Are monthly pay stubs that has no deductions such as federal income tax and social security tax ,are acceptable?

[ianandjan 0]

If you are a contract employee then you are a separate business entity from your employer, and you have every right to take deductions for your legitimate business related expenses. Nobody knows how much you'll deduct for those expenses until you actually file your tax return.

Nobody can say for certain how a consular officer is going to look at pay stubs from a contract employee. They see enough tax returns to know that a contract employee can take substantial deductions for their business expenses. If they want to, they can guess how much you'll deduct to figure out how much total income you'll have for the year. Or, they could just take the sum total of your payments as your total income. It's up to the CO because they have discretion.

My guess is that if your gross receipts are well above the margin then they'll accept your affidavit as sufficient. If you're close - within 15% or 20% - they may presume your business deductions will put you under the limit, and reject it. But that's just a guess. The OP is dealing with the consulate in Manila, which usually doesn't accept co-sponsors. The consulate in CDJ usually does. If you think you might be close to the minimum then you could line up a co-sponsor, just in case.

Jim thank you so much for always willing to share your knowledge here...Please check if i am correct, If my fiance started work in september 15 and receive gross receipt amounting to $3000 in october 15,and then he will have 4 pay stubs till january 15.. here is my calculatiosn: $3000 X 4=$12,000 less $5040(business expense deduction ,42% of nonemployee compensation)=$6960 divided by 4=$1740 (monthly earned after business expense deductions).. will he be qualified as sponsor now ?

[thaiv 15]

If you are a contract employee then you are a separate business entity from your employer, and you have every right to take deductions for your legitimate business related expenses. Nobody knows how much you'll deduct for those expenses until you actually file your tax return.

Nobody can say for certain how a consular officer is going to look at pay stubs from a contract employee. They see enough tax returns to know that a contract employee can take substantial deductions for their business expenses. If they want to, they can guess how much you'll deduct to figure out how much total income you'll have for the year. Or, they could just take the sum total of your payments as your total income. It's up to the CO because they have discretion.

My guess is that if your gross receipts are well above the margin then they'll accept your affidavit as sufficient. If you're close - within 15% or 20% - they may presume your business deductions will put you under the limit, and reject it. But that's just a guess. The OP is dealing with the consulate in Manila, which usually doesn't accept co-sponsors. The consulate in CDJ usually does. If you think you might be close to the minimum then you could line up a co-sponsor, just in case.

The only reason I am a contract employee is due to a temporary provision for my new job to let me work part time while finishing my full time work at another job. They have every intention to bring me on full-time at the beginning of the year. With my full time job and this part-time job I am well above the minimum and when I am full time with this company in January I will be even more above the minimum. My job does not consider me a separate business entity. They are only doing this so I can wrap up my other job. By the time I am sending documents to my fiancee I will be a full-time, permanent employee. Of course being a contract worker previously will linger in my work history if the CO asks for it. But then again wouldn't it be sufficient for my employer to simply state in the employment letter that, "thaiv was employed in October as a part-time employee and transitioned into full time work in December and is now a permanent, full-time employee."?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Jim thank you again..do you have idea whats 1040 ES,will this form helpful for us to show the income my fiance will have monthly ?will this form show that the business expense deductions was lowered? Can we have 1040-ES forms monthly since we just want to show CO the current sustained income so its his recent job which he has started september 2010 and ongoing job till now. will the 1040 form be able to show CO the income my fiance make monthly after all business deduction expense ,federal tax,medicare,and ss tax ?

The 1040ES means nothing unless you actually file it with the IRS and pay the calculated taxes. Self-employed people are required to make quarterly estimated tax payments IF they expect to have a tax liability at the end of the year. Many self-employed people have total income below the minimum after their business deductions, so they don't end up paying any taxes, and therefore don't need to file a quarterly estimated tax form.

Jim thank you so much for always willing to share your knowledge here...Please check if i am correct, If my fiance started work in september 15 and receive gross receipt amounting to $3000 in october 15,and then he will have 4 pay stubs till january 15.. here is my calculatiosn: $3000 X 4=$12,000 less $5040(business expense deduction ,42% of nonemployee compensation)=$6960 divided by 4=$1740 (monthly earned after business expense deductions).. will he be qualified as sponsor now ?

Yeah, that would be about $2000 over the minimum. By the way, a less complicated way to calculate that would be (monthly income X 12) - 42%.

But that's not what you said previously. You said his income over the four months was $9200. There's no reason the consulate has to presume that his most recent check is what he'll be receiving for the full twelve months. They can look at his gross income for the entire four months and presume that will be his average income every four months.

Look, I believe you are overthinking this. You can't change the facts that you have to work with, and you can't really predict how the consular officer is going to see it. You can only provide what you've got and hope for the best. Like I said (at least twice, I think) the consular officer might just look at the check stubs and say "Good enough!".

The only reason I am a contract employee is due to a temporary provision for my new job to let me work part time while finishing my full time work at another job. They have every intention to bring me on full-time at the beginning of the year. With my full time job and this part-time job I am well above the minimum and when I am full time with this company in January I will be even more above the minimum. My job does not consider me a separate business entity. They are only doing this so I can wrap up my other job. By the time I am sending documents to my fiancee I will be a full-time, permanent employee. Of course being a contract worker previously will linger in my work history if the CO asks for it. But then again wouldn't it be sufficient for my employer to simply state in the employment letter that, "thaiv was employed in October as a part-time employee and transitioned into full time work in December and is now a permanent, full-time employee."?

Well, it doesn't really matter what your employer considers you to be. You're not a regular employee yet, so the IRS considers you to be a business entity providing a service under contract to another business entity. To be honest, you should also think of yourself this way for the time being because it will allow you some substantial tax deductions.

Consulates almost always try to consider your current income. If you're a regular employee by the time the interview happens, and you've got a letter of employment and some check stubs to prove it, then that should be what they go by.

[ianandjan 0]

The 1040ES means nothing unless you actually file it with the IRS and pay the calculated taxes. Self-employed people are required to make quarterly estimated tax payments IF they expect to have a tax liability at the end of the year. Many self-employed people have total income below the minimum after their business deductions, so they don't end up paying any taxes, and therefore don't need to file a quarterly estimated tax form.

Yeah, that would be about $2000 over the minimum. By the way, a less complicated way to calculate that would be (monthly income X 12) - 42%.

But that's not what you said previously. You said his income over the four months was $9200. There's no reason the consulate has to presume that his most recent check is what he'll be receiving for the full twelve months. They can look at his gross income for the entire four months and presume that will be his average income every four months.

Look, I believe you are overthinking this. You can't change the facts that you have to work with, and you can't really predict how the consular officer is going to see it. You can only provide what you've got and hope for the best. Like I said (at least twice, I think) the consular officer might just look at the check stubs and say "Good enough!".

Well, it doesn't really matter what your employer considers you to be. You're not a regular employee yet, so the IRS considers you to be a business entity providing a service under contract to another business entity. To be honest, you should also think of yourself this way for the time being because it will allow you some substantial tax deductions.

Consulates almost always try to consider your current income. If you're a regular employee by the time the interview happens, and you've got a letter of employment and some check stubs to prove it, then that should be what they go by.

Jim thank you so much.God really has a good reason to give you that intelligence you have and I know He will bless you more because you know how to share .. By the way Jim sorry i calculate his pay stubs wrongly its actually $12200 from september 15 to january 15,thats 4 months.

[ianandjan 0]

The 1040ES means nothing unless you actually file it with the IRS and pay the calculated taxes. Self-employed people are required to make quarterly estimated tax payments IF they expect to have a tax liability at the end of the year. Many self-employed people have total income below the minimum after their business deductions, so they don't end up paying any taxes, and therefore don't need to file a quarterly estimated tax form.

Yeah, that would be about $2000 over the minimum. By the way, a less complicated way to calculate that would be (monthly income X 12) - 42%.

But that's not what you said previously. You said his income over the four months was $9200. There's no reason the consulate has to presume that his most recent check is what he'll be receiving for the full twelve months. They can look at his gross income for the entire four months and presume that will be his average income every four months.

Look, I believe you are overthinking this. You can't change the facts that you have to work with, and you can't really predict how the consular officer is going to see it. You can only provide what you've got and hope for the best. Like I said (at least twice, I think) the consular officer might just look at the check stubs and say "Good enough!".

Well, it doesn't really matter what your employer considers you to be. You're not a regular employee yet, so the IRS considers you to be a business entity providing a service under contract to another business entity. To be honest, you should also think of yourself this way for the time being because it will allow you some substantial tax deductions.

Consulates almost always try to consider your current income. If you're a regular employee by the time the interview happens, and you've got a letter of employment and some check stubs to prove it, then that should be what they go by.

Jim i would like to ask how much minimum percentage of business expense deductions a self employed is allowed? If my fiance will go to tax office and provide his 3 pay stubs and he also will provide letter of declaration notarized by atty, for how much will be his business expense deductions for the 3 pay stubs income , Will the tax office be able to provide a letter of how much income and deductions and adjusted gross income my fiance will have for the period of 3 months?is this legal to do, can we bring this at the interview?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Jim i would like to ask how much minimum percentage of business expense deductions a self employed is allowed? If my fiance will go to tax office and provide his 3 pay stubs and he also will provide letter of declaration notarized by atty, for how much will be his business expense deductions for the 3 pay stubs income , Will the tax office be able to provide a letter of how much income and deductions and adjusted gross income my fiance will have for the period of 3 months?is this legal to do, can we bring this at the interview?

Which "tax office" are you talking about? The IRS? A private tax accountant? What?

The IRS won't do what you're suggesting. They'll help someone with problems calculating their taxes. They even have calculators on their website that will you ask you most of the pertinent questions in order to figure out what your tax withholding should be. They're not going to give you any sort of letter certifying what your total income is likely to be when you actually file your taxes. They can't predict that, and they certainly don't issue letters with those sort of projections.

There is no minimum for business deductions. Every deduction is optional. You can take a deduction if you're eligible to take it, but you're not required to. It's perfectly legal to deduct less than you're eligible to deduct, or take no deductions at all. Many self-employed people have done this to pump up their line 22 total income in order to help them qualify as a sponsor. It doesn't mean anything to the consulate until you actually file a tax return. They don't take promises, projections, or forecasts of future earnings and deductions. They look at evidence of past and present earnings and they draw their own conclusions.

As I said, you're overthinking this. The only thing you can provide, and the only thing they'll accept, is proof of past and current income, and proof of current assets. This means tax returns, pay stubs, letter of employment, and bank statements. They might accept a statement from an accountant if that statement is based on current earnings, and not a projection of future earnings.

[ianandjan 0]

Which "tax office" are you talking about? The IRS? A private tax accountant? What?

The IRS won't do what you're suggesting. They'll help someone with problems calculating their taxes. They even have calculators on their website that will you ask you most of the pertinent questions in order to figure out what your tax withholding should be. They're not going to give you any sort of letter certifying what your total income is likely to be when you actually file your taxes. They can't predict that, and they certainly don't issue letters with those sort of projections.

There is no minimum for business deductions. Every deduction is optional. You can take a deduction if you're eligible to take it, but you're not required to. It's perfectly legal to deduct less than you're eligible to deduct, or take no deductions at all. Many self-employed people have done this to pump up their line 22 total income in order to help them qualify as a sponsor. It doesn't mean anything to the consulate until you actually file a tax return. They don't take promises, projections, or forecasts of future earnings and deductions. They look at evidence of past and present earnings and they draw their own conclusions.

As I said, you're overthinking this. The only thing you can provide, and the only thing they'll accept, is proof of past and current income, and proof of current assets. This means tax returns, pay stubs, letter of employment, and bank statements. They might accept a statement from an accountant if that statement is based on current earnings, and not a projection of future earnings.

Jim thank you its a statement from private accountant... we will pass ITR of 2009 ,pay stubs of his current work,employment letter,bank letter..As me and my fiance are not good in numbers ,we will pass statement from a private accountant basing on his current earnings,stating how much will really be left in that 4 pay stubs after the business deduction expense which will be only 15% of his gross income ,federal tax,social security and medicare tax so as to prove to the CO that my fiance is very much able to support me and himself after all that deductions. we will have this statement from accountant notarize .In the letter of employment his employer is very much willing to say the truth that my fiance is chef in the company and will be earning 3000 monthly for his service. all cooking materials and maintenance, ingredients for food preparations,transportation expenses will be provided by the company..I hope this will really be helpful in explaining to them i will never be public charge, Its been months away from my fiance i am getting old and older each day, i want to experience being a wife and mom.

[ianandjan 0]

My fiance and i just talked and he said we might not need to tell the accountant as to how much will be his business deduction expense in his recent self employed job,for his employer's letter and pay stubs will already show that with his gross he is above poverty level and that almost all expenses are provided by the company as it will be also stated in employers letter that he will be paid 3000 monthly for his cooking service. all cooking tools and maintenance,ingredients needed for food preparation,transportation expense,even his 3 meals will be provided by the company.Is he right?