Amending 2017 taxes (1040X)

[Dante2019 9]

I got married January 2017, but for my 2017 taxes, I filled "Single" I need to change it now before I have to report to the "NVC". I'm currently applying for the wife's spouse visa.

 

From the IRS 1040X instructions, it says this (below picture)

 

 

Here is the changes that I want to add:

 

Change #1: I changed from "Single" to "Married filing separately"

 

Change #2: Added my wife's name, but since she is not a US citizen or a resident in the USA, I put NRA for her social security.

 

Change #3: Added my son's name as a Dependent. He became an American Citizen this year (2019), but I will leave his Social security blank because he doesn't have a Social security number.  

 

Note: I left line 1 to 30 blank because I didn't need to change income.

 

Note: I also added an explanation in the bottom for "Part III", but I'm not sure if that's the explanation they want.

 

If anyone knows if I'm doing this correctly, or missing information, please let me know.

 

Form 1040x Page 1

 

 

 

 

Form 1040x Page 2

 

 

Thank you to anyone who can answer these questions.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

On 1/1/2020 at 10:28 PM, Dante2019 said:

I got married January 2017, but for my 2017 taxes, I filled "Single" I need to change it now before I have to report to the "NVC". I'm currently applying for the wife's spouse visa.

 

From the IRS 1040X instructions, it says this (below picture)

 

You only have to submit the latest tax return to NVC. (Read the instructions for I-864) They don't ever have to see 2017. They are also evaluating your income, not the correctness of how you filed. They are in a different area of the government and any given one of them probably doesn't know how to file either. They aren't IRS workers, nor are they auditing how you filed. I wouldn't worry about it if it was me. 

 

 But to your form---

Only list wife's name IF A JOINT RETURN. It says it right there on the form. Yours is not a joint return.

 

page 2. Your explanation sounds like you did not list son on 2017 return. So you have changes

24. 1... 0... 1

25. 0... 1... 1

 

28. 1... 1... 2

29. $4050... $4050... $8100

 

Part 3 Explantion.(my opinion)

Skip that whiny intro. The IRS bloke has no clue what NVC is or 1RA is (it's IR1 anyway) or steps to getting a visa. I think you only need to say:

Changed from "Single" to Married Filing Separately" because I married in 2017.

 

 

***Your taxable income is still zero whether you change filing status or add your son

It's not like you cheated the IRS out of tax due.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Wuozopo

[Dante2019 9]

 Wuozopo, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

On 1/5/2020 at 2:04 PM, Wuozopo said:

You only have to submit the latest tax return to NVC. (Read the instructions for I-864) They don't ever have to see 2017. They are also evaluating your income, not the correctness of how you filed. They are in a different area of the government and any given one of them probably doesn't know how to file either. They aren't IRS workers, nor are they auditing how you filed. I wouldn't worry about it if it was me. 

 

Thanks for the heads up. I just looked at form  I-864 and I just read it was opininal and I could just send my current one. It even gave me the option to say I'm not going to send my previous 2 years of tax transcripts.

 

 

On 1/5/2020 at 2:04 PM, Wuozopo said:

page 2. Your explanation sounds like you did not list son on 2017 return. So you have changes

24. 1... 0... 1

25. 0... 1... 1

 

28. 1... 1... 2

29. $4050... $4050... $8100

 

So I'm guessing even with the $8,100, it's not money I can get, but it's just an exception encase I owe taxes or if I pass the 100k tax exception for living abroad? I hope I'm making sense there 😀

 

 

I updated my information on what I did.

 

Page 1: I removed my wife name. I'm guessing I don't need to add my wife's name anywhere in the 1040X Form. From the instructions, it seems like I don't need to do Form 8965 again with my son's information because I checked "Full-year health care coverage" and that he had insurance in Korea when he was born.

 

 

 

 

 

Page2: Changed line 24 to 30 and edited why I'm amending my 2017 return.

 

 

 

Thank you again, Wuozopo.

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Dante2019

[Wuozopo 4,293]

7 hours ago, Dante2019 said:

So I'm guessing even with the $8,100, it's not money I can get, but it's just an exception encase I owe taxes or if I pass the 100k tax exception for living abroad? I hope I'm making sense there 😀

From 2017 going back, taxpayers got an exemption for everybody on their return. In 2017 it was $4050 per person (you+son). You also got a standard deduction as the adult filling. Those were subtracted off the "adjusted gross income" to lower the amount you had to pay taxes on. Your foreign income had already been excluded so your adjusted gross income was $0.  You can't do better than $0 so subtracting $8100 has no effect on somebody already at zero. The instructions say if your standard deduction and exemptions are more than the adjusted gross income, enter $0.  Thus no effect but a procedural notation since you are adding your son to your amended return when he was not listed originally. By adding him, the return changes and you are supposed to show any changes when you do 1040X (amended return). 

 

And if your foreign tax return or wife's got a benefit from claiming the son on it, then you shouldn't even be listing your son on the US return. That's like claiming him on 2 returns. 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

And saying this again. I would not send the full 2017 return plus 1040X to NVC. You are accomplishing nothing to your benefit or to show you had an income. It says zero income on Line 22, which is the line they look at to see if the tax return qualifies you. 

 

From the I-864 instructions:

Item Numbers 23.a. - 25. Federal Income Tax Return Information. You must provide either an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year. If you believe additional returns may help you to establish your ability to maintain sufficient income, you may submit transcripts or photocopies of your Federal individual income tax returns for the three most recent years. 

 

 

[Dante2019 9]

Sorry for the late reply and thank you Wuozopo for replying to this forum. I didn't know you replied (I shouldn't rely on the notification button) to this forum until I checked again today.

 

On 1/7/2020 at 9:32 PM, Wuozopo said:

And if your foreign tax return or wife's got a benefit from claiming the son on it, then you shouldn't even be listing your son on the US return. That's like claiming him on 2 returns. 

 

So I'm guessing what you are saying is if my wife claimed him in Korea, and I claim him for US tax purposes, it would be claiming him on 2 returns? So I'm also guessing, if my wife claims our child in her 2019 Korean taxes, I shouldn't claim him for my 2019 US taxes?

 

My biological son was born in 2017, but he didn't become a US citizen untill 2019. I called the IRS recently before I checked this forum (they didn't give me a direct answer), but from what I understand, I shouldn't put my child in my tax return for 2017 and 2018 because he wasn't a US citizen at that time, and also, he currently doesn't have a social security. 

 

 

 

On 1/7/2020 at 9:55 PM, Wuozopo said:

And saying this again. I would not send the full 2017 return plus 1040X to NVC. You are accomplishing nothing to your benefit or to show you had an income. It says zero income on Line 22, which is the line they look at to see if the tax return qualifies you. 

 

From the I-864 instructions:

Item Numbers 23.a. - 25. Federal Income Tax Return Information. You must provide either an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year. If you believe additional returns may help you to establish your ability to maintain sufficient income, you may submit transcripts or photocopies of your Federal individual income tax returns for the three most recent years. 

 

Thank you for this info. 

 

Besides showing NVC my recent tax transcript. This might go off topic, but I believe we will be fine for the I-864 because the poverty guideline is $26,662, but we have about $150,000 saved up in the bank. So I'm guessing we should do well for the I-864 processing part.

 

 

Edited January 16, 2020 by Dante2019