Form I-864 "Total Income" Question 19

[lovestruck2 2]

Hi everyone. I'm filling out the support affidavit for my joint sponsor. Question 19 on form I-864 asks for Total Income as reported on tax returns. I have her tax transcripts, and can see total wages for two different jobs... do I just add them together and put the number there-- total gross income? Or is it asking for an adjusted number after tax was taken out? Thanks for the help!

[Crazy Cat 42,028]

You should use the ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME

On a 1040, it is line 37

 

[lovestruck2 2]

Thank you. Also, am I allowed to give tax returns for TWO most recent years, but not three? It seems the only options are one or three, but I've read people saying you can put whichever years show the strongest... in our case the last two years are strong but the third not as much.

[Crazy Cat 42,028]

On my form, I had to give 3.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

1 hour ago, missileman said:

You should use the ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME

On a 1040, it is line 37

 

That's not right. It is Total income line 22. It is however adjusted gross income if you are self-employed or if you are filing 1040EZ.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

1 hour ago, lovestruck2 said:

Thank you. Also, am I allowed to give tax returns for TWO most recent years, but not three? It seems the only options are one or three, but I've read people saying you can put whichever years show the strongest... in our case the last two years are strong but the third not as much.

You have to put in all the numbers for the three years, but you are only required to send supporting tax documents for the most recent year.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[Crazy Cat 42,028]

11 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

That's not right. It is Total income line 22. It is however adjusted gross income if you are self-employed or if you are filing 1040EZ.

I didn't see the EZ in the instructions...thanks

[lovestruck2 2]

35 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

You have to put in all the numbers for the three years, but you are only required to send supporting tax documents for the most recent year.

OK. This wording in the official instructions made me think otherwise... 

 

"NOTE: Do not leave the boxes for Item Number 19.a. blank. Print or type the most recent tax year and your total income for that most recent tax year. If the amount was zero, enter “zero” or if you were not required to file a Federal income tax return enter “N/A” for not applicable."

Edited June 16, 2017 by lovestruck2

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

9 hours ago, lovestruck2 said:

OK. This wording in the official instructions made me think otherwise... 

 

"NOTE: Do not leave the boxes for Item Number 19.a. blank. Print or type the most recent tax year and your total income for that most recent tax year. If the amount was zero, enter “zero” or if you were not required to file a Federal income tax return enter “N/A” for not applicable."

I believe that has to do with their scanning procedure - the form will probably be rejected if that box is empty, whereas some other blank boxes will result in an RFIE/RFE - there are many RFE's issued due to errors in how people fill out this form since it is scanned by the 2D bar code which generates automatic error messages based on what information is missing in the form. For example, people have gotten rfe's for some boxes being empty when they in fact had handwritten them. In that case the information is not recorded in the 2D bar code and an rfe is generated based on that. It's likely that 19a is a critical box in order for the form to be accepted.

 

Regarding the returns, it's your obligation to have filed your taxes prior to submitting the i864, and filling out the other two boxes is how you show that you have (or mark that you weren't required):

"If you were required to file a Federal income tax return during any of the previous three tax years but did not do so, you must file all late returns with the IRS and attach an IRS-generated tax return transcript documenting your late filing before submitting Form I-864. If you were not required to file a Federal income tax return under U.S. tax law because your income was too low, attach a typed or printed explanation. If you were not required to file a Federal income tax return under U.S. tax law for any other reason, attach a typed or printed explanation including evidence of the exemption and how you are subject to it."

 

The form asks for the three most recent years, not only the most recent, saying that one box may not be left empty is not the same as saying other boxes may.

[pghknr 14]

On 6/15/2017 at 9:42 PM, Suss&Camm said:

You have to put in all the numbers for the three years, but you are only required to send supporting tax documents for the most recent year.

@Suss&Camm

We can Put only most recent 1 Year and supporting  tax documents for 2016,If you don't have Enough Income you can go to 2015 & 2014 Right...Below Note from I-864 Instructions

 

NOTE: Do not leave the boxes for Item Number 19.a. blank. Print or type the most recent tax year and your total income for that most recent tax year. If the amount was zero, enter “zero” or if you were not required to file a Federal income tax return enter “N/A” for not applicable.

 

 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

8 hours ago, pghknr said:

@Suss&Camm

We can Put only most recent 1 Year and supporting  tax documents for 2016,If you don't have Enough Income you can go to 2015 & 2014 Right...Below Note from I-864 Instructions

 

NOTE: Do not leave the boxes for Item Number 19.a. blank. Print or type the most recent tax year and your total income for that most recent tax year. If the amount was zero, enter “zero” or if you were not required to file a Federal income tax return enter “N/A” for not applicable.

 

 

You have to put the actual numbers from line 22 on ALL 19a-19c if you filed for those years

2016 in 19a

2015 in 19b

2014 in 19c

You only have to send documents for 2016 (transcript+w2 / 1040+schedules+w2 etc.)

 

You have to show that you have filed for the most recent three years if you were required to OR if you weren't you have to show why you weren't required to file. AGAIN, just because it says to not leave 19a blank does not mean that you can leave b or c blank or take away your obligation to show that you filed for the other years (also stated in the instructions.) as I said above (please read) 19a can probably not be left blank due to how their automatic 2D bar code scanning works. That's the best bet. You still need to complete ALL fields of any of USCIS's forms that apply to you! 19b and c applies to you.

 

What you need to show is that your current annual household income meets the requirements. 19a-19c is primarily to show that the sponsor filed taxes. If nothing has changed regarding income since the last return, then your current annual household income will be the same as line 22 in 19a. IF your income has changed since then you need to supply as much evidence as possible to support the new claim of current annual income. Which you fill in on another part of the form and should be calculated as the ANTICIPATED income for 2017.