived / worked there for most 2021. I was working remote (NYC based job) but spent most of 2021 in Arizona.

Question is how should we file? I think jointly makes sense but what does that entail for our situation. 2020 I also had the same situation (but we were not married) and I filed taxes in both Arizona and NYC.

Thank you all!

Not A Product Question

M

MAK70

Is your wife an American citizen or U.S. Legal Permanent Resident? See Nonresident Spouse. That is one of the biggest considerations since a tax resident is taxed on world wide income. Also, Arizona is a community property state so you must consider how that will apply. Please add more details.

A

azfrogman29

Thanks Mary! My wife is a US citizen. I also was wondering which tax deadline applies? April or June? Appreciate the help.

E

ErnieS0

If you file a joint return, either you or your spouse can qualify for the automatic extension. If you and your spouse file separate returns, this automatic extension applies only to the spouse who qualifies.

US citizens report worldwide income. You can file either joint or separate.

Your wife can claim a foreign earned income exclusion because she is a resident of Germany.

Arizona allows you to file either joint or separate for state, regardless of how you filed federal. However, AZ is a community property state, meaning if you file separate, you will have to adjust both returns to report half of everything on the separate return, because all your income (generally) is considered to be jointly earned and owned.

New York requires the same filing status as federal unless one spouse is a New York State resident and the other is a nonresident or part-year resident.

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