Am I allowed to submit amended tax return?

[EA and MK 48]

Hi all,

 

I am trying to understand how I can change my filing status on previous tax returns since there would be a combined $10k+ in refunds I'd be owed when my wife gets her SSN upon

entering with her IR-1. Since my wife's country does not have earnings statement (W2 equivalent) for people who earn less than a certain threshold etc. it seems like a challenge to gather docs for an amended return. Not sure if seeking such refund would also look bad when she does go for naturalization? What are your thoughts, and the best way to proceed?

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

File a 1040X for each year you wish to amend after she has a SSN.   Be aware that if you file a joint return, you will have to report her world-wide income, too.  She does not need a W2 equivalent to report income)

Edited September 1, 2021 by Crazy Cat

[JeanneAdil 6,491]

you sent I 130 in 2019 so you must have been married that year (no date of marriage on timeline)

u do not have to wait till she is here and has SS #

file 1040x as MFJ or MFS for both 2019 and 2020 with W7 for ITIN as instructed on iRS site for alien spouse 

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

 

not sure how u filed but when a person marries they are married not single and not head of household

 

when i did this i estimated foreign income as husband made very and i used 2555 to exclude that income (need  to check list for countries with tax treaty  with US to see if your country is also one)

 

and no ,  it does not hurt to have returns either joint or separate,  it shows married and commingling of fiances and a plus

 

i believe if you file joint you have to keep filing as joint till  she is in USA (read the complete IRS instructions)

Edited September 1, 2021 by JeanneAdil

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

14 minutes ago, EA and MK said:

Hi all,

 

I am trying to understand how I can change my filing status on previous tax returns since there would be a combined $10k+ in refunds I'd be owed when my wife gets her SSN upon

entering with her IR-1. Since my wife's country does not have earnings statement (W2 equivalent) for people who earn less than a certain threshold etc. it seems like a challenge to gather docs for an amended return. Not sure if seeking such refund would also look bad when she does go for naturalization? What are your thoughts, and the best way to proceed?

Google is your friend...

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/top-10-tax-tips-about-filing-an-amended-tax-return

 

I'm not sure how long you have been married but you could have filed as MFJ before by getting her an ITIN.

 

Without knowing more detail, it is hard to say how complicated it is.  If it really is 10k, it should be worth the time.  If needed, hire a tax pro.

 

Why would it look bad for her?  As long as everything is legal, no issues.  Will your amended return contradict something in her visa documents?

 

[EA and MK 48]

11 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

Google is your friend...

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/top-10-tax-tips-about-filing-an-amended-tax-return

 

I'm not sure how long you have been married but you could have filed as MFJ before by getting her an ITIN.

 

Without knowing more detail, it is hard to say how complicated it is.  If it really is 10k, it should be worth the time.  If needed, hire a tax pro.

 

Why would it look bad for her?  As long as everything is legal, no issues.  Will your amended return contradict something in her visa documents?

 

Thank you! I just over think and feel they'll be judgy that she came in and we amended returns. Stupid notion, but nothing contradicts... i greatly appreciate the link, I'll read up on it. I filed married separately, and as IRS instructs if treating spouse as non resident alien, then put NRA in lieu of an SSN. Did that in 2019 and 2020.  

[EA and MK 48]

14 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

you sent I 130 in 2019 so you must have been married that year (no date of marriage on timeline)

u do not have to wait till she is here and has SS #

file 1040x as MFJ or MFS for both 2019 and 2020 with W7 for ITIN as instructed on iRS site for alien spouse 

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

 

not sure how u filed but when a person marries they are married not single and not head of household

 

when i did this i estimated foreign income as husband made very and i used 2555 to exclude that income (need  to check list for countries with tax treaty  with US to see if your country is also one)

 

and no ,  it does not hurt to have returns either joint or separate,  it shows married and commingling of fiances and a plus

 

i believe if you file joint you have to keep filing as joint till  she is in USA (read the complete IRS instructions)

Thank you! I will review the IRS instructions closely. Appreciate your insight on this!

[EA and MK 48]

16 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

File a 1040X for each year you wish to amend after she has a SSN.   Be aware that if you file a joint return, you will have to report her world-wide income, too.  She does not need a W2 equivalent to report income)

Great, we can do that by reviewing her bank statements and providing a summary of earning I would think.thabk you for your help!

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from IR1/CR1 Progress Reports to Tax & Finances During US Immigration ***

 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

On 8/31/2021 at 8:19 PM, EA and MK said:

Since my wife's country does not have earnings statement (W2 equivalent) for people who earn less than a certain threshold etc. it seems like a challenge to gather docs for an amended return.

You do not have to submit any documents to the IRS to show her foreign wages. You should keep any notes you used to come up with her wages in your records in case you need to reference them again. Not likely that you will.

 

 On a joint return, her income will show up on Line 1 lumped in with your wage income. If you are using tax software, how you enter foreign income (with no W2s) will vary by manufacturer, but you will end up in the same place…showing up in line 1.  You will basically redo your 2019 and 2020 tax returns before you will have the numbers needed to fill in the 1040x for each tax year. 
 

Because there is no US/Colombia tax treaty, you can’t exclude her foreign income on Form 2555 and will pay taxes on it. But if she paid any income tax to Colombia for the tax year, you can claim Foreign Tax Credit on your US return for foreign taxes paid. That is preventing double taxation on the same earnings.That credit ends up on Line 20 (which is the sum of various credits you might have on Schedule 3 like child care, energy, education, foreign tax paid.) 

Remember when reading IRS information, there are two categories Resident Alien and Nonresident Alien. The IRS allows your wife to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes (2019, 2020) because she was married to a US citizen. It has nothing to do with her immigration status, but rather her tax status. When you wade through information on the IRS website, read what applies to resident aliens and skip sections saying what the rules are for nonresident aliens. Tha will trim down our reading a bit. 

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by Wuozopo

[Wuozopo 4,293]

Sorry my last sentence above sounds weird. Didn’t notice it needed editing until too late to edit. 
That will trim down your reading a bit is what it should have said.

[Ayrton 965]

9 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

Because there is no US/Colombia tax treaty, you can’t exclude her foreign income on Form 2555 and will pay taxes on it. 

Tax Treaty is not required to exclude foreign income. That's a common mistake a lot of people say here in the forum.

 

"Who Qualifies

You qualify to exclude your foreign earned income from gross income if both of the following apply.

• You meet the tax home test (discussed later).

• You meet either the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test (discussed later). However, see COVID-19 Emergency Relief, later."

 

While the Bona Fide Residence Test requires a tax treaty to be in place between the two countries, the Physical Presence Test has no requirements for a tax treaty, they only needed to have been physically present in their home country for a period of 330 days during ANY period of 12 months. Most if not all immigrants will fall under this requirement because we have all lived in our home country for at least 1 year. The instructions even mention that spouses of US that chose to be treated as resident aliens will fall under this requirement.

Edited September 3, 2021 by Ayrton

[EA and MK 48]

Hi All,

 

I am still stuck trying to figure out the right order for me to do my 2019 and 2020 amendment. My wife arrived to the US on an IR1 Visa last year, and she got her SSN last year too.

 

Do I need a signed statement for the amended returns to say we elect for my wife to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes?

 

The IRS website is vague:

 

You generally make this choice when you file your joint return. However, you can also make the choice by filing a joint amended return on Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return within 3 years from the date you filed your original U.S. income tax return or 2 years from the date you paid your income tax for that year, whichever is later. If you make the choice with an amended return, you and your spouse must also amend any returns that you may have filed after the year for which you made the choice.

 

For 2019 and 2020, I can e-file the amendment via turbotax. However, Not sure how if the statement is needed.