No taxes filed due to low income

[TheKT 4]

Hi everyone! I'm about to file my N-400. In my first years here my income was very low (2012 - 2015) and did not reach the minimum threshold in order to having to file taxes. I also confirmed this last week with my tax preparer, a tax lawyer (which he asked on the phone) as well as the IRS, which we called together that day. 

 

Now in the N-400 form they are asking if I always filed taxes since becoming a legal resident. So basically I would answer that with no and then explain why. Would there be any issues with that? I filed all the following years. Do I need to bring my tax returns to the interview or should I upload them right away? Some people say tax docs are of no interest for them but I feel it might be important. I don't want to run into any issues because of that. 

 

Has anyone been in a similar situation or can share anything I need to know?

 

Thank you!

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

You are correct to answer no with an explanation. Upload the tax transcripts that you do have AND bring them to the interview.

[MariaR323 199]

4 hours ago, TheKT said:

Hi everyone! I'm about to file my N-400. In my first years here my income was very low (2012 - 2015) and did not reach the minimum threshold in order to having to file taxes. I also confirmed this last week with my tax preparer, a tax lawyer (which he asked on the phone) as well as the IRS, which we called together that day. 

 

Now in the N-400 form they are asking if I always filed taxes since becoming a legal resident. So basically I would answer that with no and then explain why. Would there be any issues with that? I filed all the following years. Do I need to bring my tax returns to the interview or should I upload them right away? Some people say tax docs are of no interest for them but I feel it might be important. I don't want to run into any issues because of that. 

 

Has anyone been in a similar situation or can share anything I need to know?

 

Thank you!

Regarding the explanation to the "No" answer, I would suggest writing something like this...

 

• As per IRS law regarding Tax Year XXXX, an individual with income less than $XXX per year for XXX filing status is not required to file a tax return. My taxable income was $XXX, which is less than the amount required for filing a tax return.
   

And just to be on the safe side, in case you need to prove it, you can request a Verification of Non-filing Letter from the IRS and also request a Wage and Income Transcript. The transcript will show what your income was (to prove the amount below the filing requirement).

 

[TheKT 4]

1 hour ago, MariaR323 said:

Regarding the explanation to the "No" answer, I would suggest writing something like this...

 

• As per IRS law regarding Tax Year XXXX, an individual with income less than $XXX per year for XXX filing status is not required to file a tax return. My taxable income was $XXX, which is less than the amount required for filing a tax return.
   

And just to be on the safe side, in case you need to prove it, you can request a Verification of Non-filing Letter from the IRS and also request a Wage and Income Transcript. The transcript will show what your income was (to prove the amount below the filing requirement).

 

Thank you. But how would I get a wage and income transcript if I did not file, because I did not have to? 

[MariaR323 199]

6 minutes ago, TheKT said:

Thank you. But how would I get a wage and income transcript if I did not file, because I did not have to? 

The wage & income transcript is just that - wage & income. Since you said you did have income just that it was low, you're going to have an income transcript. It's completely different from a tax transcript - that's for when you actually file.

[TheKT 4]

1 minute ago, MariaR323 said:

The wage & income transcript is just that - wage & income. Since you said you did have income just that it was low, you're going to have an income transcript. It's completely different from a tax transcript - that's for when you actually file.

Ah, okay. But I just verified with my tax guy etc. that I did not have to file. So I didn't. Guess that one is not for me then. Still thank you for your insight. 

[MariaR323 199]

2 minutes ago, TheKT said:

Ah, okay. But I just verified with my tax guy etc. that I did not have to file. So I didn't. Guess that one is not for me then. Still thank you for your insight. 

You won't have a tax transcript but you definitely have a wage & income transcript. It's just a suggestion as a precautionary measure though. Good luck!

[Wuozopo 4,293]

10 hours ago, TheKT said:

Ah, okay. But I just verified with my tax guy etc. that I did not have to file. So I didn't. Guess that one is not for me then. Still thank you for your insight. 

What you are not understanding about her suggestion—

 

Lets say you earned only $2000 in 2015. Your employer sends that information to you (W2) and they also send it to the IRS.  You didn’t earn enough so didn’t have to file. You are going to tell the Interviewer you didn’t file in 2015 and why. Maria is saying the IRS can send you a copy of what you earned in 2015 (because they got that from your employer). Your would have official proof from the IRS that your earnings were too low to file so there would be no doubt about the years you did not file. You would order what is called a wage and income transcript. It is just a record of how much in earnings your employer(s) reported to the IRS. 

[TheKT 4]

10 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

What you are not understanding about her suggestion—

 

Lets say you earned only $2000 in 2015. Your employer sends that information to you (W2) and they also send it to the IRS.  You didn’t earn enough so didn’t have to file. You are going to tell the Interviewer you didn’t file in 2015 and why. Maria is saying the IRS can send you a copy of what you earned in 2015 (because they got that from your employer). Your would have official proof from the IRS that your earnings were too low to file so there would be no doubt about the years you did not file. You would order what is called a wage and income transcript. It is just a record of how much in earnings your employer(s) reported to the IRS. 

I'm self employed. 

[MariaR323 199]

4 hours ago, TheKT said:

I'm self employed. 

Ok so that does change it: You won't have a wage & income transcript available if you only had self-employment income and you did not have to file an income tax return if your net earnings from self-employment were less than $400.00 total.

[TheKT 4]

Thank you all for your responses. I applied and explained my situation. Due to the wait time I will probably already have the 2020 tax return by the time I go to the interview and therefore 5 tax returns to show. So I think I'll be fine. 

 

Also I called the USCIS before sending out my application. The lady was very nice and she said it probably won't be a major issue if I only have 4 returns. If they need anything else, they will contact me. So I'm just not going to overthink this anymore. I'll just bring and show all the proof I have by then and think I'll be okay. 

Edited August 28, 2020 by TheKT