2020 joint tax returns with W-7/ITIN Application - post your timelines

[whiterabbitt 37]

16 minutes ago, JKLSemicolon said:

As an update, although we received the ITIN in August the return itself has still not been processed, meaning a transcript is still not available either.

 

Our situation was slightly different in that when I uploaded documents to NVC in March 2021, the 2020 tax filing deadline had not yet arrived. At that time I uploaded a 2017, 2018, and 2019 tax transcript to NVC.

 

Once the (August 2021) interview date had been scheduled, I did upload an updated I-864 along with a complete copy of the 2020 tax return to NVC and had my wife bring those documents to the interview. However, none of that documentation was ever reviewed or requested by NVC or the Consulate and the visa was approved with no issue.

 

The complete return (as @Wuozopo describes) should suffice in your case, but it might be worth drafting a short letter explaining why a transcript is not available that you could upload to NVC and/or present to the Consulate if needed. Since you filed the return in July, did you previously file an extension for 2020? That would also be helpful information to include.

Hi! You are so lucky! And congrats on getting through it all. 

 

Yes my husband filed for an extension - IRS Form 4868 is included on the front page of the tax return 2020 that we submitted. A draft letter is a great idea to bring to the interview, and something we will look into once we hear back from NVC. There is a specific reason why my husband had to file late (waiting on some business property tax law to pass due to covid) anyhow, we have a tax accountant so we will get all the right information from him. 

 

Fingers crossed and thanks for your help!

 

 

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by whiterabbitt

[top_secret 2,458]

We are 100% complete on the visa process.  Visas on hand and my wife and stepdaughter will arrive next week.  But our 2020 tax return still to this day has not been processed.  Like @JKLSemicolon the ITIN was issued in August but no movement whatsoever on processing the return.  I submitted return transcripts 2018 and 2019 plus the full return for 2020 including W2's and 1099's and DQ'd with that.  While waiting for NVC my 2020 Wage and Income transcript became available.  I didn't use it to DQ with but uploaded it to CEAC after we got our interview date.  My wife just took our return to the interview and they didn't even look at the hard copy, but they specifically mentioned facts from the return indicating the Embassy definitely reviewed what was uploaded to CEAC.  While waiting for NVC I saw others time and time again get the RFE, "Please upload all 2020 W2's and 1099's" so W2's and 1099's seems like the number one most important item for NVC whether you have a transcript or not.

[top_secret 2,458]

Something finally happened!!!  Not like we received our return or anything yet, but now the "Where's My Refund?" page finally at least acknowledges there is a return filed.  Under both my SS# or my wife's new ITIN it now gives the status "Your tax return is still being processed.  A refund date will be provided when available."  Instead of "no return found" like before.  So while we still have no refund, it is at least acknowledging the amount, that we filed married filing jointly and both our tax #s on the same return.  it seems like progress.

 

So to recap our timeline

• May 5, 2021 Filed W-7, Federal Taxes, and California State taxes by ordinary first class mail.
• May 11, 2021 California State acknowledged the filing in my California FTB online account.
• May 22, 2021 California State showed my return as authorized and scheduled for direct deposit.
• May 27, 2021 California State return direct deposited into my checking account.
• Aug 26, 2021 Received ITIN and original document returned by IRS.
• Oct 21, 2021 Return acknowledged "Where's My Refund?"

[whiterabbitt 37]

11 hours ago, top_secret said:

Something finally happened!!!  Not like we received our return or anything yet, but now the "Where's My Refund?" page finally at least acknowledges there is a return filed.  Under both my SS# or my wife's new ITIN it now gives the status "Your tax return is still being processed.  A refund date will be provided when available."  Instead of "no return found" like before.  So while we still have no refund, it is at least acknowledging the amount, that we filed married filing jointly and both our tax #s on the same return.  it seems like progress.

 

So to recap our timeline

• May 5, 2021 Filed W-7, Federal Taxes, and California State taxes by ordinary first class mail.
• May 11, 2021 California State acknowledged the filing in my California FTB online account.
• May 22, 2021 California State showed my return as authorized and scheduled for direct deposit.
• May 27, 2021 California State return direct deposited into my checking account.
• Aug 26, 2021 Received ITIN and original document returned by IRS.
• Oct 21, 2021 Return acknowledged "Where's My Refund?"

Thanks for sharing your update!! Good to know they are working on your tax return, definitely progress like you said. Ours say the same thing, 'no return found', so looking forward to the day that changes! 

Edited October 22, 2021 by whiterabbitt

[top_secret 2,458]

FINALLY!!!!!  Our 2020 Return Transcript is finally available.  It shows up in the Account Transcript now too.  No 'actual' return yet, but the Account Transcript shows the return issued plus $206 in interest oddly postdated to November 10.  Maybe that's when I would really get it?  But in any case it seems that things are wrapping up successfully, if not somewhat belatedly.  My wife received her Social Security Number in the mail this Monday so the ITIN she received becomes moot.  Still worth the effort for the more than $10,000 extra return we will receive as married filing jointly.

 

So to recap our timeline to date.

• May 5, 2021 Filed W-7, Federal Taxes, and California State taxes by ordinary first class mail.
• May 11, 2021 California State acknowledged the filing in my California FTB online account.
• May 22, 2021 California State showed my return as authorized and scheduled for direct deposit.
• May 27, 2021 California State return direct deposited into my checking account.
• Aug 26, 2021 Received ITIN and original document returned by IRS.
• Oct 21, 2021 Return acknowledged "Where's My Refund?"
• Nov 5, 2021  Return Transcript becomes available online.  Account transcript shows return.

[sarabou17 36]

1 hour ago, top_secret said:

FINALLY!!!!!  Our 2020 Return Transcript is finally available.  It shows up in the Account Transcript now too.  No 'actual' return yet, but the Account Transcript shows the return issued plus $206 in interest oddly postdated to November 10.  Maybe that's when I would really get it?  But in any case it seems that things are wrapping up successfully, if not somewhat belatedly.  My wife received her Social Security Number in the mail this Monday so the ITIN she received becomes moot.  Still worth the effort for the more than $10,000 extra return we will receive as married filing jointly.

 

So to recap our timeline to date.

• May 5, 2021 Filed W-7, Federal Taxes, and California State taxes by ordinary first class mail.
• May 11, 2021 California State acknowledged the filing in my California FTB online account.
• May 22, 2021 California State showed my return as authorized and scheduled for direct deposit.
• May 27, 2021 California State return direct deposited into my checking account.
• Aug 26, 2021 Received ITIN and original document returned by IRS.
• Oct 21, 2021 Return acknowledged "Where's My Refund?"
• Nov 5, 2021  Return Transcript becomes available online.  Account transcript shows return.

 Congratulations on finishing the visa process and getting your return processed!   Now you can breathe!   After mailing the requested ORIGINAL passport page, there was a lot of confusion as the post office reported it as "undelivered" at the post office for 10 days and said they would send it back to me if the IRS didn't pick it up.  (The address to mail the evidence to is a post office box so it's at their discretion to go pick it up.) I would recommend to not send it overnight by usps to the p.o. box.  If you want to send it overnight I recommend Fedex.  I sent my original ITIN application and tax return by Fedex and had no issues.) After 10 days I got a text saying it had been picked up by the IRS the day after I sent it 😜.  Now it has been 8 weeks since we sent the requested original of the passport page and have not received the ITIN.  When my husband called the IRS they said it will be 9-11 weeks from the date they recieved it (so September 10).  If we don't receive the ITIN in 3 weeks, we will call them.  Tax return of course still shows as "return not processed".  Congratulations on finishing the visa process and getting your return processed!   Now you can breathe!   After mailing the requested ORIGINAL passport page, there was a lot of confusion as the post office reported it as "undelivered" at the post office for 10 days and said they would send it back to me if the IRS didn't pick it up.  (The address to mail the evidence to is a post office box so it's at their discretion to go pick it up.) I would recommend to not send it overnight by usps to the p.o. box.  If you want to send it overnight I recommend Fedex.  I sent my original ITIN application and tax return by Fedex and had no issues.) After 10 days I got a text saying it had been picked up by the IRS the day after I sent it 😜.  Now it has been 8 weeks since we sent the requested original of the passport page and have not received the ITIN.  When my husband called the IRS they said it will be 9-11 weeks from the date they recieved it (so September 10).  If we don't receive the ITIN in 3 weeks, we will call them.  Tax return of course still shows as "return not processed".

[top_secret 2,458]

And FINALLY,  just over 6 months from when we filed our 2020 tax return.  Our refund just direct deposited into my checking account.  By now the immigration process is complete, my wife and stepdaughter are here and both have actual Social Security numbers.  But the process is complete.  The short lived ITIN did serve its purpose and got us over $10,000 more return than I would have as married filing separately.  The process was quite simple for us really.  Just the wait time is a bit silly.  If I had it to do over again I would definitely not change a thing.  Applying for the ITIN and filing MFJ was a very sound decision.

 

Our final timeline.

• May 5, 2021 Filed W-7, Federal Taxes, and California State taxes by ordinary first class mail.
• May 11, 2021 California State acknowledged the filing in my California FTB online account.
• May 22, 2021 California State showed my return as authorized and scheduled for direct deposit.
• May 27, 2021 California State return direct deposited into my checking account.
• Aug 26, 2021 Received ITIN and original document returned by IRS.
• Oct 21, 2021 Return acknowledged "Where's My Refund?"
• Nov 5, 2021  Return Transcript becomes available online.  Account transcript shows return.
• Nov 9, 2021 Tax refund is direct deposited into my checking account.

[whiterabbitt 37]

17 hours ago, top_secret said:

And FINALLY,  just over 6 months from when we filed our 2020 tax return.  Our refund just direct deposited into my checking account.  By now the immigration process is complete, my wife and stepdaughter are here and both have actual Social Security numbers.  But the process is complete.  The short lived ITIN did serve its purpose and got us over $10,000 more return than I would have as married filing separately.  The process was quite simple for us really.  Just the wait time is a bit silly.  If I had it to do over again I would definitely not change a thing.  Applying for the ITIN and filing MFJ was a very sound decision.

 

Our final timeline.

• May 5, 2021 Filed W-7, Federal Taxes, and California State taxes by ordinary first class mail.
• May 11, 2021 California State acknowledged the filing in my California FTB online account.
• May 22, 2021 California State showed my return as authorized and scheduled for direct deposit.
• May 27, 2021 California State return direct deposited into my checking account.
• Aug 26, 2021 Received ITIN and original document returned by IRS.
• Oct 21, 2021 Return acknowledged "Where's My Refund?"
• Nov 5, 2021  Return Transcript becomes available online.  Account transcript shows return.
• Nov 9, 2021 Tax refund is direct deposited into my checking account.

Yay congrats! 
 

The IRS sent us a letter stating that they need to see my passport again as my name doesn’t match the forms. Our tax accountant had put my married name on the forms but my passport was verified with my maiden name. 
 

I now have a newer passport with my married name so this will solve the issue. 
 

I am flying out to the US in 2 weeks and we have an appointment booked with the IRS office so we can go in and get my passport verified again. They have made a case number for my husband’s taxes, so once my passport is verified they can continue processing my ITIN number and his tax return. 
 

Such an ordeal but good news that they are on the case.

 

long story short: it’s important that all names match passport to forms. 

Edited November 10, 2021 by whiterabbitt

[JKLSemicolon 414]

On 11/9/2021 at 8:57 PM, top_secret said:

And FINALLY,  just over 6 months from when we filed our 2020 tax return.  Our refund just direct deposited into my checking account.  By now the immigration process is complete, my wife and stepdaughter are here and both have actual Social Security numbers.  But the process is complete.  The short lived ITIN did serve its purpose and got us over $10,000 more return than I would have as married filing separately.  The process was quite simple for us really.  Just the wait time is a bit silly.  If I had it to do over again I would definitely not change a thing.  Applying for the ITIN and filing MFJ was a very sound decision.

 

Our final timeline.

• May 5, 2021 Filed W-7, Federal Taxes, and California State taxes by ordinary first class mail.
• May 11, 2021 California State acknowledged the filing in my California FTB online account.
• May 22, 2021 California State showed my return as authorized and scheduled for direct deposit.
• May 27, 2021 California State return direct deposited into my checking account.
• Aug 26, 2021 Received ITIN and original document returned by IRS.
• Oct 21, 2021 Return acknowledged "Where's My Refund?"
• Nov 5, 2021  Return Transcript becomes available online.  Account transcript shows return.
• Nov 9, 2021 Tax refund is direct deposited into my checking account.

Congratulations!

 

I filed our return the same time as you and the ITIN came in around the same time as well (dated September 9) , but have heard nothing from the IRS since then. I check the "Where's my Refund?" page about once a week but it always returns the "You may not have entered your information correctly" message. Still waiting...

[top_secret 2,458]

6 hours ago, JKLSemicolon said:

I filed our return the same time as you and the ITIN came in around the same time as well (dated September 9) , but have heard nothing from the IRS since then. I check the "Where's my Refund?" page about once a week but it always returns the "You may not have entered your information correctly" message. Still waiting...

What do you see if you log into your IRS account and check the transcripts????    We got the refund a few days after the return transcript showed up online.  If there is no transcript yet maybe your return required manual handling and they didn't even start until the ITIN was issued ???????

 

Also on November 17 I got a $1400 third stimulus direct deposited completely out of the blue without me doing anything.

[JKLSemicolon 414]

17 minutes ago, top_secret said:

What do you see if you log into your IRS account and check the transcripts????    We got the refund a few days after the return transcript showed up online.  If there is no transcript yet maybe your return required manual handling and they didn't even start until the ITIN was issued ???????

 

Also on November 17 I got a $1400 third stimulus direct deposited completely out of the blue without me doing anything.

No transcript for 2020 yet. Clicking on the 2020 transcript link produces a letter that says, among other things:

 

Quote

As of the date of this letter, we have no record of a processed tax return
for the tax period listed above.

 

I agree that it's probably being processed manually and don't expect it to be resolved any time soon.

[JKLSemicolon 414]

Update: as of today the “Where’s My Refund” page shows that the return has been received and is being processed.

 

So that makes the timeline for our 2020 return:

 

5/2021 mailed paper return and W-7

9/2021 original documents returned and ITIN issued

4/2022 return being processed.

 

In the meantime I have filed an extension for the 2021 return.

[VisaDonnie 54]

Something to add to all this. Last year my wife had an ITIN# when we filed our Married Joint return, she has since gotten a SS#. So the next year when you go to file electronically and its asks you for your Adjusted income number on Line 11 of your 1040 you need to put Zero or it will get kicked back. The IRS doesn't know anything about the new SS# and since your filing with a new SS# vs an ITIN# you can't put anything for your wife on the adjusted Gross Income line. Just some advice.

[JKLSemicolon 414]

On 4/21/2022 at 1:05 PM, JKLSemicolon said:

Update: as of today the “Where’s My Refund” page shows that the return has been received and is being processed.

 

So that makes the timeline for our 2020 return:

 

5/2021 mailed paper return and W-7

9/2021 original documents returned and ITIN issued

4/2022 return being processed.

 

In the meantime I have filed an extension for the 2021 return.

Final update: Finally received our 2020 refund today (5/11/2022), just over a year after mailing the return.

[JKLSemicolon 414]

On 4/21/2022 at 6:03 PM, VisaDonnie said:

Something to add to all this. Last year my wife had an ITIN# when we filed our Married Joint return, she has since gotten a SS#. So the next year when you go to file electronically and its asks you for your Adjusted income number on Line 11 of your 1040 you need to put Zero or it will get kicked back. The IRS doesn't know anything about the new SS# and since your filing with a new SS# vs an ITIN# you can't put anything for your wife on the adjusted Gross Income line. Just some advice.

We are trying to e-file now (after filing an extension and waiting for my wife to get an SSN) and are having issues with the return being rejected.

 

Here is what I am trying although it hasn't worked so far in TaxAct:

 

- For myself, enter the prior year AGI as reported on the 2020 return

- For my wife, select that I have her 2020 tax return; enter the AGI as 0

 

The other options for my wife (saying she didn't file a 2020 return or saying I don't have her 2020 return) don't seem to make sense in this case.

 

Interested to hear what you did to e-file successfully.

 

For what it's worth, I notified the IRS when we got the SSN but they said it would take 30 days for the records to be merged with the ITIN, and those 30 days haven't passed yet.