[Fun fact about America] Marriage penalty on taxation

If there's one aspect on human rights report which China actually did slightly better than US, it could be the Gender Pay gap. 

That was close!

What I don't understand about it is the fact that taxation actually helps to widen the gender pay gap by the so called "marriage penalty". 
According to the below chart from taxfoundation, marriage penalty hurts couple with 50/50 income contribution the most, no matter it is a low income or high income household, with or without kids.

Nowadays, since dual income family is the new normal form of household, a marriage penalty in taxation could discourage the idea of getting married at all, which hurts birthrate, increases single parent family. Especially in lower income household, $1500 difference in annual taxation is actually a lot of money. 

In higher income household, this could result in discouraging one spouse from working because it no longer makes sense considering the additional taxation and child care cost, thus lower the overall labor participation rate.

Overall, marriage penalty hurts dual earner family and it hurts equal right for woman.

Oh, in case you wonder how personal income tax works in China, below is the brief idea.

1, Tax is collected per individual. It makes no difference whether you're married or not, have kids or not.

2, Tax is collected not withheld from your paycheck every month. For most people, that's it. No tax form, tax return, CPA, W-2, W-4, 1040, nothing! (No chance of getting your money back as well.)

3, ZERO taxation on capital gain. 

Thanks for reading. Happy holidays!

[Fun Fact in China] No tipping in China

If you happen to have the chance to travel to China, you don't need to tip anyone. Usually, a service charge is included on your bill in hotel, fine dining, etc. Otherwise, service charge is basically "priced in" your food, drink, etc. Therefore, there's no need to tip, unless you really can't help it.

If you work in the service industry, please do not blame Chinese tourists for not tipping. Chances are they have no idea that they are supposed to. A thoughtful reminder would do the trick.

In fact, most countries do not tip as much as US, probably because they have a minimum wage. Here's the tipping map from Huffpost.

Two small surveys at the end, please leave your comments on the tipping culture. Do you feel anxious not knowing how much tip is expected when travelling?

If you have a choice, which one of the below options would you prefer?

1, No tips, price it in my food.

2, Include a service fee, .e.g. 15% in my bill.

3, I would like to tip whatever I want.

To be honest, would you tip less when tipping through an app/website, such as amazon prime now, lyft, or any other food delivery app?

1, Yes, I admit I tip less if I am not dealing this face to face.

2, No! I tip them just as if I am tipping my waiter/pizza boy/taxi driver.

Thanks for reading. Happy holidays to you all!

[Game Recommendation] Great games I played recently

Let's just say that I have some time to kill. And I decide to catch up with some great games I missed in recent years.

[Wii] Xenoblade chronicles - $39.99

Best RPG ever! It has everything I expect from a great RPG. The Japanese version released in 2010 and the English version released in 2013.

1, Fascinating main story line

Every time I entered the next chapter I am actually anxious to know what's happening next?!

2, Huge Free-to-explore maps

It gives me EXP every time I found a new location makes it rewarding to explore the map as much as I can. 

3, Beautiful soundtrack

I personally think it is important since we have to listen to it through out our gameplay.

4, Loads of optional tasks

Mixed feeling on this one. Somebody loves it, somebody hates it. Well, it is part of the game, plus some hidden personality/item would require completing certain tasks.

I spent more than 99 hours on this game. It kind of worth its price tag which is $39.99 by the way. But there's not much to explore after clearing the game. Unlike a lot of Japanese RPG, there's no hidden/new story in "New Game Plus", which is quite a disappointment.

[iOS/Android] Framed - $2.99

Great game play! 

The idea of changing the order of the frames to change the outcome is a pretty fresh experience. It's $2.99, but I'd rather pay for the game comparing to pay later with money sucking in-app-purchase of some "freemium" games.

It took me several hours to clear all the stages. The puzzles are very well designed and a lot of fun. 

[iOS/Android] Puzzle and Dragon - Free

OMG, I hate and love this game! It's so addictive and yet so much fun!

I love its game play a lot. 

1, It has this "collecting and evolving monsters" part like pokemon. 

2, Build a team with members' skills compliment each other is also important part of the game.

3, Its new match-3 style attack takes time to practice. It makes you feel in control of the game.

I honestly don't know how much money/time I spend on this game. It has been 2 and a half years since I first downloaded puzzle and dragon. I seriously thought about sell the account and move on from this game forever. And yet, it always finds its way back to my phone.

Well, try it if you have some time to kill. But I hope you have better self control than I do. I suck at self-control.

[iOS] Agent A - A Puzzle in Disguise $2.99

This is a nicely-done puzzle game on iOS platform featuring how to catch an international spy! My complain is, the story is too short for a "paid" game! It only takes 1-2 hours to clear all the stages. 

However, it does not have a hint system built-in. Here's a blog that have screenshots illustrating the complete walk through of the game. 

Have fun!

[Fun Fact about China] Top 5 household appliance you won't find in China

If you get to pick, which one of the household appliance can you live without? 

-Dishwasher? -Hell No!

Growing up in China, I can tell you that up till now, some of the appliance you considered necessity is never widely adopted in China. Bear that in mind if you ever get to travel there.

1, Dishwasher

-How do you do your dishes?

-By HAND! With a little help from detergent and a sponge. 

-Is that a lot of trouble?

-Well, giant wok won't fit in the dishwasher anyway. Plus, think about it, it saves energy and water. Do you really need to dry your dishes completely?

-Some friends of mine do hire helpers to help them with grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry and of course dishes. 

-Aren't that supposed to be a housewife's thing?

-Great question! China 101, homemaker is rare, I mean, panda rare. Almost every average income household has double income. Otherwise, mortgage is simply not affordable.

2, Dryer

-The good news is most urban area do have washer, but not dryer. 

-How do you dry your laundry if most of Chinese live in condo with no yard at all.

-Well, hang them! Let the sun do its job. It's called solar power, clean and sustainable energy!

-Lucky you don't live in Seattle, otherwise you will find yourself underwear-less.

3, Furnace/Fireplace

-Short answer: Yes, it is cold in winter. One more sweater and you will be just fine. 
-Or, turn on your AC and switch to heat!

-At least there's AC!

-Well, pretty recent story, 2010 to be precise, a college student died because of excessive heat (100+ ºF)! Yes, no AC in school dormitory. I clearly remembered that news because after that, our university finally agreed to install AC in our dormitory (at our own cost).

4, Oven

-In short, Gas Cooktop + Microwave oven = Great Chinese food.

-Oh god, I miss great Chinese food, a lot.

-FYI, I've never heard of General Tso's chicken my entire life. Wiki reveals the truth about it. General Tso's chicken is a sweet, slightly spicy, deep-fried chicken dish that is popularly served in most Chinese and Asian themed American restaurants.

5, Garbage Disposal 

Garbage disposal units are widely used in United States households, but far less commonly used elsewhere.

BTW, in China, basically, garbage collection is free of charge with no obligation to sort your waste as well. 

All you need is a giant bin to toss "anything you no longer wish to see again" in.


If you ever get to plan for a business trip or even a short term relocation to China, it is fun to know these beforehand. Thanks for reading.

[Fun Fact about China] Population - Shanghai has 2.6 times the population of NYC

Once upon a time, I saw some documentary talking about mega cities claiming that New York City is the biggest city in the world. Guess what? Not even close!

Here's a list of top 5 populated cities in China and in US. 

Well, densely populated urban area is not fun at all. Terrible pollution drives upper middle class, known as "Eco-Refugee", flee the country. 

To conclude, if you ever have the chance to visit one of those mega cities in China, one thing you would expect to encounter is people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, a whole lot of people.

[Fun Facts about China] Housing market in Shanghai (3)

6, Mortgage, let's talk about mortgage. Why do bank even lend money to people who obviously have a hard time keeping up with the payment?

• Banks are mostly state owned. Risk? Not mine anyway.
• There have not been a major real estate bubble burst in China before. As long as the price keep raising, there's virtually no risk.
• Large down payment. A 30% down payment is required for purchasing 1st property, while 50% down is required for 2nd property.
• Mortgage rate is a lot lower now, 5.4% APR to be precise. Part of the loan can be backed by 401k, which further lower the APR to around 3.5%.

7, Kiss Single Family Home, even townhouse goodbye. Those properties are rare and often sold for multi-million US dollars. So, basically, just condo.

Here's screenshot of some townhouse listing about 10 miles away from the city center (inner ring if you know what I mean).

8, New homes account for more than 30% of the total volume in Shanghai, while it only accounts for around 10% in US.

9, There's no public record available to track property ownership. Rumor says that it is common certain officials own, let's say a lot more than 10 properties.

10, It is common to lower the purchasing price reported to the authority to avoid tax. 

Hope you're having fun with the article. 
Middle class in China found it a depressing story. :(

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[Fun Facts about China] Housing market in Shanghai (2)

4, Just when you are thinking, "It's not so bad! Why not purchase property outside of city center and drive to work?" 
Driving to work may not be an option considering limited numbers of license plates available plus terrible traffic. In fact, it actually takes longer than simply taking the subway.

You ACTUALLY have a choice?!

• License Plate are sold in an online auction, but it is really more like a lottery because a upper limit of bidding price is set by the authority.
• License Plate sold for 12,931 USD in Sep/2015.  
• There's a 5.26% chance of getting your license plate.

5, Renting is a lot more affordable compared with buying. Since the rental market is highly unregulated, we can only have an estimate that Avg rent is close to $400/bedroom/month in city center.

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[Fun Facts about China] Housing market in Shanghai

Just when you think the housing market in Bay Area is crazy. Let's take a look at Shanghai.

Here're the Fun Facts:
1, Shanghai is not the most expensive city in China. Beijing is.

2, Shanghai is a mega city. By mega, I mean huuuuge. Therefore, housing price outside of
the city center (20-50 miles away) is a whole different story. 

• Shanghai - Price per Sqft to Buy Apartment in City Centre $1,051.28 
• Shanghai - Price per Sqft to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre $432.63
• San Francisco - Median Price per Sqft $966

3, Shanghai Avg Gross Income in 2014 according to the Social Security Bureau, is 850 USD/month, around 10,200 USD annually. Life is tough there! Home maker? Never heard of this term!

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Amazon Underground still does not support their Firephone

It seems rather clear that Amazon is giving up their Fire Phone completely. Their new amazon underground app market does NOT support their own Fire Phone! Well, they dismissed almost all of the firephone developers lately, so, it is kind of official.

The new Amazon Underground app market actually looks exiting to me at first glance. Free games, movies, absolutely free with no in-app-purchase to leave me hanging. All of these features make it an excellent choice for parents who want to give their kids a tablet yet hope to avoid a huge credit card bill. (BTW, their new tablet has a price tag of $49.) 

Well, enjoy Amazon Underground if you have android device other than a Fire Phone. 

Disclaimer: This site is not associated with Amazon for any marketing purpose. What you're reading is just a disappointed customer of theirs whining all the time. 

How to play local video via chromecast?

Have you ever tried to chromecast your local video to your big screen TV?

I recently bought an android TV and encountered this problem. The below chrome app solved this issue perfectly. It could even replace your local video player of any kind. 4+ star rating in google app store.


Here's the download link:
Videostream for Google Chromecast™

Try it for yourself!

In case you have no idea how to launch chrome app/chrome app store. Here's how.
1, Type chrome://apps/ into your chrome. 
2, Click "Web Store" 
3, Search for Videostream

Have fun!

[Hugo Awards] The Three-Body Problem

The Three-Body Problem, BEST STORY of 2015 Hugo Awards. Below is purely my personal experience reading the novel, no spoiler involved. 
[Amazon link]The Three-Body Problem

I never thought this story would win the Hugo Awards when first reading it in Chinese several years ago, 2011 to be precise. It is a Sci-Fi novel running on a local magazine called "World of Science Fiction".

I clearly remember discussing looking for some noticable novels to read. "How abuot the three body problem by CiXin Liu?" I asked. A friends of mine smiled and said, "Ah, three-body problem, I started reading it before bedtime, thinking 'Hm... There's still time before sleep. Maybe just a little bit of bedtime story.' And the next thing I knew, is the sunrise of the next day." That's a pretty high recommendation for a book nowadays. Therefore, I decided that I will give this "The Three-Body Problem" thing a GO. I downloaded the book on my phone on my way back home that night and started reading around 11pm, and the next thing I noticed is the break of dawn.

To conclude, I have NOT felt this way about a novel for a long time.

[Did you know] Amazon offers price drop protection within 7 days of delivery

Imagine a 5-10% discount on lots of Amazon orders year around. Neat, isn't it?

Not until recently did I realize that Amazon actually provides price protection within 7 days of delivery date. It has been an equivalent of 5-10% discount on most Amazon orders ever since.

Since Amazon adjust their price tag via algorithm, it could change multiple times a day. Just check the price drop of your recent purchase especially large purchases, and simply contact amazon customer service via the below link. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/general-questions.html?skip=true

A refund is generally granted within 1-3 days for the price difference within 7 days of delivery date. 

I understand that it is better practice to use a credit card with price protection, such as the Discover it Card actually covers price drop within 90 days, amazing. But, applying for price protection covered by insurance company of your credit card could be a long and annoying experience, while contacting amazon customer service is simple and easy. It is not uncommon to purchase everyday household items from Amazon. Therefore, this could be a nice potential saving.

[BBC]Chinese Style Teaching is superior?

Recently, I watched the controversial BBC documentary called "Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School". 

Personally, I studied in the Chinese public school system for 19 years (5 years of elementary school, 4 years of junior high, 3 years of senior high, and 4 years in college and another 3 for advanced degree). Let me tell you some of the experience regarding what's it really like to grow up in Chinese Style Teaching.

1, Authority, authority, authority

If you watched the documentary, those are probably the best and "almost nicest" teacher I have seen compared to what I had in my 19-year school life. Yet, students are rebelling against them. 

In my above-average public elementary school, we only behave ourselves because teachers have the authority to have you standing on the playground in a sunny summer morning for the entire morning if you are chatting in the class or whatever. I would say that those "not so nice" teachers often times abuse their authority. One time, I did my Chinese homework in traditional Chinese characters (which is used in HK, Taiwan, Japan, etc) instead of Simplified Chinese (the official Chinese in mainland China), out of I don't know, fun? My punishment is quite severe. I have to copy the entire 3000 Chinese character in Traditional Chinese character 10 times. It took me a whole day. And another example is that I am trying to be a smart ass and finish the advanced maths exercises in my homework, which is not part of the assignment. My maths teacher is so mad that I have to "again" copy a part of the textbook for I don't remember how many times exactly. I understand that obedience is important in a 50-plus-student classroom, but aren't they take it too far?

2, Boring, boring, boring

Many of you might think in a traditional Chinese class, students are working hard and trying hard and behave themselves. Well, only the last part is true. Most of the time, I just sit there, feeling sleepy, trying to compose a story, probably a romantic one with a superhero in it, and only pretend that I am paying attention. Often time, there's no Q&A, no interaction in class. Teachers just keep talking, reading out loud what's written on the textbook or their reference book. I heard that different teachers gives the exact same class using the same examples and same assignment throughout the school. And it is a dead boring one. 

3, All about ranking

It is true that Chinese schools rank students by their exam score. We have our ranking in class, in the same grade, and a percentile ranking among students in the same grade in the entire city sometimes. Lucky as I am, ranking top in the school means one thing, freedom!!! I can read novel, listen to MP3 player, and sleep in class. As long as I keep my ranking, no one would bother.

To sum up, I am just picturing my personal reality of what's it like to attend public schools in China. 

Amazon just offered me 5000 amazon coin for the price drop of Amazon Fire Phone

Recently, Amazon has dropped its price tag for Amazon Fire Phone to an unbelievably low $130, one year prime membership included. That makes the phone virtually worth $31. That is a hell of a final sale. (Since they've fired the engineer working on Fire Phone project already, I guess that's it for Fire Phone.)

It is a decent phone, especially for those who know how to side load google play. (Here's HOW.)

Anyway, the unsatisfactory of not able to install Amazon underground on Firephone leads me toward the abyss of sending Amazon an angry fan email concerning Firephone. I regret purchasing it at $199, blablabla. And guess what, they actually replied and offered me 5000 Amazon coins (worth $50). But since I side loaded Google Play and has loads of google play credit thanks to Google Opinion Rewards. What am I gonna do with the 5000 Amazon coins. Sigh... Evernote premium? Dropbox storage? We will see.

[Online Shopping Experience][Bulky items] Amazon Overstock Wayfair Bestbuy Ikea, etc.

Today, I want to share some online shopping experience with various US merchants.

1, Amazon.com
Price 4.5/5
Delivery 5/5
Customer Service 5/5
Return Policy 4.5/5

Overview:
Amazon is the No.1 online shopping site, and Amazon definitely earns it.

Highlights:
Amazon offers fair price on most items. I personally always go to amazon when I am too lazy to research for a lower price. Delivery is lightning fast and free with a prime membership. Chat session with Amazon Customer Service usually solves my issue within 5 minutes. Packing materials are mostly recyclable.

Lowlights:
Return is easy, just print the shipping label from the website and drop it off at UPS drop-off location. However, if the item is not defective, in other words, Amazon is not at fault, then customer would have to pay for the return shipping.

2, Ikea.com

Price 4.5/5
Product Quality 4/5
Delivery 3/5
Customer Service 1/5
Return Policy 3/5

Overview:

Affordable furniture, very easy to assemble in most cases. However, terrible customer service experience and you only get what you pay for.

Highlights:

Ikea provides furniture that is practical and good looking(as long as they're new) at an affordable price. Assembly is super easy compare to some other self assembly furniture. And the instruction is crystal clear.

Lowlights:
Delivery takes $99 if there's a IKEA store within 50 miles, which is a fair price for furniture delivery. In my case, they delivered the wrong item at their first attempt. I have to call the customer service and wait in the phone queue. It takes forever (~45-50 minutes, which is forever to me!) to speak to an customer service representative. Ikea provide no spare hardware, therefore, if I break a nail or misplace a screw, I am screwed! In my case, I am tired of waiting in the phone queue and decided to email customer service for a change. It took them like 3 days to write me back and deliver the hardware requested.
Ikea do not take backorder. So if the item went out of stock, pay another $99 for another delivery when it is in stock, or forget about the item and move on with your life.

3, Bestbuy.com
Price 4/5
Packaging 4/5
Delivery 4/5
Customer Service 4.5/5
Return Policy 4/5

Highlights: Competitive price for electronic and appliance. Fast & free delivery, polite stuff and responsive customer service.

4, Wayfair.com
Price 3/5
Delivery 4/5
Customer Service 4.5/5
Return Policy 4/5

Highlights: No tax for most states. Beautiful selections of home improvement items. Free shipping on orders over $49. Also, they offer 10-12% off coupon every now and then.

5, Overstock.com
Price 5/5
Delivery 4/5
Customer Service 5/5
Return Policy 4/5

Highlights: No tax for most states and 10-12% off coupons available all the time. Great selection of furniture and other home improvement items. In my case, I bought a piece of furniture and later discover that another website is selling the some piece for less. Customer service immediately offered to refund me the difference, great shopping experience. Free shipping on orders over $50.

Lowlights:
Some of the furniture are really hard to assembly. But guess I have to blame the vendor not the website in this case.

6, Homedepot.com/Lowes.com
Price 3.5/5
Delivery 3.5/5
Customer Service 4/5
Return Policy 4/5

Overview:
Not much to say about these large home improvement chains.

Highlights:
Wide range of selection for a reasonable price.

Lowlights:
Home depot claims the tile covers 11 sqft per pack while it cover only covers 10 sqft. Lowes send me 13 accent tiles while I ordered 14. And that concludes it.

7, Abt.com
Price 4.5/5
Delivery 4/5
Customer Service 4.5/5

Highlights:
You can actually negotiate purchase price with a real person sales associate! Which means, after wiggle a little bit, you get a price that you're satisfied with (better than any other site you can find) in most cases, plus no tax in most states!

Lowlights:
Delivery is free but slow(~ 10 days).

8, Homedecorators.com
Price 4/5
Delivery 3.5/5
Customer Service 4/5

Lowlights:
In my unfortunate case, several days after I submitted the order, I was informed that the item I purchased is out of stock temporarily and I have to wait 4 weeks for it. The packing material is mostly Styrofoam, which is not recyclable material in some states.

9, Crateandbarrel.com
Price 3/5
Delivery 4/5
Customer Service 3/5

Their furniture looks good, however, they keep charging me the wrong amount of M-o-n-e-y!!! I have to call 4 times to correct the billing mistakes. Plus, their phone queue is ~15-30 minutes as well!!!

To conclude, the message is simple and clear. It is impossible to build reliable service using minimum wage temporary-contract workers. Training and competitive wage which leads to a higher employee retention rate is the foundation of great customer experience.

Asset inflation is what really ripping us off in recent years

Have you ever heard the term asset inflation?

Everyone knows inflation. In fact, many important numbers that are closely connected with our finance such as tax deduction are claimed to be adjusted by "the traditional inflation", which is CPI, consumer price index.

However, in recent years, asset inflation is taking a much bigger role than the traditional inflation in our personal finances. Housing prices skyrocketed so that we would have to take a huge debt in order to be able to afford a price to live. The majority of land are owned by the privileged, while the average people is concerning about bring sufficient food on the table. Therefore, by keeping the CPI low, the bare necessity such as food are are offered at a low price tag to keep the low income family alive so that there won't be social unrest. At the same time, with the raising asset price, mid income tier are sinking in the mud of debt. One little mistake and boom, here comes the bank notice of foreclosure. Following this thread, we can clearly see that cheap food and rent control is not helping the mid-low income tier, instead it opens up the possibility of driving asset price higher and higher.

Studies regarding including asset prices in the calculation of inflation goes way back to dot com bubble. Real as it is, considering the unequally distributed pricing is the nature of real estate, it is hard to really measure it in a national basis. A county basis inflation index would be more appropriate but less likely to be adopted. 

Although there's no such thing as absolute fairness, I think something has to be done to compensate people with less asset. Otherwise, as long as general capital rate of return is higher than the growth of economy, wealth is going to accumulate, which simply means the riches are getting richer.

[Scoop] Amazon Prime Day Sale Preview, Exact item on sale spotted!!!!

This is truly a scoooooop! After reading about prime day sale preview here, I discovered the hint towards what would exactly go on sale. Continue to read if you're interested.

Amazon released the deals below earlier. And let me tell you what I've discovered.

• iRobot Roomba Pet Vacuum Cleaning Robot, under $300
• Two security camera-kits, $279.99
• 32-inch LED TV, $75
• 40-inch 1080p LED TV, $115

Wonder which Roomba it is? I discovered that it would be Roomba 650. 

And also, Roomba 770, 870, 880 will make their appearance in lightning deals. Security Camera deal would be Defender Phoenix and wait for it, Netgear Arlo. 

There're so many TVs in the list of lightning deals and it is hard to guess which brand-name would them be. But guess at this price point, brand-name is not a big deal. Also, Kindle HD 8.9 would be on sale in case anybody is interested. 

The opinion above is all personal discovery from draft webpages on Amazon.com Site. Amazon could have a change of heart any time without further notice. Wish you all a great prime day.

Please use google translator, Aliexpress

After all these years, sometimes I cannot believe, still there're so many nonsense translation out there. I was trying to buy some tablecloth on aliexpress.com. The product looks great and the price is reasonable there. However, the product description is horrible. Google translate could do much better than that. But, wait a minute, Google is not accessible in China. Perhaps that's why aliexpress.com haven't conquered United States yet. 

I cannot fully understand the product description giving the fact that I used to be a frequent taobao shopper and familiar with most taobao terms, such as "random send", "hot selling".
All those complains aside, I will probably still buy from aliexpress for the price.

[Tax Season] First tax return, tips for immigrants - Choose your filing status wisely

I've always heard that IRS is the least favorite government agency. Not only do they take money away from us, we also have to fill a bunch of forms we have no idea where to start with.

After moving to US, recently I did my first tax return on my own. As an immigrant, I don't get to begin from my tax-101, instead, I have to deal with moving expenses, dual status alien, first year choice, treaty exemption, foreign income, ITIN, etc. Since Turbo tax won't help with these non resident alien related scenarios, I just think that, well, how hard can that be? I can read the IRS docs myself. It's just filling forms. It turns out that I spend my entire weekend reading through IRS instructions, googling my situation, trying to figure out which forms are necessary to fill. Yes, I don't even know what I need to fill. The instruction tells me if you need to claim this, you will probably need to fill that unless blablabla, you will have to jump to chapter 5. It's just one exception after another. I try really hard not to get lost, but as a non-native speaker, I have to say it is so d*** confusing!

After some quality googling time, I find some useful Q&A. Hopefully, it will do others some good. 

1, [Dual Status Alien] Can I file as "married file jointly" if I am a dual status alien?

Technically, only full year resident can choose to file jointly return, but you can choose to be treated as resident alien if certain criteria is satisfied.
Therefore, basically we have 3 choices for our filing status as dual status alien.

a) File as non-resident alien, single
If you didn't meet any of the substantial presence test or green card test listed on IRS website (Determining-Alien-Tax-Status), you have the choice of filing as non-resident alien. It is recommended if you have considerable non-US source income, (e.g. global investment).
Pro: 
(1) You can claim treaty exemption if there's any.
(2) Only US source income is taxable.
Con:
(1) No standard deduction unless otherwise agreed between your country and US. (e.g. India Students)
(2) Non-resident alien can only file as single. Therefore, you can claim no dependent. In other word, only 1 personal exemption is allowed.

b) File as part year resident
Please refer to IRS link (First Year Choice) to see if you're qualified to make the first year choice. 
This is recommended if you (or your spouse) have worldwide income. 
Please note that there seems to be a mistake in IRS publication. Hope that they will correct it soon.
Instead of meeting substantial presence test for 2013, it really should be 2015. 
If you do not meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test for 2013 or 2014 and you did not choose to be treated as a resident for part of 2013, but you meet the substantial presence test for 2015, you can choose to be treated as a U.S. resident for part of 2014. 

If you do not meet the substantial presence test before 2015/04/15, you can always choose to file an extension.

Pro: 
(1) On your non resident part of the year, only US source income is taxable.
(2) Personal exemption can be claimed for dependents and spouse.
Con:
(1) No standard deduction available, but itemized deduction is allowed.
(2) You cannot file a joint return.

c) Choosing resident alien status (only available if married)
If you take your first year choice, then you're a part year resident for 2014 (assuming you're preparing 2014 return). Therefore, at the end of 2014, in other words, 2014/12/31, you're a resident alien. You can go one step further from here. Giving that your spouse is married to a resident alien at the end of year, your spouse can choose to be a resident alien for the entire year if you both agreed and sign a statement on it. 
See IRS pub for details: Choosing resident alien status

It is only recommended if your spouse do not have significant worldwide income. Although we can claim foreign income exclusion/deduction/tax credit on your foreign income, but still the foreign income would be stack at the bottom of your tax brackets, meaning that even it can be excluded 100%, it still raise your tax brackets significantly. 
Do your calculation before rushing into the decision.

Pro:
(1) Now you have the option of filing a joint return.
(2) You can claim standard deduction, dependents, etc.
Con:
(1) Worldwide income is taxable now.
(2) You might lose your treaty exemption depending on the terms of the treaty. 

2, [Moving Expenses] What if I bought a round-trip ticket to my new work location but never used the return trip? One-way ticket is usually more expensive than round-trip.

In this case, it seems that only half of the purchasing price can be deducted as your moving expenses.

That's all for today. 
Hope you have a good tax season and get your tax return real soon.

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Disclaimer: All Q&A listed above are summarize from IRS doc or Internet. It's only accurate to the extend of my best knowledge. I'm not legally responsible for any of the above content. Consult an accountant or lawyer if necessary.

Microsoft is paying people to search in Bing!

I recently discovered that Microsoft is actually paying people for searching in their search engine Bing through their Bing Rewards Program initiated in 2010. The reward ratio is around 0.5 cents per search.
Sign up Bing Rewards through here

It is not my intention to promote this Bing Rewards Program. I really feel bad for Microsoft on this. Their search engine Bing only holds 18.7 percent of US search market share even with all the pre-installation, integration with Internet Explorer, Windows Phone, plus the reward program. I remember the first thing after getting my new PC is open IE once, use Bing to search for google chrome, and that's it.

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