Thanks, thats what I needed to know. I will call the IRS today. I think 400CHF an hour is simply a measure of the fear factor us Americans have of the IRS. My treuhand does Swiss taxs in about 90 minutes for CHF100. And I thought Swiss businesses were more expensive.
Thanks for the help!
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| You can also call the IRS and ask these questions for free. I am married to an EU passport holder. I called the IRS and a representative told me exactly what forms I would need so I had a frame of reference. I also called a state tax representative and she told me what forms I would need there.
I filed separately because my husband is a non-resident alien and so is not required to file or pay US taxes because he doesn't live in the US. I used turbo tax to prepare my taxes and it worked fine for both federal and state.
Turbo tax complained that there was no SSN for my husband. But the IRS website states somewhere that you just need to include a letter stating that your spouse is a non-resident alien. Not 100% sure if it needs to be notarized or not but I think you both have to sign it.
I was panicked at first too because the IRS website is not clear on whether your spouse needs an ITIN number (the place holder number for a SSN but is NOT an SSN). When I spoke to the IRS rep. she said it was only necessary IF we were filing jointly...which we are not because we don't want to be taxed together.
Anyway...if it is still too intimidating call a professional. I just did a lot of research about getting a CPA locally and the guy I called (who was suggested on the EF) wanted me to pay 400CHF an hour. I thought that was nonsense and looked into using turbotax because I had been using it for years in the US already...and it worked out.
Good luck...you definitely have my sympathies. | |
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