Didn't file taxes for my first year (2010) in the US -- Naturalization

[mary kate 0]

hello VisaJourney,

Once again I'm turning to you for a question I can't seem to find an answer to... I am in the process of collecting all my information for the citizenship application. When filling out all the paperwork I sincerely check-marked the question "Did you file all your tax returns" with a yes, but then I remembered something I did not give any thought to in the last few years.

I became a resident on 12/9/2010 -- when my husband filed his taxes for 2010 the following year, I wasn't included. I didn't even give a second thought back then. I was a resident for only 3 weeks and didn't have any income. Will this now come back to bite me in the butt? Should I back-file for 2010? I am seriously worried (as always).

So far, what I came up with, is printing the verification of non-filing and including a brief and sincere note about my forgetting to file. But I don't know if that'll hurt more than it'll help.

Anyone who can offer any input... it's greatly appreciated.

Edited March 24, 2014 by mary kate

[Hypnos 6,576]

If you had no income in that tax year then you were not required to file; did your husband file "married filing separately"?

[mary kate 0]

If you had no income in that tax year then you were not required to file; did your husband file "married filing separately"?

Phew, that instantly calmed me a bit. He did file as "married filing separately"! I hope that the right decision... :/

[carton025 38]

Phew, that instantly calmed me a bit. He did file as "married filing separately"! I hope that the right decision... :/

Great answer. as a tax accountant you have "no worries."

Best of luck!

[NickD 202]

IRS only has 13,000 pages of tax laws and over a thousand forms. Wife and stepdaughter were here and I has the NOA that they were free to stay here, but no SS as of yet. So I called the IRS, and had the exact law quoted to me that I could verify. Was able to list my wife as an exemption and my stepdaughter as a dependent that significantly reduced my tax load.

Your husband could have done the same, but did file married separately so paid a lot more income taxes, this is what he gets for not checking.

Ha, while on the phone did ask if I could deduct these huge USCIS fees, the answer to this question was NO. Unless I could prove I was their employer which wouldn't look very good for the USCIS.

I agree, with zero income you were not obligated to file your own married separate return. But I hope your interviewer knows this.

What pushed us to apply for US citizenship the earliest possible date is my wife and stepdaughter never received their ten year cards yet, One year extension was about to expire and we had to make a trip for that I-551 stamp in their current valid foreign passports. But learned they still had to maintain their citizenship in their home countries due to DOS agreements, so this meant paying for two passports instead of one. Could have saved a few bucks and a lot of aggravation if we would have waited another two years. That one inch thick file of proof is no longer necessary.

But for applying for US citizenship, for some strange reason, my wife received her ten year green card, only to give it back.

[Tom_Jim 40]

You will be fine as you were not required to file income tax in 2010. Good luck!