Filing taxes claiming my wife as a Dependent

[chaitanyapalavarapu]

Hi All,

Need your help.

I am on H1B got married in Feb 2013.

1) My wife was on H4 and applied for H1B without Change of status.
2) Her H1B got approved without I-94/Change of status. (That means she is on H4 status as of Dec 31st)
3) She is not working as of Dec 31st 2013.

Can I claim her as a dependent when I file taxes for the year of 2013?

Please advice.

Thanks,
Krishna

[gkp]

I have the same situation. Can anyone please put some light on this ?

Hi All,

Need your help.

I am on H1B got married in Feb 2013.

1) My wife was on H4 and applied for H1B without Change of status.
2) Her H1B got approved without I-94/Change of status. (That means she is on H4 status as of Dec 31st)
3) She is not working as of Dec 31st 2013.

Can I claim her as a dependent when I file taxes for the year of 2013?

Please advice.

Thanks,
Krishna

[binoca82]

Yes, you can. I do not see any issue in doing a join return.

[rayb]

You can file as "joint/married" only if you apply for an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) with form W-7 at the same time as you submit the income tax return.

Someone telling you that you can have your wife on your tax return is only half of an answer. For the "joint/married" status to be accepted by IRS, your wife must have an ITIN or SSN, and for an ITIN you must make application at the same time that you file the tax return, paperfile, not EFile.

--Ray B

Hi All,

Need your help.

I am on H1B got married in Feb 2013.

1) My wife was on H4 and applied for H1B without Change of status.
2) Her H1B got approved without I-94/Change of status. (That means she is on H4 status as of Dec 31st)
3) She is not working as of Dec 31st 2013.

Can I claim her as a dependent when I file taxes for the year of 2013?

Please advice.

Thanks,
Krishna