# 1040 questions



## Mannisenmaki (Feb 2, 2013)

Hello all

I am preparing my wife's federal return this year because she is too busy looking after her sick mother. She is a US citizen and I am a NRA. We both live in the United Kingdom.

I just have a couple of quick questions regarding the 1040:

1. We got married in 2012 and so her filing status is now "married filing separately". Does this mean that she can claim an exemption for me by ticking box 6b on the 1040? I assume so on the basis of the guidance in Publication 54 but would be grateful for the confirmation. It almost doesn't matter because the FEIE means that no tax is payable anyway but I want to make sure that the form is filled out correctly.

2. Does interest on Roth IRAs need to be declared in box 8b on the 1040? I assume not but the 1040 instructions and Publication 550 on IRAs are not clear on this point.

Many thanks

Nick


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Mannisenmaki said:


> Hello all
> 
> I am preparing my wife's federal return this year because she is too busy looking after her sick mother. She is a US citizen and I am a NRA. We both live in the United Kingdom.
> 
> ...


No. You can't take a spouse as an exemption or a dependent if you're filing MFS. (Has to be a US citizen or resident, have a SS number and a bunch of other things.) As long as the taxes work out to 0, it really doesn't matter. Just indicate "NRA" in the spaces where they ask for name and SS number of the spouse.



> 2. Does interest on Roth IRAs need to be declared in box 8b on the 1040? I assume not but the 1040 instructions and Publication 550 on IRAs are not clear on this point.


You assume correctly. You don't report Roth IRA interest at all.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Mannisenmaki (Feb 2, 2013)

Bevdeforges said:


> No. You can't take a spouse as an exemption or a dependent if you're filing MFS. (Has to be a US citizen or resident, have a SS number and a bunch of other things.) As long as the taxes work out to 0, it really doesn't matter. Just indicate "NRA" in the spaces where they ask for name and SS number of the spouse.


Many thanks, Bev. I thought that page 24 of Publication 54 indicated that an exemption could be claimed but I ageee that it doesn't matter because the taxes are zero.

Best regards

Nick


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## maz57 (Apr 17, 2012)

@ Bev....... Not sure I agree with your reading of Pub. 54, Bev. On page 30, chapter 5, it states clearly that you can: 

"You can claim an exemption for your nonresi-
dent alien spouse on your separate return, pro-
vided your spouse has no gross income for U.S.
tax purposes and is not the dependent of an-
other U.S. taxpayer.
You also can claim exemptions for individu-
als who qualify as your dependents. To be your
dependent, the individual must be a U.S. citizen,
U.S. national, U.S. resident alien, or a resident
of Canada or Mexico for some part of the calen-
dar year in which your tax year begins."

Perhaps the confusion arises because of a distinction between an exemption for a spouse vs. an exemption for a dependent? I seem to remember that the same publication states elsewhere that one's spouse can never be one's dependent. My reading of the above two paragraphs tells me that a spouse has the same exemption "status" that the taxpayer himself has, distinctly different from a dependent. Otherwise, a spouse would simply be listed in section 6c with all the other dependents. Instead, the spouse is given section 6b. Of course a NRA spouse would have no SSN. The requirement for some sort of US status and SSN refers to dependents, not spouses. It also looks as if Canada and Mexico have some sort of special treaty treatment for dependents that the rest of the world doesn't.

I have been claiming the additional spousal exemption for a number of tax years now with nary a peep out of the IRS. In my case it does make a difference because being retired I have no "earned income", hence no FEIE. In all the other places on the 1040 where it asks for spousal info I've been simply writing NRA. My spouse has requested that I provide the IRS with no additional information, arguing that they have no connection to the US and no reporting obligation whatsoever. I agree.


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