Retirement Finances For I-864

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

@Wuozopo  I didn't want to hijack that other thread where you some great advice to Lazy Monk.  Quote one snippet:

 

"A self-employed person as yourself has to go with the tax returns."

 

It made me wonder how I present my retirement income on my I-864.  I am retired and have SS income, investment income (not much taxable) and taxable withdrawals from my IRA.

 

My 2020 income is very large due to the sale of a rental property, and normally I make my annual taxable income just enough so I can get child tax credits for my 2 kids.  That is more than enough to meet the poverty guidelines.  I will submit the I-864 later this year with my 2020 tax return included.  Do I need to worry much about putting something in the Current Annual Income box?

 

2021 will not be finished yet when I submit.  I think I can make my 2021 income low if I want, because they have changed the child tax credits to be fully refundable.  Thoughts?  Do I need to worry about how much my 2021 income is for the purpose of the I-864?

[Wuozopo 4,293]

@seekingthetruth

 

Yes, you have to fill in current income. That’s where you show you qualify as a sponsor. Your most recent tax return (2020) will easily show you qualify and qualifying is the point, right?  Is there a reason you want to show less income on this form? I would be thinking easy peasy qualifying with only a tax transcript and not a bunch of other documentation. I would use the “total income” line from 2020 as my current income. I think that will fly.

Edited May 14, 2021 by Wuozopo

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

3 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

@seekingthetruth

 

Yes, you have to fill in current income. That’s where you show you qualify as a sponsor. Your most recent tax return (2020) will easily show you qualify and qualifying is the point, right?  Is there a reason you want to show less income on this form? I would be thinking easy peasy qualifying with only a tax transcript and not a bunch of other documentation. I would use the “total income” line from 2020 as my current income. I think that will fly.

Thanks!  So I will just put in my 2020 total income in the Current Income.  I just checked and the capital gain is 94% of my total income.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

6 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

Thanks!  So I will just put in my 2020 total income in the Current Income.  I just checked and the capital gain is 94% of my total income.

I feel like that that follows the instructions.
 

You could size it it down if you like and provide a photocopy of your yearly Social Security statement showing your 2021 monthly amount. Use the gross before Medicare or tax withholding  (times 12). Is that enough? Add in the full year of IRA distribution and show the withdrawal on six months of statements (if monthly) or however you can show it on paper. Then you could list “current income” as total of SS plus IRA. I would provide a spreadsheet type list before the evidence just so they see where you are getting the total. I like to connect the dots for them.

 

Income                Monthly.     Yearly
Social Security     $1500.    $18,000

IRA distribution    $1000.    $12,000

TOTAL.  $30,000 per year

(followed with your statements behind)

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Wuozopo

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

2 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

I feel like that that follows the instructions.
 

You could size it it down if you like and provide a photocopy of your yearly Social Security statement showing your 2021 monthly amount. Use the gross before Medicare or tax withholding  (times 12). Is that enough? Add in the full year of IRA distribution and show the withdrawal on six months of statements (if monthly) or however you can show it on paper. Then you could list “current income” as total of SS plus IRA. I would provide a spreadsheet type list before the evidence just so they see where you are getting the total. I like to connect the dots for them.

 

Income                Monthly.     Yearly
Social Security     $1500.    $18,000

IRA distribution    $1000.    $12,000

TOTAL.  $30,000 per year

(followed with your statements behind)

 

I will just go with the 2020 actual and if they ask for details, no problem.