Filing taxes after working illegally

[Sebcacius 0]

Hi everyone

 

I've been in the USA for a couple of years, and I'm married to a USC. For the past year or so I've been earning money online reselling some intangible goods. For receiving and sending payments, I used my credit cards and bank accounts from my original home country. This was started mainly to save up for my AOS application but the whole thing kind of blew up and I went with it. I probably earned about 6-7k USD the whole past year.

 

My question is should I file a joint income tax return with my spouse and report this income there?

 

Or, should I file my AOS application first, and after I get my green card and SSN, backpay these taxes with any applicable fines?

 

If I file taxes with my spouse, I've read I'd need an ITIN. How safe is it to apply for one, as they need an original copy of your Passport, and does the IRS report such illegal aliens to the USCIS?

 

Which option would be the best in my case? I want to pay my taxes in full, but without jeapordising my married life. My only desire is to be with my spouse and my spouse had a better career than myself which is why we are trying to work things out here. So would it be safer for me to file the taxes now before the April 15 deadline as a joint return or takes care of the tax business after I get my Green Card?

 

Also can this past illegal online work affect my application negatively in the future? Would it be safer to report this income as my spouse's but just have my name on that tax return?

Edited April 3, 2017 by Sebcacius

[patriot10 11]

Noone can advise you to just let it be and take your chances as that would be illegal.

 

The fact that you earned ''illegally'' in the US makes it a complicated issue as while taxes need to be paid on all US income , yet at the same time, you were not supposed to have been earning it in the first place.

 

It is great that you want to come clean and pay taxes and that could never be a bad thing.

 

This is not legal advise as I am no CPA or an EA but if i were you and I wanted the money and transactions to become legit, there is only one way i can think of which could do it with minimal damage...

 

That would involve your spouse who is a legal resident to claim having done the transactions and show the profits on his return and take care of any tax liabilities. 

 

I am not sure if there is any rule against someone paying the tax on income which was made by another person but i doubt there would be any.

 

In this case, you are after all the spouse and not ''just another person''.

 

PS- Since you dont have an ssn or itin, you cannot file married filing jointly or be claimed as a dependant. Since you are living in the US, you may as well apply for an Itin. If then you guys file MFJ, it could be quite advantageous to you.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2017 by patriot10
add and afterthought