Tax filling and Tax return for this year.

[htsf 7]

Hi everyone,

 

My husband and I are in the process of waiting the I-130 to be approved. Meanwhile, I want to ask for this year's tax return, do I need to include my income and financial information into my husband's tax filing? My husband(U.S. citizen) is in U.S., and I am in Canada now. All my incomes are Canadian dollar.

 

One more question:

 

If my husband starts to move to Canada to work soon, does his Canadian dollar income also need to file the tax in U.S. or not?

 

Thank you so much for your information!

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

1.  If your husband files "Married-Filing Jointly" (you would require a SSN or ITIN), then world-wide income for BOTH of you must be reported.  There are possible reductions in taxable income for your portion.  If he files "Married, Filing Separately", the only his income for 2019 would have to be reported.  I advise him to consult a qualified tax pro to help you make the decision as to which filing status to use. 

 

2.  As a US citizen, his world-wide income must be reported to the IRS......

 

***Moving this topic to Tax and Finances During US Immigration*****

Edited March 2, 2020 by missileman

[htsf 7]

2 minutes ago, missileman said:

1.  If your husband files "Married-Filing Jointly" (you would require a SSN or ITIN), then world-wide income for BOTH of you must be reported.  There are possible reductions in taxable income for your portion.  I advise him to consult a qualified tax pro to help you make the decision as to which filing status to use.  If he files "Married, Filing Separately", the only his income for 2019 would have to be reported.

 

2.  As a US citizen, his world-wide income must be reported to the IRS......

 

***Moving this topic to Tax and Finances During US Immigration*****

Hi,

 

Thank you so much for your very detailed answer. Which filing status do you suggest us to use? Which status is used by most people on this forum?

 

Is the "Married-Filing Jointly" more convincing to get the CR-1 approved?

 

Thank you so much!

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

Just now, htsf said:

Hi,

 

Thank you so much for your very detailed answer. Which filing status do you suggest us to use? Which status is used by most people on this forum?

 

Is the "Married-Filing Jointly" more convincing to get the CR-1 approved?

 

Thank you so much!

Neither tax filing status would negatively affect the CR-1.  Which filing status should he use is a personal decision based on many factors.  That's why I suggest consulting a competent tax pro.....

[htsf 7]

19 minutes ago, missileman said:

Neither tax filing status would negatively affect the CR-1.  Which filing status should he use is a personal decision based on many factors.  That's why I suggest consulting a competent tax pro.....

Thank you so much! I will let him consult a good tax pro!

[SalishSea 17,836]

40 minutes ago, htsf said:

Hi everyone,

 

My husband and I are in the process of waiting the I-130 to be approved. Meanwhile, I want to ask for this year's tax return, do I need to include my income and financial information into my husband's tax filing? My husband(U.S. citizen) is in U.S., and I am in Canada now. All my incomes are Canadian dollar.

 

One more question:

 

If my husband starts to move to Canada to work soon, does his Canadian dollar income also need to file the tax in U.S. or not?

 

Thank you so much for your information!

 

 

If he is moving to Canada anyway, how will he demonstrate US domicile?  Montreal is strict on domicile.  

[htsf 7]

2 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

If he is moving to Canada anyway, how will he demonstrate US domicile?  Montreal is strict on domicile.  

Hi,

Thank you so much for your concern. I have been reading the posts and suggestions online these days. Based on all the information I got,  he may has to go back to the U.S. after my I-130 get approved. 

 

Are there lots of CR-1 cases rejected in Montreal because of the domicile issue?

 

Thanks a lot for your concern and help!

[SalishSea 17,836]

5 minutes ago, htsf said:

Hi,

Thank you so much for your concern. I have been reading the posts and suggestions online these days. Based on all the information I got,  he may has to go back to the U.S. after my I-130 get approved. 

 

Are there lots of CR-1 cases rejected in Montreal because of the domicile issue?

 

Thanks a lot for your concern and help!

Yes.  If he has no domicile or concrete plans for it at the time of interview, you could get a 221g until that requirement is satisfied.

[htsf 7]

3 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Yes.  If he has no domicile or concrete plans for it at the time of interview, you could get a 221g until that requirement is satisfied.

Thanks a lot Jorgedig!

 

Do you think he needs to get a domicile before the time of interview or before the time when we submit the I-864?

[SalishSea 17,836]

Just now, htsf said:

Thanks a lot Jorgedig!

 

Do you think he needs to get a domicile before the time of interview or before the time when we submit the I-864?

That I am not sure of....maybe @Ontarkie, @Going through or @NikLR would have more perspective.

[carmel34 3,633]

Montreal is very backed up for interviews, so I would suggest that he goes back to the US after the petition is approved, then while you complete the NVC stage (about 2 months) and wait for the interview in Montreal (about 4 months), he'll have six months to re-establish a domicile in the US and get a job with health insurance for both of you, and show sufficient US-based income to sponsor you.  You can take his six months of pay stubs, letter from employer, and updated I-864 to your interview.  Good luck!

Edited March 3, 2020 by carmel34

[htsf 7]

7 hours ago, carmel34 said:

Montreal is very backed up for interviews, so I would suggest that he goes back to the US after the petition is approved, then while you complete the NVC stage (about 2 months) and wait for the interview in Montreal (about 4 months), he'll have six months to re-establish a domicile in the US and get a job with health insurance for both of you, and show sufficient US-based income to sponsor you.  You can take his six months of pay stubs, letter from employer, and updated I-864 to your interview.  Good luck!

Hi Carmel34, I really really appreciate your suggestion for us! That sounds like an very organized plan.

 

I want to know, does his this years tax filing need to including me as the spouse? Or he just file the tax on himself behalf?

 

Thank you so much for all your help and suggestions!

[Wuozopo 4,293]

1 hour ago, htsf said:

I want to know, does his this years tax filing need to including me as the spouse? Or he just file the tax on himself behalf?

Married people are not required by the IRS to file a joint return. He can file Married Filing Separately and leave you out of it except to state the name of his spouse and use NRA (Nonresident Alien)  instead of a SSN for the spouse. Most consumer  tax programs won’t accept alpha characters in that numeric field so people print the return and write that in by hand then mail instead of efile.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Wuozopo

[htsf 7]

11 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

Most consumer  tax programs won’t accept alpha characters in that numeric field so people print the return and write that in by hand then mail instead of efile.

Hi, thank you for your answering! I do not understand what is the above sentence's meaning? Could you please help me explain it into more details?

 

How about I just do not file tax in U.S. this year and just let my husband file " Married Filing Separately "? I am not physically in U.S., and my income in Canada is not that high either. I do not know if I do not file tax in U.S. this year will cause negative effect to our CR-1 visa or not. Thank you so much!

[Wuozopo 4,293]

7 hours ago, htsf said:

Hi, thank you for your answering! I do not understand what is the above sentence's meaning? Could you please help me explain it into more details?

 

How about I just do not file tax in U.S. this year and just let my husband file " Married Filing Separately "? I am not physically in U.S., and my income in Canada is not that high either. I do not know if I do not file tax in U.S. this year will cause negative effect to our CR-1 visa or not. Thank you so much!

The IRS Form 1040 instructions say on page 12:

Married Filing Separately
Check the “Married filing separately” box at the top of Form 1040 or 1040-SR if you are married and file a separate re- turn. Enter your spouse’s name in the entry space below the filing status checkboxes. Be sure to enter your spouse’s SSN or ITIN in the space for spouse’s SSN on Form 1040 or 1040-SR. If your spouse doesn’t have and isn’t required to have an SSN or ITIN, enter “NRA”.

I meant above that tax software that people use (online or installed at home) to do their own taxes like TurboTax and H&R Block software have the SSN field programmed to only allow numbers to be entered. If software won’t let you type an alphabet character in that field, then how can you type NRA? How can you finish the return and get the software to efile? It will just keep telling you there is an error because the SSN field is blank, yet it won’t let you put anything but numbers there. 

So people print out the return and write NRA with a pen in that SSN field that they left blank. Then they mail the return to the IRS instead of e-filing with the software. 

 

I don’t know how filing separately would hurt the visa. He has stated on his tax return “MARRIED Filing Separately” and he has entered the name of his spouse. Right there is evidence of being married to you.