Filed as Single instead of Married

[tennnis123 14]

Hi guys, I was checking our taxes and there are two years that we filed as single. I trusted my husband to take care of them since I was new to the country and he took them with a friend of his and she filed both of us as single 😐 I think the tax years in 2015 and 2016 . I understand that I can amend this but I am not sure how, does anybody has previous experience doing this? I already have my 10 year green card but I know that when I try to apply for N-400 they will ask for our tax returns and I really want to have this fixed.

Edited May 23, 2019 by tennnis123

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

did you file 2017 and 2018 as married?

 

when will you file for citizenship?

 

no timeline to let us know and too many posts to go thru to search 

[tennnis123 14]

1 minute ago, adil-rafa said:

did you file 2017 and 2018 as married?

 

when will you file for citizenship?

 

no timeline to let us know and too many posts to go thru to search  

Yes we filed 2017 and 2018 jointly as married. My 3 year window is already open so we will probably file for N-400 in September this year. We have been married since 2014 but we didnt have any income that year since we were both in school.

[Crazy Cat 41,850]

You can google IRS 1040X.  That is the form used to amend taxes.

[junkmart 320]

1 hour ago, tennnis123 said:

Hi guys, I was checking our taxes and there are two years that we filed as single. I trusted my husband to take care of them since I was new to the country and he took them with a friend of his and she filed both of us as single 😐 I think the tax years in 2015 and 2016 . I understand that I can amend this but I am not sure how, does anybody has previous experience doing this? I already have my 10 year green card but I know that when I try to apply for N-400 they will ask for our tax returns and I really want to have this fixed.

I've amended a return, but under different circumstances. It was no big deal. https://www.irs.gov/faqs/irs-procedures/amended-returns-form-1040x

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

53 minutes ago, tennnis123 said:

Yes we filed 2017 and 2018 jointly as married. My 3 year window is already open so we will probably file for N-400 in September this year. We have been married since 2014 but we didnt have any income that year since we were both in school.

then by the time you have the interview , you will have 2017, 2018 and 2019 joint taxes

no problem

[tennnis123 14]

10 minutes ago, junkmart said:

I've amended a return, but under different circumstances. It was no big deal. https://www.irs.gov/faqs/irs-procedures/amended-returns-form-1040x

Did you have to pay back? I wouldn't mind paying as long as I know that I am safe with the IRS but I need to prepare for an expense if there is one. Btw I am from the valley too!

 

11 minutes ago, adil-rafa said:

then by the time you have the interview , you will have 2017, 2018 and 2019 joint taxes

no problem

If we file this year I wouldn't have 2019 taxes yet. If I file on a 5 year basis will they ask for 5 years of my taxes?

[junkmart 320]

2 minutes ago, tennnis123 said:

Did you have to pay back? I wouldn't mind paying as long as I know that I am safe with the IRS but I need to prepare for an expense if there is one. Btw I am from the valley too!

 

If we file this year I wouldn't have 2019 taxes yet. If I file on a 5 year basis will they ask for 5 years of my taxes?

I did owe, but because I changed from HOH to single. This was before I was married, and while I was taking care of my mother. After I filed HOH, she ended up getting disability with significant back pay in excess of $50k for a couple of years, hence why I had to change one year from HOH to single. I owed money, but didn't pay. Instead, they just deducted what I owed from future refunds, with interest of course.

 

Its hard to tell if you will owe money or not. You need to do mock returns for married filing separate vs married filing joint, and choose whichever has the least tax burden. You MAY even end up getting money back, but only for the most recent three years.

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

8 hours ago, tennnis123 said:

Did you have to pay back? I wouldn't mind paying as long as I know that I am safe with the IRS but I need to prepare for an expense if there is one. Btw I am from the valley too!

 

If we file this year I wouldn't have 2019 taxes yet. If I file on a 5 year basis will they ask for 5 years of my taxes?

if you file this year ,  it takes a year or more for the interview 

you can send copy of 2018 with application and show 2019 at interview in 2020

[Oliversmom 250]

I can tell you that filing single when married can really mess you up.  I filed single several years ago because my husband wasn't here yet and I thought that is what I was supposed to do.  Fast forward two years and I am applying for a Federal loan.  They asked me when we married and immediately saw that I filed single for that year.  The loan was time sensitive and they tried to help.  They had me send in a notice of non filing for him.  They had him write a letter that he was not a permanent resident of this country at the time.  None of that worked.  I had to amend my tax return.  Luckily I made it in time but I just wanted to put this out there as what can happen if you file single when you are married.  As for how to do it - just file 1040X.  It is quite easy to do .