Foreign marriage not registered in US - must we file taxes as married or single for 2025?

If you're legally married in another country, the IRS generally recognizes that marriage for tax purposes, even if you haven't registered it in the US. The IRS follows a "place of celebration" rule, meaning if the marriage was valid where it was performed, it's valid for federal tax purposes. Your accountant was correct - once you're married (anywhere that recognizes the marriage as legal), you must file as either "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately" for federal taxes. The fact that you haven't registered the marriage with US authorities doesn't change your tax filing status with the IRS.

I was in a similar situation with my marriage from Brazil and was super confused about my tax filing status. I ended up using https://taxr.ai to get a clear answer. I uploaded my foreign marriage certificate and explained my situation, and they confirmed that my international marriage was valid for US tax purposes even though I hadn't registered it here. They explained the "place of celebration" rule mentioned above and saved me from filing incorrectly.

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai - I decided to try it out after my skeptical comment. Uploaded my Mexican marriage certificate and some tax docs, and got really specific advice about my situation. They explained exactly why I need to file as married for federal taxes even without US registration, and even pointed out some deductions we could take as a married couple that I had no idea about. Definitely worth checking out if you're in this situation with a foreign marriage.

If you're still unsure after getting advice, you might want to speak directly with the IRS. I was in a similar situation and spent WEEKS trying to get through to them on the phone with no luck. I finally used https://claimyr.com and got connected to an actual IRS agent in under an hour. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They confirmed that my marriage from Colombia was valid for US tax purposes even without US registration. The agent explained that as long as the marriage was legal where it was performed, I needed to file as married.

I'm eating my words about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I had a complicated question about my overseas property that I needed to ask the IRS directly. Got connected to an agent in about 45 minutes when I had previously wasted DAYS trying to get through on my own. The agent confirmed exactly what others are saying here - foreign marriages are recognized for US tax purposes as long as they were legal where performed, regardless of US registration. Saved me from making a big mistake on my taxes.

This is actually a pretty common situation. I'm a tax preparer and see this all the time with clients who got married abroad. The key thing is whether the marriage was legally valid in the Dominican Republic. If so, then the IRS considers you married for tax purposes. Period. Your friends are giving you bad advice - maybe they're confusing this with immigration requirements?

Somewhat related question - my wife and I got married in Mexico in 2023 and we filed as married last year. We're getting divorced now (still not finalized). Do we still have to file as married for 2025 taxes since we're still technically married?

I went through this exact same situation! Got married in Italy in 2021 and was so confused about filing status. What really helped me was understanding that the IRS uses federal law to determine marital status, not state law. Since your Dominican Republic marriage is legally valid there, it's valid for federal tax purposes here too. One thing I learned - you don't need to do anything special to "register" your marriage in the US for tax purposes. The IRS recognizes valid foreign marriages automatically. Your accountant was absolutely right to have you file as married. Keep your original marriage certificate in a safe place with your tax documents. I also got mine translated just to be safe, but as others mentioned, it's not required unless you're audited. Better to be prepared than scrambling later!

I'm dealing with a similar situation - got married in Japan in 2020 but never registered anything here in the US. Reading through all these comments has been super reassuring! I was stressed about whether I was filing correctly. One thing I'd add is that if you're ever unsure, you can also reference IRS Publication 501 which covers filing status requirements. It specifically addresses foreign marriages and confirms what everyone is saying here - valid foreign marriages are recognized for US tax purposes. Your accountant definitely gave you the right advice. Keep filing as married and don't let your friends' confusion stress you out. It sounds like they might be mixing up tax requirements with immigration or state-level marriage recognition issues, which are completely different things.

I'm also new to this community and dealing with a very similar situation! My husband and I got married in the Philippines in 2021, and I've been so anxious about whether we're filing our taxes correctly. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful and reassuring. What really stands out to me is how consistent everyone's advice is - whether you got married in the Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Mexico, or anywhere else, the rule seems to be the same: if your marriage was legally valid where it was performed, the IRS recognizes it for tax purposes. No special US registration required. I think what might be confusing some people (like your friends who gave you conflicting advice) is that there are different requirements for different purposes. Immigration has its own rules, some states might have different recognition requirements, but for federal taxes, it's straightforward - legal foreign marriage equals married filing status with the IRS. Your accountant was definitely right, and it sounds like you should stick with filing as married. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and resources like the IRS publications and various services - this community is so helpful for navigating these confusing situations!