Should I have filed taxes as married?

[cvdrpr23 2]

Hi everyone!

 

I feel like such an idiot for asking this question and potentially messing up my husbands documents for this.

 

My husband and I got married in 2021. I am the petitioner (U.S citizen) and he is the beneficiary. He is not from the U.S and has never entered the U.S (doesn’t have a SSN). I was in such a rush this year completing my taxes trying to avoid the penalty that I filed as single instead of one of the married options. I did this b/c he doesn’t have a SSN and I assumed my marriage is not considered “real” as of now to the U.S gov.

 

 

Our CR1 visa application was sent to the NVC and I know i’ll have to submit my taxes. Will this affect us? And if so, what can i do?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Rocio0010 5,579]

Yes, you should have filed as married. It doesn’t matter if your husband is not here; what matters is the fact that you were married by December 31st, 2021. You should amend them prior to submitting your application. 

[Ctavarez90 244]

2 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Yes, you should have filed as married. It doesn’t matter if your husband is not here; what matters is the fact that you were married by December 31st, 2021. You should amend them prior to submitting your application. 

No it doesn’t matter. My tax preparer advised me to file as single because of my husband not being here and not being able to submit my marriage certificate in my state even though we are married. I have also received advice that the CO doesn’t really look at the status of what You file. It’s just an overpayment of taxes on your part. You can always amend if you want later. 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

Then your tax preparer is wrong. As per the IRS guidelines, if you are married, you need to file "married". The choice is between married filing jointly (MFJ) or separately (MFS). See Non resident spouse

12 minutes ago, Ctavarez90 said:

submit my marriage certificate in my state even though we are married.

Your tax preparer doesn't know much, tbh. You don't need a marriage certificate to file. 

In these cases, a "tax preparer" is not the best choice. Your best bet is to find an international CPA.

13 minutes ago, Ctavarez90 said:

I have also received advice that the CO doesn’t really look at the status of what You file

Where did you get that advice? Is it an official source? Sure, the tax status is not going to be a deal breaker, if you present other substantial evidence. I doubt you will be denied or even red flagged for this, but your preparer is wrong, that is for sure.

 

19 minutes ago, Ctavarez90 said:

. It’s just an overpayment of taxes on your part.

It might be.

 

19 minutes ago, Ctavarez90 said:

You can always amend if you want later.

Correct.

[Ctavarez90 244]

12 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

Then your tax preparer is wrong. As per the IRS guidelines, if you are married, you need to file "married". The choice is between married filing jointly (MFJ) or separately (MFS). See Non resident spouse

Your tax preparer doesn't know much, tbh. You don't need a marriage certificate to file. 

In these cases, a "tax preparer" is not the best choice. Your best bet is to find an international CPA.

Where did you get that advice? Is it an official source? Sure, the tax status is not going to be a deal breaker, if you present other substantial evidence. I doubt you will be denied or even red flagged for this, but your preparer is wrong, that is for sure.

 

It might be.

 

Correct.

The fact that it is not a red flag or deal breaker was stated in another post on this forum. That’s where I got the information. I asked several different tax preparers and they advised me to do this since I can amend later. 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

3 minutes ago, Ctavarez90 said:

I asked several different tax preparers and they advised me to do this since I can amend later. 

Yep, you can amend later. At this point it is not so much a USCIS issue, it's an IRS one. My point is, sometimes tax preparers do not know much about international taxes, and thus make mistakes, just like in your case.

In cases such as yours and OPs, the choice is between MFJ or MFS. If you do MFJ, then spouse would need to file for an ITIN. For this, you'd need to paper file. This  is the only way to do it as there is no way to scan (IRS needs originals) of the supporting documents and most online services don't even allow the form W7 or ask for it when you go through their online filing system.

 

 

[Ctavarez90 244]

Just now, Rocio0010 said:

Yep, you can amend later. At this point it is not so much a USCIS issue, it's an IRS one. My point is, sometimes tax preparers do not know much about international taxes, and thus make mistakes, just like in your case.

In cases such as yours and OPs, the choice is between MFJ or MFS. If you do MFJ, then spouse would need to file for an ITIN. For this, you'd need to paper file. This  is the only way to do it as there is no way to scan (IRS needs originals) of the supporting documents and most online services don't even allow the form W7 or ask for it when you go through their online filing system.

 

 

Okay I had no idea. That is good to know for the future. And it is also good to know that when my husband has his CO interview if the CO officer does ask we can tell him I was advised by the tax preparer and didn’t know the other options. Good to know it won’t affect us really

[Rocio0010 5,579]

7 minutes ago, Ctavarez90 said:

I was advised by the tax preparer

Oh yeah. I've learned by experience that usually, "mainstream" tax preparers do not know much about international tax filing. I've had to amend a couple taxes myself because of that! It gets easier once the spouse is here and if there are foreign bank accounts to report, etc.

[Ctavarez90 244]

3 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

Oh yeah. I've learned by experience that usually, "mainstream" tax preparers do not know much about international tax filing. I've had to amend a couple taxes myself because of that! It gets easier once the spouse is here and if there are foreign bank accounts to report, etc.

Well thank you for that information. I’m glad I do not have to worry about it affecting us as of now. I will amend my return once my husband arrives in the US. That should be okay to do then

[Redro 4,611]

I believe  filing MFS and Single result in similar tax benefits. 

@JeanneAdil always advocates for filing MJS with an ITIN for the foreign spouse as they interviewed out of a high fraud consulate.

@pushbrk states filing status doesn't matter and he has never seen a denial because a USC filed single when they were not. 

Either way... it shouldn't impact your case unless it does 😐

But, if you want to amend your taxes change it to MFS as your foreign spouse does not require an ITIN. You can just write NRA instead of SSN/ITIN.

 

Traditional tax preparers don't know anything when it comes to an international angle.

Several of my (unmarried) friends  have been told they don't have to file taxes because they are not living/employed in the US.

THIS IS NOT TRUE! 

Edited May 11, 2022 by ROK2USA

[Chancy 6,241]

19 minutes ago, RoHus said:

I would trust what your tax preparer suggest compared to listening to stranger above who obviously "knows everything" about your situation. They just like to argue and tend to be annoyingly wanna be right all the time. You and your tax preparer knows the best about your situation.

 

Except that the tax preparer is wrong.  From the official IRS website -- https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501#en_US_2021_publink1000220696

 

"Filing status. Your filing status generally depends on whether you are single or married. Whether you are single or married is determined at the end of your tax year, which is December 31 for most taxpayers."

 

Married taxpayers can file either as MFJ or MFS (or HOH if they qualify).  MFS does not require the foreign spouse's SSN nor ITIN.  Based on IRS regulations, the only criteria that makes it proper for a married person to file Single is when they are legally separated.  Not something that someone petitioning a spouse would want to claim.

 

That said, the CO would likely not care about the OP's tax filing status.  As mentioned before, this is an IRS issue, not an immigration issue.  And one that can easily be corrected with a tax amendment after the immigrant spouse moves to the US and gets SSN.  No need to amend prior to the visa interview.

 

[Cheschirecat 176]

2 hours ago, Ctavarez90 said:

Okay I had no idea. That is good to know for the future. And it is also good to know that when my husband has his CO interview if the CO officer does ask we can tell him I was advised by the tax preparer and didn’t know the other options. Good to know it won’t affect us really

Exactly… just remember you are married no matter where it was obtained. 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

27 minutes ago, ROK2USA said:

Traditional tax preparers don't know anything when it comes to an international angle.

Exactly. Sometimes the mistake can be really simple and not dangerous at all, like in this case. But in some other cases, I have seen traditional tax preparers make huge, costly mistakes. So no, just because they are tax preparers it doesn't mean they know what's best for the situation,

 

29 minutes ago, ROK2USA said:

THIS IS NOT TRUE! 

AMEN. AMEN.AMEN

[Ctavarez90 244]

31 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Except that the tax preparer is wrong.  From the official IRS website -- https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501#en_US_2021_publink1000220696

 

"Filing status. Your filing status generally depends on whether you are single or married. Whether you are single or married is determined at the end of your tax year, which is December 31 for most taxpayers."

 

Married taxpayers can file either as MFJ or MFS (or HOH if they qualify).  MFS does not require the foreign spouse's SSN nor ITIN.  Based on IRS regulations, the only criteria that makes it proper for a married person to file Single is when they are legally separated.  Not something that someone petitioning a spouse would want to claim.

 

That said, the CO would likely not care about the OP's tax filing status.  As mentioned before, this is an IRS issue, not an immigration issue.  And one that can easily be corrected with a tax amendment after the immigrant spouse moves to the US and gets SSN.  No need to amend prior to the visa interview.

 

All of this information is so helpful. I had no idea my husband does not need an ITIN number if we file MFS. We will absolutely amend my tax return once his visa is issued and he arrives

[Ctavarez90 244]

11 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

Exactly. Sometimes the mistake can be really simple and not dangerous at all, like in this case. But in some other cases, I have seen traditional tax preparers make huge, costly mistakes. So no, just because they are tax preparers it doesn't mean they know what's best for the situation,

 

AMEN. AMEN.AMEN

Would you recommend doing your taxes on your own or actually going to a tax office when it comes to this stuff?