Federal Income Tax Return when the USC has been outside the US

[lurdino 9]

Hello all,

I'm preparing my K1 AOS packet to send in. I'm a little concerned about the evidence that needs to go along with the I-864 Affidavit of Support. My wife lived with me in the UK for the past seven years, and at that time she was under the income threshold that would require to pay US income tax. (That's right, if you earn enough money the IRS requires US citizens to pay tax even if they don't live in the US!)

At the moment she has a permanent job that more than meets the minimum income, and we also have decent savings from the sale of my house in the UK.

Has anyone else been in this situation? What's the best way to handle it? Should we get proof from the IRS that she filed but didn't actually have to pay any tax? Should I add some kind of explanation of the situation or will the USCIS be familiar with this? Should I add extra evidence that we meet the income requirement?

Thanks in advance.

[Kastrs 723]

Just because your wife made income that was below the foreign income exclusion, was was therefore exempt from paying taxes, does not mean she was exempt from filing. Based upon your description it sounds as if your wife will need to file back taxes (even though she won't owe anything).

[kzielu 1,149]

IR requires to file, not necessarily pay.

[lurdino 9]

Just because your wife made income that was below the foreign income exclusion, was was therefore exempt from paying taxes, does not mean she was exempt from filing. Based upon your description it sounds as if your wife will need to file back taxes (even though she won't owe anything).

Sorry, I was unclear - she was filing taxes while in the UK. I was concerned that because she filed while under the foreign income exclusion, this would need further explanation. But from your answer it sounds like it doesn't make a difference, which is encouraging. Thank you!

[Kastrs 723]

My phone died earlier so I was not able to write a complete response so here is some additional information about your affidavit of support. If your wife's income will not continue when she moves to the US, then she will not be able to support you and you would need a co sponsor. Or it is possible to use your assets to meet the support conditions depending on how much you have in the bank. If you do not have enough in assets and your wife's income will not continue in the US, then you will need a cosponsor.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hello all,

I'm preparing my K1 AOS packet to send in. I'm a little concerned about the evidence that needs to go along with the I-864 Affidavit of Support. My wife lived with me in the UK for the past seven years, and at that time she was under the income threshold that would require to pay US income tax. (That's right, if you earn enough money the IRS requires US citizens to pay tax even if they don't live in the US!)

At the moment she has a permanent job that more than meets the minimum income, and we also have decent savings from the sale of my house in the UK.

Has anyone else been in this situation? What's the best way to handle it? Should we get proof from the IRS that she filed but didn't actually have to pay any tax? Should I add some kind of explanation of the situation or will the USCIS be familiar with this? Should I add extra evidence that we meet the income requirement?

Thanks in advance.

If your income anywhere (US or abroad) is below the filing threshold, then you do not have to file a tax return. That would be like if your wife had a part time job or no job in the UK. Because she was single on dec 31, her filing status would be single. If she earned less than the equivalent of $10,300 US, then she did not have to file anything. Really.

For the I -864, the instructions explain if you weren't required to file, then submit a statement saying why in lieu of a tax return.

Can I also say your statement -That's right, if you earn enough money the IRS requires US citizens to pay tax even if they don't live in the US! is misleading. You are not made to PAY taxes. You have to report via filing a tax return if you made over the filing threshold. You are made to FILE, but with the generous foreign income exclusion, you won't be paying tax to the US.

OK, I think you said she filed. And you are concerned that tax return won't fly with USCIS. It is required to send a tax return with the I-864. That does not mean the tax return has to show over the income threshold. She reports on the "I currently earn $_________" line what she makes right now carried out to a year. If she makes $2000/month then she says she earns $24,000 yearly income. Then you back it up with the optional evidence that the instructions tell you to include. An employer letter stating she earns $24k. Six months pay stubs. If she doesn't have six months yet, then what she has. By the time you get to an interview or decision, she'll have a lot more. If you list assets, then send statements showing where the money is and the balance to back it up.

Read the instructions. They explain most of this. You do not need a joint sponsor.

[willwright 0]

Hi guys,

I'm in a similar situation in that I am the USC, still live in the UK and I will relocate to the US at the same time as my wife, assuming the visa gets approved in July. I have filed my taxes with the IRS and can include copies of the returns that were filed. What I need is your advice on the following...

• Since I am living and working in the UK, my earnings on the I-864 will need to be listed as $0. With that being the case, should I still include my 2013, 2014 and 2015 tax returns or is that not necessary? If I should include them, should I request the transcripts from the IRS rather than just a copy of the Form 1040 that was filed on my behalf (as well as FBARs, foreign tax credit calculations, etc)? Since my earnings are in the UK, I will not have W-2s, but can provide copies of the UK equivalent, the P60.
• We have a joint sponsor whose earnings are well above the required threshold and will provide us with IRS transcripts and W-2s. Should we also ask our joint sponsor for a few recent payslips, or is that not necessary?

I am also going to email the above to the London Embassy to be sure. Can copy their response on here if anyone is interested...

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi guys,

I'm in a similar situation in that I am the USC, still live in the UK and I will relocate to the US at the same time as my wife, assuming the visa gets approved in July. I have filed my taxes with the IRS and can include copies of the returns that were filed. What I need is your advice on the following...

• Since I am living and working in the UK, my earnings on the I-864 will need to be listed as $0. With that being the case, should I still include my 2013, 2014 and 2015 tax returns or is that not necessary? If I should include them, should I request the transcripts from the IRS rather than just a copy of the Form 1040 that was filed on my behalf (as well as FBARs, foreign tax credit calculations, etc)? Since my earnings are in the UK, I will not have W-2s, but can provide copies of the UK equivalent, the P60.
• We have a joint sponsor whose earnings are well above the required threshold and will provide us with IRS transcripts and W-2s. Should we also ask our joint sponsor for a few recent payslips, or is that not necessary?

I am also going to email the above to the London Embassy to be sure. Can copy their response on here if anyone is interested...

The instructions say include three years if you think it helps. If you have three years of $0, then it doesn't help.

The FBAR is not part of the tax return, so no.

Calculation worksheets are not part of the tax return. If it says "worksheet", no. If it says "Form" or "Schedule", yes.

A P60 is not part of the tax return, so no.

A transcript from the IRS relieves you of deciding what to send because it, all by itself with no accessories meets the requirement.

You don't meet the requirement on income, so sending a tax return is merely meeting the requirements that they have to see a tax return (or valid reason why not) from every petitioner sponsor. It doesn't matter if it says zero, as long as you send at least one tax return or transcript.

Joint sponsor-- you said transcript. That means no W2 is needed. The transcript is from the IRS and is complete all by itself.

So what is this W2 talk about? Tax forms are readily available on the Internet. I could fill out a fake return saying I made $500,000 last year. but I would not have an employer wage statement (W2) to go with it. The W2 verifies that the tax return forms you are sending are somewhat accurate on the income part.

If your joint sponsor's 2015 tax return or transcript shows sufficient income on Line 22, then it is really enough. Where pay stubs are most useful is the example of someone in school most of last year and not working. She graduated and took a $125,000/yr job in December. An employer letter or pay stubs proves her current income because the tax return doesn't reflect the new job.

Is your joint sponsor married and filed a joint tax return? If so, I have more to add. Stopping for now.

[willwright 0]

The instructions say include three years if you think it helps. If you have three years of $0, then it doesn't help.

The FBAR is not part of the tax return, so no.

Calculation worksheets are not part of the tax return. If it says "worksheet", no. If it says "Form" or "Schedule", yes.

A P60 is not part of the tax return, so no.

A transcript from the IRS relieves you of deciding what to send because it, all by itself with no accessories meets the requirement.

You don't meet the requirement on income, so sending a tax return is merely meeting the requirements that they have to see a tax return (or valid reason why not) from every petitioner sponsor. It doesn't matter if it says zero, as long as you send at least one tax return or transcript.

Joint sponsor-- you said transcript. That means no W2 is needed. The transcript is from the IRS and is complete all by itself.

So what is this W2 talk about? Tax forms are readily available on the Internet. I could fill out a fake return saying I made $500,000 last year. but I would not have an employer wage statement (W2) to go with it. The W2 verifies that the tax return forms you are sending are somewhat accurate on the income part.

If your joint sponsor's 2015 tax return or transcript shows sufficient income on Line 22, then it is really enough. Where pay stubs are most useful is the example of someone in school most of last year and not working. She graduated and took a $125,000/yr job in December. An employer letter or pay stubs proves her current income because the tax return doesn't reflect the new job.

Is your joint sponsor married and filed a joint tax return? If so, I have more to add. Stopping for now.

Thanks Nich-Nick - very helpful information!

I'll go ahead and play it safe and just request my income tax transcripts from the IRS - I've lived in the UK since I was a child so all of my adult earnings have been here, hence my previous 3 years' earnings will be $0 for the sake of the I-864.

My joint sponsor is an attorney with 30+ years experience so, on that basis, I assume just his I-864 and 3 most recent tax transcripts is enough. He is married though and I'm pretty sure he'll have been filing joint tax returns. How does this change things? At the moment, I've just told him I need the completed I-864 along with tax transcripts (or submitted tax returns with associated W-2s if he doesn't have the transcripts). He has a colleague that deals with immigration law so I'm hopeful he is going to run it by his colleague to make sure everything is correct.

Apologies for my ignorance on the whole tax situation, I've only recently found out I was meant to be filing US taxes all this time so recently went through the new IRS Streamlined process to make myself "tax compliant" again.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

He is married though and I'm pretty sure he'll have been filing joint tax returns. How does this change things?

.

A joint tax return does not separate the income of the spouses. It just lumps all employment earnings together on Line 7 of Form 1040. So a joint tax return/transcript from him will not prove he makes enough by himself to be the sponsor. He will need to clearly show his separate income with additional proof like a W2, employer letter, or six months of pay slips. I would go so far as to point it out by preparing a statement saying

This w2 wage statement is included to show my portion of 2015 joint earned income is sufficient to qualify as sponsor for Mary H. Smith.

[photocopy of W2]

His Signature/date

Staple to front of the 2015 transcript.

Edited June 3, 2016 by Nich-Nick

[willwright 0]

A joint tax return does not separate the income of the spouses. It just lumps all employment earnings together on Line 7 of Form 1040. So a joint tax return/transcript from him will not prove he makes enough by himself to be the sponsor. He will need to clearly show his separate income with additional proof like a W2, employer letter, or six months of pay slips. I would go so far as to point it out by preparing a statement saying

This w2 wage statement is included to show my portion of 2015 joint earned income is sufficient to qualify as sponsor for John H. Smith.

[photocopy of W2]

His Signature/date

Staple to front of the 2015 transcript.

Thanks again, Nich-Nick. I'll pass that on to him to make sure we have everything we need.

[Mim4eto 0]

Thanks Nich-Nick - very helpful information!

I'll go ahead and play it safe and just request my income tax transcripts from the IRS - I've lived in the UK since I was a child so all of my adult earnings have been here, hence my previous 3 years' earnings will be $0 for the sake of the I-864.

My joint sponsor is an attorney with 30+ years experience so, on that basis, I assume just his I-864 and 3 most recent tax transcripts is enough. He is married though and I'm pretty sure he'll have been filing joint tax returns. How does this change things? At the moment, I've just told him I need the completed I-864 along with tax transcripts (or submitted tax returns with associated W-2s if he doesn't have the transcripts). He has a colleague that deals with immigration law so I'm hopeful he is going to run it by his colleague to make sure everything is correct.

Apologies for my ignorance on the whole tax situation, I've only recently found out I was meant to be filing US taxes all this time so recently went through the new IRS Streamlined process to make myself "tax compliant" again.

[Mim4eto 0]

Hi! I'm experiencing exactly the same! I am about to file taxes for the past 3 years to make myself tax compliant again. The question is - how long should I wait before requesting an IRS transcript after i've filed the returns?

[willwright 0]

Hi! I'm experiencing exactly the same! I am about to file taxes for the past 3 years to make myself tax compliant again. The question is - how long should I wait before requesting an IRS transcript after i've filed the returns?

Hi Mim4eto, sorry for the delayed response. I think I filed my tax returns in ~November 2014. In Feb late 2015 I heard from the IRS requesting a form be completed explaining why I handn't filed previously (basically since I'd moved to the UK since I was 10 so had no idea I should have been filing US tax returns). I sent that and heard nothing more and was advised by my tax guy that "no news is good news". Still have never heard from them to this day but I did request my transcripts last week so everything must be done. I don't know if that really answers your question but would think it should only take them a few months providing you're not in the busy season when everyone is filing. You can request the transcripts online for free even if you live abroad on the IRS website. I suppose you can go there and put in your details and if they're available they will appear! Hope that helps in some way.

[Mim4eto 0]

Hi Mim4eto, sorry for the delayed response. I think I filed my tax returns in ~November 2014. In Feb late 2015 I heard from the IRS requesting a form be completed explaining why I handn't filed previously (basically since I'd moved to the UK since I was 10 so had no idea I should have been filing US tax returns). I sent that and heard nothing more and was advised by my tax guy that "no news is good news". Still have never heard from them to this day but I did request my transcripts last week so everything must be done. I don't know if that really answers your question but would think it should only take them a few months providing you're not in the busy season when everyone is filing. You can request the transcripts online for free even if you live abroad on the IRS website. I suppose you can go there and put in your details and if they're available they will appear! Hope that helps in some way.

Thanks! I filed late taxes. Something is bothering me though... Do you have "0" on line 22?

And another question - I will put "0" under current individual income. Since me and my husband take care of bills together, should I put that I use his income in I-864 even though his income would be also "0" as it will not continue or no? In this case do I need to provide any evidence of income or evidence of assets if neither one meets the poverty limit? Thanks and sorry for the long post.

Edited July 10, 2016 by Mim4eto