I filed my tax as Single

[Voided 55]

2 minutes ago, Eric-Pris said:

If you file MFJ (Married Filing Jointly), you must include your spouses foreign income.

 

In the situation where the spouse is still not in the US, it's better to file on paper (through the mail) as MFS (Married Filing Separately).  As others have said, simply write "NRA" in the field that asks for spouses social security number.

 

MFS is the exact same tax rate as Single, but when you file MFS, there are some credits (education, childcare, saver's) that you are no longer eligible for that you can get as Single or MFJ.  But for most people MFS and Single will result I the exact same financial situation.

 

MFJ will get you a bigger refund since the tax rate is lower and you get another personal exemption and higher standard deduction.

 

In the US, a person who is married on 12/31/XX has to file as either MFJ or MFS on their 20XX tax return.  The Head of Household that somebody referenced earlier is something that I have never seen in over 15 years of tax prep work.

My aunt has worked for the IRS for many years and was not familiar with HOH either. But the person who prepared my taxes was and said I met the criteria. Just to be on the safe side I have a phone appointment scheduled with a tax specialist on Wednesday. 

[Ksenia_O 696]

9 minutes ago, Eric-Pris said:

The Head of Household that somebody referenced earlier is something that I have never seen in over 15 years of tax prep work.

Me too... yet  But  I have been preparing taxes only for 2 years.. Anyway, it does exist and it's in "famous" Pub 17, Filing Status/HOH/Considered Unmarried/Nonresident alien spouse. 

 

p.23, on the very bottom

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

Edited July 3, 2017 by Ksenia_O

[usmsbow 802]

22 minutes ago, Eric-Pris said:

CO's don't need to know the ins and outs of the whole tax code to notice return filed as single when the person was clearly married.

 

 

I didn't say otherwise, but let's be honest, these applications have a ton of paperwork and documentation. The CO is going to focus on some key items. Tax filing status is not one of them. Even if they noticed the person filed as single, they're probably not going to take the time to determine if a taxpayer can file as a single person if they're actually married, especially when there is so much other evidence demonstrating the couple is in fact married. 

 

The COs job is to review a visa application, not ensure someone is doing his/her taxes right. Unless there is other evidence that indicates the applicant is not married, I can't imagine the tax return would be the cause for a rejection. But hey, if I'm wrong and there are stories here on VJ that say otherwise, I'm all ears.

 

Anyway, the OP got his answer from the NVC. Sounds like he should be fine. 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2017 by usmsbow

[pushbrk 13,377]

27 minutes ago, usmsbow said:

 

I didn't say otherwise, but let's be honest, these applications have a ton of paperwork and documentation. The CO is going to focus on some key items. Tax filing status is not one of them. Even if they noticed the person filed as single, they're probably not going to take the time to determine if a taxpayer can file as a single person if they're actually married, especially when there is so much other evidence demonstrating the couple is in fact married. 

 

The COs job is to review a visa application, not ensure someone is doing his/her taxes right. Unless there is other evidence that indicates the applicant is not married, I can't imagine the tax return would be the cause for a rejection. But hey, if I'm wrong and there are stories here on VJ that say otherwise, I'm all ears.

 

Anyway, the OP got his answer from the NVC. Sounds like he should be fine. 

 

 

 

Actually, as I've already stated, CO's actually do know about this and see single status returns from married people every day.   They know why, and it's not an immigration issue.  Whether they actually bother to NOTICE this non-issue every time, I could't say.  I mean, why bother to look for something they already know is not an issue.  Curiosity?  Maybe.

[Eric-Pris 1,607]

29 minutes ago, usmsbow said:

 

I didn't say otherwise, but let's be honest, these applications have a ton of paperwork and documentation. The CO is going to focus on some key items. Tax filing status is not one of them. Even if they noticed the person filed as single, they're probably not going to take the time to determine if a taxpayer can file as a single person if they're actually married, especially when there is so much other evidence demonstrating the couple is in fact married. 

 

The COs job is to review a visa application, not ensure someone is doing his/her taxes right. Unless there is other evidence that indicates the applicant is not married, I can't imagine the tax return would be the cause for a rejection. But hey, if I'm wrong and there are stories here on VJ that say otherwise, I'm all ears.

This solely wouldn't be used to reject an application.  But if I were a CO, I'd ask why an applicant filed as single when they are clearly married.

 

Anyway, the OP got his answer from the NVC. Sounds like he should be fine.  Yes, I'm sure that the minimum wage telephone operators that answers those calls are top quality, maybe even as good as USCIS info line operators.  There is no way that they would ever give an incorrect answer.

 

 

 

 

[pushbrk 13,377]

3 minutes ago, Eric-Pris said:

But if I were a CO, I'd ask why an applicant filed as single when they are clearly married.

But actual trained CO's do NOT ask about such meaningless trivia.  BECAUSE they already know the answer and don't care.

[Sukie 1,487]

USCIS is not an enforcer of the tax code.  If you are to get into trouble for filing "Single" when you are married, it will come from one of two places:

 

1.  The IRS.  If they figure out that you filed incorrectly, and you actually owe more tax than you paid, you will pay a penalty, and until the issue is settled, you will have a black mark which may come back to haunt you at USCIS/NVC.

2.  If you have red flags in your case (age difference, religious difference, cultural difference, no good bona fide data), then a smart CO might look at your tax data to see if you filed as single.

 

Many people sail through USCIS/NVC with no problems with an incorrect filing status.  But it can trip you up if an officer decides to dig a little harder.  Again, USCIS is not an enforcer of the tax code.

 

Accountants just don't get it (I worked for one of the Big 4 Accounting firms before I retired - so I can say this).  They all do taxes with online software.  No online software program will allow NRA (Non-Resident Alien) or "SSN Applied For" in the spouses SSN slot.  It's an online edit that prevents mistakes, but gives those of us with non-US-Citizen spouses a headache.  Accountants think they cannot do your tax unless you have an SSN for your spouse.  This is totally incorrect.  The tax return cannot be submitted electronically without the proper SSNs.  But...the tax return can be filled out, printed,  "NRA" hand-written in the spouse's SSN box, and then submitted in paper form.  This is what all of us could and should be doing when we are married, but our spouse is not yet in the US.

 

You can try the ITIN process, though it is much easier to file as HOH or MFS and then amend once the spouse gets his or her SSN.

 

Again - you CAN get through USCIS/NVC filing as single (if you are married), but most of us don't want to chance any problems down the road.  Do it right the first time, or amend within the correct amount of time.

 

Oh, and OP (Original Poster) - you can send in tax returns (your complete return) OR tax return transcripts.  Either are acceptable.  This is what Mr. Pushback was trying to say.  A lot of us think that NVC/USCIS like the transcripts better.  The transcripts are 8 pages long.  My tax return is 110 pages long. 

 

Sukie in NY

 

 

[pushbrk 13,377]

2 minutes ago, Sukie said:

USCIS is not an enforcer of the tax code.  If you are to get into trouble for filing "Single" when you are married, it will come from one of two places:

 

And they don't issue visas or look at affidavits of support in visa cases either. 

[Tolly 1]

23 hours ago, nejay said:

I didn't work 2014, 2015 and half of 2016. So, I started working in July of last year. I tax my tax accountant that I'm married but spouse is not in the US, so he told me to file as single. Will it be an issue for the Affidavit of Support? I'm a bit confused.... Also, I have a Co-Sponsor already. Please help

I did the same thing and we don't have any problem with it. You can't file Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separate because your wife did not have SSN or Tax ID. So the only option is to file as a single. For future purposes, you can file Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) with the IRS so that you can claim your spouse on your taxes and rake in some deductions. See the link below

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/general-itin-information

 

 

[Sukie 1,487]

12 minutes ago, Tosyn said:

I did the same thing and we don't have any problem with it. You can't file Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separate because your wife did not have SSN or Tax ID. So the only option is to file as a single. For future purposes, you can file Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) with the IRS so that you can claim your spouse on your taxes and rake in some deductions. See the link below

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/general-itin-information

 

 

This is blatantly untrue and is unsound and incorrect tax advice.  Please read my explanation above your post. 

 

Sukie in NY

[pushbrk 13,377]

3 minutes ago, Sukie said:

This is blatantly untrue and is unsound and incorrect tax advice.  Please read my explanation above your post. 

 

Sukie in NY

But you see, the OP's question is about immigration, not tax advice.  The pertinent immigration related or "visa" related (This is VisaJourney.com afterall.) information is that Consular Officers don't care in the least about the filing status on tax returns when making a "visa" decision.  Everybody (huge numbers) who files single when they are married, knows it's the wrong filing status, and Consular Officers know and understand WHY they do it.  

 

Maybe save the tax advice for taxjourney.com  

[Springrain22 427]

1 hour ago, Sukie said:

Accountants just don't get it (I worked for one of the Big 4 Accounting firms before I retired - so I can say this).  They all do taxes with online software.  No online software program will allow NRA (Non-Resident Alien) or "SSN Applied For" in the spouses SSN slot.  It's an online edit that prevents mistakes, but gives those of us with non-US-Citizen spouses a headache.  Accountants think they cannot do your tax unless you have an SSN for your spouse.  This is totally incorrect.  The tax return cannot be submitted electronically without the proper SSNs.  But...the tax return can be filled out, printed,  "NRA" hand-written in the spouse's SSN box, and then submitted in paper form.  This is what all of us could and should be doing when we are married, but our spouse is not yet in the US.

Finally a good clear answer WHY I filed my taxes with "Single" status. It is not my problem that I can't put NRA in the SSN field doing taxes online. My accountant did it this way. I will amend it later (and I HAVE A RIGHT to do so). Why would the CO even think about it in the entire case is perfect?

[sy1983 31]

4 hours ago, Eric-Pris said:

They don't do anything for FREE.

They do ITIN applications for Free. Look it up 

[pushbrk 13,377]

1 hour ago, Springrain22 said:

Finally a good clear answer WHY I filed my taxes with "Single" status. It is not my problem that I can't put NRA in the SSN field doing taxes online. My accountant did it this way. I will amend it later (and I HAVE A RIGHT to do so). Why would the CO even think about it in the entire case is perfect?

They won't concern themselves with such things as ignoring those irrelevant issues is part of their training.  Those who think the CO's don't consider the filing status because they don't understand the tax code are dead wrong.  They may not understand the entire tax code, but they are actually trained to ignore filing status, because they DO understand WHY married petitioners in spouse visa cases file as single.  Understanding it, is WHY they know it isn't relevant, well, that and they are told as much as part of their training.  

 

Facts are cheap...knowing how to use them is precious...
Understanding the big picture is priceless. Anonymous

 

...is a part of my signature for good reason.    Again, this is a discussion of immigration relevant matters, NOT tax advice.

 

 

 

 

[Ryan H 3,855]

***Since this thread is devolving into a debate over tax filings and the OP has been provided with more than enough information as it pertains to their case; this thread is now closed to additional discussion.***