So I have been procrastinating this too long and need some help. My wife is Canadian and had only Canadian income in 2014 & 2015 and she was unemployed in 2016 (she resigned her position in Nov. of 2015, moved to U.S., and is currently unemployed). I only had U.S. income in 2014, 2015, & 2016. She already filed her taxes and received a return. I would also always receive a return when I filed single. I expect a return so do not expect to be penalized for filing late -- but I need to go ahead and file ASAP because April 15, 2017 is the last day to file 2014 taxes if you want a return.
My question is, can I file married filing jointly even though she already filed in Canada? I know I am no longer allowed to file as a single person but if I file married filing separably I will lose all my credits. According to my limited understanding, I have to list her income (in USD) but I will get a foreign earned income tax credit that will prevent us from paying taxes on her income twice. Also, will we have to combine her income and my income to calculate my tax bracket?
Thanks in advance for any help and feel free to treat me like I am a total dummy (as I obviously am since I haven't filed taxes in 3 years).
My question is, can I file married filing jointly even though she already filed in Canada? I know I am no longer allowed to file as a single person but if I file married filing separably I will lose all my credits. According to my limited understanding, I have to list her income (in USD) but I will get a foreign earned income tax credit that will prevent us from paying taxes on her income twice. Also, will we have to combine her income and my income to calculate my tax bracket?
Thanks in advance for any help and feel free to treat me like I am a total dummy (as I obviously am since I haven't filed taxes in 3 years).