Tax Return "Married Filing Separate"

[rica30 0]

Hello fellow Visa Journeyers!

My Green Card is about to expire soon and I am starting to gather documents to submit for my Removal of Conditions. I will include copies of tax returns.

My questions are:

1) Do I need to submit my husband's (US citizen) tax return together with mine?

2) Is it just a copy of the W-2 Form they need?

3) Should I be worried if I filed as "Married filing Separate". I have started filing for taxes since 2013, so I have that year and 2014.

I filed both years as "Married Filing Separate" and did not claim our daughter.

Also on my W-2, I noticed that under my social security number; on taxable marital statues, it says: SINGLE. Although my company did put my Marriage name / last name.

I hope this does not affect us in a bad way. Our Marriage is legitimate and we are happily living together since he petitioned both me and our daughter.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

[ala_tika 16]

Hello,

You would want to order tax transcripts from the IRS website www.irs.gov. I read somewhere that you can no longer print them directly online and would have to request them to be mailed to you. So I suggest getting on that asap. If you have the IRS transcripts (for both you and your spouse since you filed separately), then you do not need W2s. I won't even dare send W2s that show single status. So the transcripts would be the best way to go for you anyway.

Good luck!!!

Hello fellow Visa Journeyers!

My Green Card is about to expire soon and I am starting to gather documents to submit for my Removal of Conditions. I will include copies of tax returns.

My questions are:

1) Do I need to submit my husband's (US citizen) tax return together with mine?

2) Is it just a copy of the W-2 Form they need?

3) Should I be worried if I filed as "Married filing Separate". I have started filing for taxes since 2013, so I have that year and 2014.

I filed both years as "Married Filing Separate" and did not claim our daughter.

Also on my W-2, I noticed that under my social security number; on taxable marital statues, it says: SINGLE. Although my company did put my Marriage name / last name.

I hope this does not affect us in a bad way. Our Marriage is legitimate and we are happily living together since he petitioned both me and our daughter.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

[NikLR 13,227]

Hello fellow Visa Journeyers!

My Green Card is about to expire soon and I am starting to gather documents to submit for my Removal of Conditions. I will include copies of tax returns.

My questions are:

1) Do I need to submit my husband's (US citizen) tax return together with mine?

2) Is it just a copy of the W-2 Form they need?

3) Should I be worried if I filed as "Married filing Separate". I have started filing for taxes since 2013, so I have that year and 2014.

I filed both years as "Married Filing Separate" and did not claim our daughter.

Also on my W-2, I noticed that under my social security number; on taxable marital statues, it says: SINGLE. Although my company did put my Marriage name / last name.

I hope this does not affect us in a bad way. Our Marriage is legitimate and we are happily living together since he petitioned both me and our daughter.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Joint returns would have been better.

Your W2 says single because your W4 is telling the company to tax your pay for single person percentage vs married or married with exemptions. Basically you are paying more taxes than is necessary but you may be getting a refund when you do your taxes as well. You'd likely get a better one by filing jointly though and you guys can amend them if you want.

I also suggest tax transcripts. You can get them online, by calling, or any IRS office.

[Amhara 460]

Yes, a Form W-2 doesn't constitute your actual marital status, it indicates your withholding level. So single would be an appropriate withholding level since you pay more tax on your tax return. Your filing status is appropriate; it's not single or head of household. Your tax return is where you actually report your tax; so you should be in a good position. You are not violating tax law from what you posted. Take care!

[tuckin14 58]

If you filed separately, it would probably be good to explain why.

Most of the time, filing jointly involves paying less tax. Some people file separately because one spouse's refund may be subject to seizure for unpaid obligations like child support. There are a few uncommon situations where separate returns result in less tax (usually one person has very significant medical expenses).

If each spouse is in the same tax bracket and the brackets are fairly low it can be immaterial to file joint or separate, but usually the default is joint.

So I'd try to explain why. Even if the reason is being inexperienced and unsophisticated tax-wise.

[Amhara 460]

If you filed separately, it would probably be good to explain why.

Most of the time, filing jointly involves paying less tax. Some people file separately because one spouse's refund may be subject to seizure for unpaid obligations like child support. There are a few uncommon situations where separate returns result in less tax (usually one person has very significant medical expenses).

If each spouse is in the same tax bracket and the brackets are fairly low it can be immaterial to file joint or separate, but usually the default is joint.

So I'd try to explain why. Even if the reason is being inexperienced and unsophisticated tax-wise.

I don't know if that's so necessary. There are legitimate and legal reasons why someone would file as MFS. At the same time, you don't need to reveal why if the reason is less than 100% kosher - fifth amendment. If you think the above suggestion is a good idea, you may want to keep your explanation concise. You can offer as much information as you feel comfortable with. Just think about give enough to prevent RFE (or whatever they call it at your stage) without opening a can of worms.

[tuckin14 58]

I don't know if that's so necessary. There are legitimate and legal reasons why someone would file as MFS. At the same time, you don't need to reveal why if the reason is less than 100% kosher - fifth amendment. If you think the above suggestion is a good idea, you may want to keep your explanation concise. You can offer as much information as you feel comfortable with. Just think about give enough to prevent RFE (or whatever they call it at your stage) without opening a can of worms.

I don't mean to start a spitting contest, but I disagree.

You can always LEGALLY file separately. However, it is rare for MFS to result in lower tax than MFJ, and common for MFJ to give lower tax. So MFS usually implies some unusual tax circumstances, or a lack of trust between the spouses.

If you don't want to MFJ because your spouse is earning illegal income, you don't have to, and no one can force you (spousal immunity) or your spouse (5th amendment) to give evidence that would incriminate the spouse. However, you still forfeit the right to put a reason on the record, so USCIS will inevitably say "MFS rather than MFJ with no valid explanation."

I really don't know how big a deal this is though. I've heard this issue isn't MFJ vs. MFS, but just that you filed as married.

[Amhara 460]

I don't mean to start a spitting contest, but I disagree.

I didn't intend for my last post to seem contentious to you; I apologize if it sounded that way. I actually agree with your last post, but I wanted to add more detail and a different perspective to your suggestion to explain why MFJ wasn't elected in the tax year.