2017 Amended Tax Return Question

[C&AH 104]

Hello. My wife is here and, like many of you, I had to file as Married Filing Separately last year because my wife was still in the DR. I owed the IRS $2200 and I'm making payments. The balance will be deducted from the 2018 tax return when we file (when her SSN card arrives. We filed at SSA: different discussion). I have a minor dependent and should qualify for a Child Tax Credit. I think that might have been affected by the Married Filing Separately status, though I'm not sure.

 

Has anyone else here done an amended return for a previous year? How much of a difference is it between jointly and separately? Thank you. 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2019 by C&AH

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/file-form-1040x-to-amend-a-tax-return

 

for 2017 why not file the W7  form with proof for the ITIN  and file joint married 

the ITIN  is for foreign spouses,etc

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/individual-taxpayer-identification-number

Edited February 13, 2019 by adil-rafa

[C&AH 104]

20 minutes ago, adil-rafa said:

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/file-form-1040x-to-amend-a-tax-return

 

for 2017 why not file the W7  form with proof for the ITIN  and file joint married 

the ITIN  is for foreign spouses,etc

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/individual-taxpayer-identification-number

Thank you for your advice. We did file for an ITIN in 2017 and it was rejected. I'm confused. Does she need an ITIN for 2017 in order for us to file an amended return? I was thinking we can go back and file with her SSN?

 

Does it make a difference,  having a dependent child, to file an amended return since she really had no reportable income?

Edited February 13, 2019 by C&AH

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

14 minutes ago, C&AH said:

Thank you for your advice. We did file for an ITIN in 2017 and it was rejected. I'm confused. Does she need an ITIN for 2017 in order for us to file an amended return? I was thinking we can go back and file with her SSN?

 

Does it make a difference,  having a dependent child, to file an amended return since she really had no reportable income?

Regected??

didn't you prove the marriage?

[C&AH 104]

7 minutes ago, adil-rafa said:

Regected??

didn't you prove the marriage?

Yes I proved it. The reason is that the return was done incorrectly (joint). 8 months later, I had to refile Married Filing Separately. Our case was nearing the end by that point. By the time we would have received the ITIN, she would already be here

So the ITIN is now a non issue. We aren't interested in it since it will further delay and needlessly complicate matters further.  She has her green card and at any moment her SSN card. So we are just trying to figure out what to do from here regarding the 2017 return.

 

My only question is if Married Filing Separately and Jointly makes a great difference since I have a dependent child. Thanks for your help.

Edited February 13, 2019 by C&AH

[arken 4,197]

 

You can amend ur 2017 return to joint filing using ur wife’s SSN once she gets o e. If your wife has no 2017 income from the foreign country, you would get a bunch of refund.

 

I did the same. Rather than going thru ITIN, i filed MFS and then amended to MFJ once my wife came to US and got her SSN.

Edited February 13, 2019 by arken

[C&AH 104]

10 minutes ago, arken said:

 

You can amend ur 2017 return to joint filing using ur wife’s SSN once she gets o e. If your wife has no 2017 income from the foreign country, you would get a bunch of refund.

 

I did the same. Rather than going thru ITIN, i filed MFS and then amended to MFJ once my wife came to US and got her SSN.

Thanks for your help.  I talked with a "tax professional" at a local office who said that of she did not reside in the USA during any part of the 2017 tax year, then an amended return isn't possible. He further said thar she wpuld have had to reside with me for 6 months. Not I'm utterly confused!

[arken 4,197]

12 minutes ago, C&AH said:

Thanks for your help.  I talked with a "tax professional" at a local office who said that of she did not reside in the USA during any part of the 2017 tax year, then an amended return isn't possible. He further said thar she wpuld have had to reside with me for 6 months. Not I'm utterly confused!

My question to that so called tax professional would be “if one can file a joint filing with the spouse abroad with ITIN number, why can’t one amend it for same thing just with the SSN?”

 

Anyway if it helps, i did even mention in the “Reason for amends” box of 1040X that my wife was abroad for entire year (2015 in my case)and was never present in the US for that whole year so i don’t need to pay healthcare penalty for not having my wife’s insurance for that year. 4 months later, my face was sparking for the refund i got.

Edited February 13, 2019 by arken

[C&AH 104]

10 minutes ago, arken said:

My question to that so called tax professional would be “if one can file a joint filing with the spouse abroad with ITIN number, why can’t one amend it for same thing just with the SSN?”

 

Anyway if it helps, i did even mention in the “Reason for amends” box of 1040X that my wife was abroad for entire year (2015 in my case)and was never present in the US for that whole year so i don’t need to pay healthcare penalty for not having my wife’s insurance for that year. 4 months later, my face was sparking for the refund i got.

Just to clarify, you DID or DID NOT mention that your wife was abroad for that entire year? Making sure it wasn't a typo.  I hope to be sparking too because it would be a much better feeling to actually get a refund rather than owing them!

 

I plan to follow your advice to a tee. The "tax professional" turned around and said that if she has been here even one day in 2018, then we can file joint after saying she had to be here 6 months in 2017. He is an immigrant himself running a tax office, which is why I thought he might know something about this.

Edited February 13, 2019 by C&AH

[arken 4,197]

DID.