Question about alien/tax

**goingwest** · 05-29-2008, 04:03 AM

I brought a property before I get married and I have no more mortgage on it. Now I am married to a non-resident alien with two children. I file tax return seperately from my wife as head of household, essentially she doesn't pay US tax.

We are intereted in buying another property in San Diego area, with down payment about 50% of the property price, to be financed by my wife since her income is much higher than mine. What would be the consequencies of our taxes? Do we have then to file joined tax return? What do we need to be aware of in terms of tax and law?

Thank you for your advice!

**jamesww** · 05-29-2008, 05:07 AM

Originally Posted by goingwest

I brought a property before I get married and I have no more mortgage on it. Now I am married to a non-resident alien with two children. I file tax return seperately from my wife as head of household, essentially she doesn't pay US tax.

We are intereted in buying another property in San Diego area, with down payment about 50% of the property price, to be financed by my wife since her income is much higher than mine. What would be the consequencies of our taxes? Do we have then to file joined tax return? What do we need to be aware of in terms of tax and law?

Thank you for your advice!

First of you should have no problems with the first house as long as you have held it in tenants in severalty and have not used a joint checking account to pay taxes on the property. You do not have to file a joint return but purchasing it in her name will cause you to have a special tax assesed once you sell the property. This tax is only charged to foreign purchasers of real estate and is charged upon sale of the property. Your wife would have to hold the property until she had citizenship to avoid this tax. This is from my understanding only and not intended to be tax or legal advice. The tax laws change all the time and so you should contact an attorney or CPA to assure that you are compling with all tax codes.