I-864 Taxes for NVC Red Flag

[Lee & Madel 0]

I recently went to file my taxes for 2012. And I got married in september 2012 to my wife in the Philippines. Now when I went to do my taxes they told me I could not file married because my wife does not have a Tax ID# or a SS# yet. So the tax agent said to file single and when she gets here to the US they could amend my tax to" married filing jointly ". Because then she will have her SS# and tax #. So I went on and filed as single. Now just two days ago My I-130 petition was approved. So I wanted to advance to the next step. But I was thinking I may have made a mistake for filing " single " because when my last three year taxes are sent to the NVC they will see in 2012 I filed as single.And they may say " I thought he was married... why did he file single " My question is will this throw a big red flag to the NVC because I filed single even though I am married? Will they just look at my income or will they also look at my status? I am thinking I may have gotten bad advice from the tax agent and this will turn into a big mess. Any advice? Thank You in advance for your time!

[Mina90 134]

I recently went to file my taxes for 2012. And I got married in september 2012 to my wife in the Philippines. Now when I went to do my taxes they told me I could not file married because my wife does not have a Tax ID# or a SS# yet. So the tax agent said to file single and when she gets here to the US they could amend my tax to" married filing jointly ". Because then she will have her SS# and tax #. So I went on and filed as single. Now just two days ago My I-130 petition was approved. So I wanted to advance to the next step. But I was thinking I may have made a mistake for filing " single " because when my last three year taxes are sent to the NVC they will see in 2012 I filed as single.And they may say " I thought he was married... why did he file single " My question is will this throw a big red flag to the NVC because I filed single even though I am married? Will they just look at my income or will they also look at my status? I am thinking I may have gotten bad advice from the tax agent and this will turn into a big mess. Any advice? Thank You in advance for your time!

When you say "they told me", do you mean the tax agent told you to file single? If they did, that was wrong. There were two ways to go about filing them since you are married and your spouse is not in the US. One, you could have applied for a ITIN for your spouse since they do not have a SSN number yet. Or, you could have selected "married but filing separately".

I am not exactly sure, but it is possible it might raise red flags as to the credentials of your marriage, but I've heard from other VJ members that they might not even care.

Other VJ members can add more details or correct me if I'm wrong.

Edited February 5, 2013 by Mina90

[Moomin 292]

Yep, married filing seperately.

The tax return/transcript would've been nice to have as proof of your bona fide marriage. Later down the road (let's say at time of ROC) it'll come in handy that you have filed together.

Spouse overseas means you put "NRA"(non resident alient) in the box called "spouse's social security number".

Here's the form; http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040x.pdf

[Lee & Madel 0]

Yes they told me to file single for now... and then when she got a SS# then they will amend it. So have you heard this before? Do you think it will be a big problem? I sure hope not. Maybe I can send a letter from my tax agent with my 2012 taxes? Or maybe I should just leave it alone? If you were in my shoes would you send it out to the NVC,,, Thanks Mina

Thanks moomin .... do you think its to late? I will not go to this tax guy again

[newacct 688]

Yes they told me to file single for now... and then when she got a SS# then they will amend it. So have you heard this before? Do you think it will be a big problem? I sure hope not. Maybe I can send a letter from my tax agent with my 2012 taxes? Or maybe I should just leave it alone? If you were in my shoes would you send it out to the NVC,,, Thanks Mina

Thanks moomin .... do you think its to late? I will not go to this tax guy again

No, do not file single. It is absolutely incorrect. You can file Married Filing Separately now, and amend it later.

[KP & SP 9]

No, do not file single. It is absolutely incorrect. You can file Married Filing Separately now, and amend it later.

What about if I am getting married in 2013 and filing my taxes for 2012?

[newacct 688]

What about if I am getting married in 2013 and filing my taxes for 2012?

Then you must file as single.

[dwheels76 5,468]

Then you must file as single.

If you got married 12/31 or sooner of that year that tax year you are single. So for 2013 next year you will file married. 2012 you were single.

Tax preparers are very unaware of simple filing procedures at time at times.

[Armenia 18]

If you got married 12/31 or sooner of that year that tax year you are single. So for 2013 next year you will file married. 2012 you were single.

Tax preparers are very unaware of simple filing procedures at time at times.

Just clarifying in case someone reads your reply without reading back to the question you were answering:

You are considered married if your status is married on the last day of the tax year. (see IRS Publication 17 - Tax Guide 2012 - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf).

So, if you got married any day (including Dec 31) on 2012, then you will file your 2012 Tax Return as married.

@ Kiran Pandit - 2012 Tax Return = single; 2013 Tax Return = married

@ Lee & Madel:

IMO, the reason that tax preparers give incorrect advice sometimes is that tax preparers, in general, are used to preparing taxes for mainstream people/couples (US citizen/resident with US citizen/resident spouse). The tax preparer would need to have previous experience with immigrants' tax returns to know more. I took a tax preparation course where more than half of the class were immigrants. Our poor instructor, he got bombarded from all sides with "what if" questions that would seem silly to a US citizen/resident-living-his-entire life-in-the-US person but are real and common scenarios for immigrants.

Your tax preparer was right in saying that you cannot file as Married because your wife does not have an ITIN or SSN. However, she should have told you to get an ITIN for your wife. Filing Single was the quick way out (i.e., you can file your tax return immediately vs. having to wait for the ITIN) which was not a very serious issue (in the mind of the tax preparer) since you can always file an amended return. What the tax preparer doesn't know is how important the Tax Return/Transcript is to a person with immigration-related concerns which is probably why she didn't push you to get an ITIN and file as Married Filing Jointly.

You should have filed as Married. Since you already filed as Single, you can amend your return later. Amended returns are filed within 2-3 years but since your tax return is important to your wife's immigration application, you should file your amended return soon. I don't think filing an amended return, because you were not sure of your filing status, would be a big deal. Not all people know. For instance, someone who is Single and had been filing as Head of Household for many years may think that he should still be filing as HH even after he got married because he is, after all, still Head of Household (although you'd think he would have chosen to file as Married Filing Jointly since he also qualifies for that and the standard deduction for MFJ is higher).

Here are some resources for you:

ITIN for your wife - http://www.irs.gov/t...pics/tc857.html

Amended returns - http://www.irs.gov/t...pics/tc308.html

Your wife would fall under "An alien individual, claimed as a spouse for an exemption on a U.S. tax return, who is not eligible for a SSN"

Get the ITIN first, then file an amended return.

When you file an amended return, there's a box in Part III of the form where you get to explain the change. Explain fully here. There's nothing bad about the mistake you made. You weren't sure about what your filing status should be. You knew you were married but your wife isn't a US resident nor does she have an SSN. You asked for advice from a Tax Professional. She gave you advice. You followed the advice but later learned that you can get an ITIN for your wife so that you can file MFJ.

[Armenia 18]

@ Lee & Madel, Correction to Post #9:

According to the W-7 instructions (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf), form W-7 (ITIN application) should have been filed with your 2012 Tax Return.

"2. Your original, valid tax return(s) for which the ITIN is

needed. Attach Form W-7 to the front of your tax return. If you

are applying for more than one ITIN for the same tax return (such

as for a spouse or dependent(s)), attach all Forms W-7 to the

same tax return. After your Form W-7 has been processed, the

IRS will assign an ITIN to the return and process the return."

And, according to this

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Individual-Taxpayer-Identification-Number-(ITIN)-Reminders-for-Tax-Professionals:

"In cases where a current year tax return has already been filed that excluded a spouse or dependent who needs an ITIN, the taxpayer should complete Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, showing the ITIN applicant's information, and attach it to Form W-7."

So, file W-7 and the amended return together.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Armenia

[dwheels76 5,468]

If you got married 12/31 or sooner of that year that tax year you are single.

I am a noodle head. See what happens when u type on phone. Sorry people still had the euphoria of case complete last night.

Thanks Armenia for straightening it out.

12/31 or before=married.

Edited February 7, 2013 by dwheels76

[Lee & Madel 0]

@ Lee & Madel, Correction to Post #9:

According to the W-7 instructions (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf), form W-7 (ITIN application) should have been filed with your 2012 Tax Return.

"2. Your original, valid tax return(s) for which the ITIN is

needed. Attach Form W-7 to the front of your tax return. If you

are applying for more than one ITIN for the same tax return (such

as for a spouse or dependent(s)), attach all Forms W-7 to the

same tax return. After your Form W-7 has been processed, the

IRS will assign an ITIN to the return and process the return."

And, according to this

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Individual-Taxpayer-Identification-Number-(ITIN)-Reminders-for-Tax-Professionals:

"In cases where a current year tax return has already been filed that excluded a spouse or dependent who needs an ITIN, the taxpayer should complete Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, showing the ITIN applicant's information, and attach it to Form W-7."

So, file W-7 and the amended return together.

Wow thank you for all this helpful information Armenia... I am not so concerned about the money right now but I am concerned about My filing status when I send my tax returns with the I-864. I read on internet it may take 3-5 months to amend my taxes. I really made a poor mistake by filing single. Do you think I should still send my taxes through the rest of the process as filing single? How about if I get a letter from my tax agent and attach it to my tax returns along with my marriage certificate from the NSO in philippines? I just want to continue with my process and fix that problem later... Do you or anybody on here feel that is a bad move on my part to send my tax returns out the way it is now?

[Lee & Madel 0]

If anybody has advice if I should send the paperwork out as single and I can fix it later... Anybody ever have this problem? Thanks

[Malayeka 1]

But u cant file married if your spouse has never been in the states and if they did not live with you 6months out of the year. A lot depends on what has gone on in the last year your filing for.

[dwheels76 5,468]

But u cant file married if your spouse has never been in the states and if they did not live with you 6months out of the year. A lot depends on what has gone on in the last year your filing for.

This is so not true. You can very well file married and by law if you are married regardless where your spouse lives you file married. Whether separate or filing jointly.

If file married filing separate than no ss# needed.