Hello,

My husband and I have health insurance through my employer ( self and spouse )
We had a traditional marriage, so no legal proof. My W4 that i filled at the time of joining the company says I am single.
Should we have to file taxes jointly ? or can we file as single.

Thanks.

“ My W4 that i filled at the time of joining the company says I am single.”---> You can keep your single status for your W4.
“Should we have to file taxes jointly ? or can we file as single.”---->As a married filer, you can’t file your return as single; you, as a married taxpayer, can choose between filing a MFJ or a MFS tax return. The MFJ filing status provides more tax benefits than filing MFS returns, but you will need to weigh the pros and cons and decide for yourselves which is the best filing status. If you are married, then you and your spouse can filing a joint tax return. You are considered married if you are legally married on the last day of the year. In order to file jointly, both you and your spouse must agree to file a joint tax return, and both must sign the return. MFJ provides more tax benefits than filing a separate return. The IRS advises that, "If you and your spouse decide to file a joint return, your tax may be lower than your combined tax for the other filing statuses. Also, your standard deduction ,if you do not itemize deductions, may be higher, and you may qualify for tax benefits that do not apply to other filing statuses. By filing a joint tax return, both you and your spouse report all your income, deductions, and credits. Both of you must sign the return, and both spouses accept full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information reported on the tax return. The IRS cautions, "Both of you may be held responsible, jointly and individually, for the tax and any interest or penalty due on your joint return. One spouse may be held responsible for all the tax due even if all the income was earned by the other spouse.

Thank you so much for your detailed reply.

What my main question is - that besides the joint health insurance - we dont have any other proof of marriage.
If we file as single - then we are getting a bigger benefit.
Will it still be "illegal" to file as single - since we dont really have a legal marriage proof. So technically, everywhere we are single , except for the health insurance records.

Thanks.

“What my main question is - that besides the joint health insurance - we dont have any other proof of marriage.”-----> In general, your filing status depends on whether you are considered unmarried or married. For federal tax purposes, a marriage means only a legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife.If you are considered married for the whole year, you and your spouse can file a joint return, or you can file separate returns. You are considered married for the whole year if on the last day of your tax year you and your spouse meet any one of the following tests. 1. You are married and living together as husband and wife. 2. You are living together in a common law marriage that is recognized in the state where you now live or in the state where the common law marriage began. If #2 applies to you, the answer is yes, you can file a federal tax return as MFJ or MFS. Simply, some states recognize spouses as married at common law when they live as husband and wives for a minimum number of years, as established by state law, consider themselves married, publicly claim to be husband and wife and file joint tax returns.
“If we file as single - then we are getting a bigger benefit.”--> So, it depends as described above.
“Will it still be "illegal" to file as single - since we dont really have a legal marriage proof. So technically, everywhere we are single , except for the health insurance records”-----> It depends; a common-law marriage is legally binding in some common law jurisdictions but has no legal consequence in others; Only a handfull of states recognize common law marriages. Check your state laws to find out what you need for proof. Common law marriage is recognized only in the following states: Alabama, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia (if created before 1/1/97), Idaho (if created before 1/1/96), Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Ohio (if created before 10/10/91), Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,Texas, Utah.If your "marriage" was established in one of those states you may file income taxes as married regardless of the state that you now live in. You also must get a legal divorce from the court if you were ever "married" under the common law of any of those states.I guess you need to ask your local accountant. State laws are different from state to state.
So, I guess you need to contact Dept of revenue r FTB of home state for more accurate info in detail,OK??

Sorry... i dont understand

We were married in India and did not have a marriage or any legal document verifying our marriage in the US.

so techincally we are not married in the US - except for one minor thing - that we have health insurance as a married couple provided by my employer.

Will that give us the right to file as single?

“We were married in India and did not have a marriage or any legal document verifying our marriage in the US.”---->So, are you non US residents????? OR A US person for tax purposes???? In general, unless the marriage breaks U.S. state laws, marriages which are legally performed and valid abroad are also legally valid in the US. Inquiries regarding the validity of a marriage abroad should be directed to the attorney general of the state in the US where you, the parties,to the marriage live. The marriage, whether it took place in the U.S. or abroad, has to be proven to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services to be considered legitimate. Once you prove that your marriage in India is legitimate, then you file your return as MFJ/MFS NOT as single since you are LAWFULLY married, NOT single.I guess you need to talk to an international tax representative at the IRS.

we are non resident US citizens... with valid work (H1B) visas.

If we file as status SINGLE ( and not MFS ) - it works better for us.
But we want to make sure if we can or if we cant do that - because although we are married - there is no proof/documentation of our marriage.
Not sure if it is considered legal or not. ( We are traditionally married in India and considered legally married there )
Even is the US - our health insurance states we are married and have an EMPLOYEE + SPOUSE insurance.

Do you know if we can still qualify as SINGLE filing status for US tax purposes or not .

Thanks for all your help.

" But we want to make sure if we can or if we cant do that - because although we are married - there is no proof/documentation of our marriage."---. Then I guess you can file your return as single sine you have no marrriagfe proof/documentation at all. Ass aid previously, the best way to know it is to copntact the IRS form more accurate information in detail.The IRS( Tax law) determines it.