I-130 Tax return filed as SINGLE

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

1 minute ago, florida racer 73 said:

I do not appreciate you telling me that the CPA is wrong, you have no idea who he is or has worked for. He has done alot of work and saved me alot of money on both my corporate returns and personal returns. I have never had a question raised by his work.

 

If you do not agree with what I am doing, that is fine. It is my choice!

 

Have a good night

 

Your CPA is wrong....take it or leave it....it's your tax file.

[Amelmahbub07 8]

5 hours ago, AMJ1 said:

Its not about asking me what my marital status because I always say I am MARRIED and I always know I am MARRIED! My point is when I filed for my tax return, since my husband is not here (no ssn or itin), the IRS guy who did my taxes says just file as Single for now and I can ammend when he comes here. 

IRS guy is right you can amend it later. Dont take pressure from Roel

[Hpp 5]

5 hours ago, AMJ1 said:

Hello,

 

I am US Citizen. I applied I-130 for my husband.

PD is April 2018 Texas Service Center.

I was reading and preparing for the next step of the application while waiting for the next notice. For the AOS for my tax return I have been filing as Single and not Married. The reason I filed as Single is that my husband is not here in US and never been. I read that it is a RED FLAG and it could denied my application. 😫 Anybody has a same situation as mine?? Could someone enlighten me?? 😞 

hi

don't worry u can file as single , as long as ur spouse is not in the state ,

in 2015 I got married & I filed for my spouse ,when I filed tax return in 2015 I did filed as single

we had no problem at any where

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

1 minute ago, Hpp said:

we had no problem at any where

But it was still filed incorrectly.  If a person is married as of Dec 31st of a tax year, he/she can not LEGALLY file as single.......the fact that you had no problem during the visa process is meaningless.

[OlayemiLoray 172]

6 hours ago, AMJ1 said:

Hello,

 

I am US Citizen. I applied I-130 for my husband.

PD is April 2018 Texas Service Center.

I was reading and preparing for the next step of the application while waiting for the next notice. For the AOS for my tax return I have been filing as Single and not Married. The reason I filed as Single is that my husband is not here in US and never been. I read that it is a RED FLAG and it could denied my application. 😫 Anybody has a same situation as mine?? Could someone enlighten me?? 😞 

When I filed my taxes for 2016 and 2017 I was told I had to file single and could not file married because my husband didn't have a social nor was he in the country..I was told that the embassies are aware of this happening, but not sure how true that piece of information is or if it holds any validity..However, my husband was approved and is here in the States as we speak..Now that he has his social, we will be getting both tax years amended...You should be able to do the same....

[geowrian 22,337]

From the 1040 instructions released by the IRS (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf):

"Single

You can check the box on line 1 if any of the following was true on December 31, 2017.

* You were never married.

* You were legally separated according to your state law under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance. But if, at the end of 2017, your divorce wasn't final (an interlocutory decree), you are considered married and can't check the box on line 1.

* You were widowed before January1, 2017, and didn't remarry before the end of 2017. But if you have a child, you may be able to use the qualifying widow(er) filing status. See the instructions for line 5."

 

If you meet any of the above criteria, then Single is a valid filing status. If not, then Single is not the correct filing status. I would note there is nothing there regarding a spouse's location.

 

"Married Filing Separately

...

Be sure to enter your spouse's SSN or ITIN on Form 1040. If your spouse doesn't have and isn't required to have an SSN or ITIN, enter “NRA"."

 

Head of Household (HOH) is also a valid filing status in some cases with a qualifying dependent in the US, which is the only place where the "spouse living abroad" exception piece comes into play.

 

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501#en_US_2017_publink1000220722

"Marital Status

In general, your filing status depends on whether you are considered unmarried or married.

 

Unmarried persons.

You are considered unmarried for the whole year if, on the last day of your tax year, you are either:

* Unmarried, or

* Legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree.

...

Married persons.

If you are considered married, you and your spouse can file a joint return or separate returns.

Considered married.

You are considered married for the whole year if, on the last day of your tax year, you and your spouse meet any one of the following tests.

1. You are married and living together.

2. You are living together in a common law marriage recognized in the state where you now live or in the state where the common law marriage began.

3. You are married and living apart but not legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.

4. You are separated under an interlocutory (not final) decree of divorce."

I'd also note that all the major tax preparers agree with the above. Example: https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/filing/personal-tax-planning/filing-taxes-when-married-to-non-us-citizen/, https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2973712-i-m-married-but-my-spouse-doesn-t-have-a-ssn-she-lives-outside-the-country-and-she-is-not-either-us-citizen-or-permanent-resident.

 

That said...

The CO will look at the tax return for income purposes to determine the public charge concern. Somebody can file as single and get approved for the visa. However, it is not the correct filing status. This is an IRS issue, not an immigration one.

If somebody has any official source stating that a spouse living abroad qualifies under "Single" filing status, then I would love to see it. Until then, I would follow the instructions as laid out by the IRS, and guidance of the publicly-vetted tax preparers who are willing to put their reputations out there to provide guidance based on law.

 

/out

Edited June 25, 2018 by geowrian

[Devon&Julius 21]

You can file head of household if you have a dependent other than your spouse, or married filing separately. Either is ok.

[Ryan H 3,812]

***Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to Tax & Finances During US Immigration forum.***

 

~~~Further postings telling people that it is proper to use the incorrect filing status will no longer be tolerated.  If one  wants to take improper advice on their own filing, that's their business; however, do not belabor it any further in this thread.~~~

[Ryan H 3,812]

***Post disregarding my earlier stated warning removed.***

[jeanita68 231]

8 hours ago, missileman said:

But it was still filed incorrectly.  If a person is married as of Dec 31st of a tax year, he/she can not LEGALLY file as single.......the fact that you had no problem during the visa process is meaningless.

What about filing Head of house hold? 

[geowrian 22,337]

5 minutes ago, jeanita68 said:

What about filing Head of house hold? 

HOH can be filed while single or married, depending on the circumstances.

If you have a non-spouse dependent  (i.e. a qualifying child in your home in which you cover over half the costs, or a parent's home), then HOH status may apply.

[Amelmahbub07 8]

9 hours ago, florida racer 73 said:

Well, I appreciate the input, but I will listen to my CPA, he has been doing my return for a long time as well as handling my books and I have never had a problem, nor have I ever questioned his judgement.

 

As I said, we have an interview very shortly, I have no plans to amend until after my wife is here

As long as your wife won’t get denied for single filling you don’t need to worry about it at all. Listen your cpa at least they know better than us. And nvc guys don’t bother this matter. You can assure you by calling them they really don’t care. And lastly i never heard some one questioned or rejected visa for this issue

[Amelmahbub07 8]

8 hours ago, OlayemiLoray said:

When I filed my taxes for 2016 and 2017 I was told I had to file single and could not file married because my husband didn't have a social nor was he in the country..I was told that the embassies are aware of this happening, but not sure how true that piece of information is or if it holds any validity..However, my husband was approved and is here in the States as we speak..Now that he has his social, we will be getting both tax years amended...You should be able to do the same....

Yes absolutely right. You know some members here they don’t give you advice actually they confuse you more although they don’t have any legal knowledge. So avoid them. Don’t know why they don’t understand if single filling is an issue then people don’t able to submit third party sponsors where your single filling or married filling not an issue at all.

[Faizal 27]

16 hours ago, AMJ1 said:

Hello,

 

I am US Citizen. I applied I-130 for my husband.

PD is April 2018 Texas Service Center.

I was reading and preparing for the next step of the application while waiting for the next notice. For the AOS for my tax return I have been filing as Single and not Married. The reason I filed as Single is that my husband is not here in US and never been. I read that it is a RED FLAG and it could denied my application. 😫 Anybody has a same situation as mine?? Could someone enlighten me?? 😞 

No worry about it i have a same situation my wife also tax paid as a single and my file was approved and now at the nvc phase 

[Roel 7,192]

It's amazing how many people get this simple thing wrong. Just wow.