Tax return for I-864 with no US income

[aerodnight 76]

Hi guys,

 

I'm close to sending a complete AOS package to the NVC and was wondering what should I do in regards to my tax returns. I'm an expat, so all the income I had in the last few years was non-US based, thus I assume that everywhere in I-864, when asked for income(current annual individual income, last three years incomes) I should put 0? If so, then there are two questions I have

1. I know I'm supposed to attach tax return/transcript. I can't get tax transcript because I have no proof of residency in the US, so I'm left with tax return. In my 2021 tax return I have total income around $20k, but I'm supposed to write $0 in the I-864, since it has to be only US based income on this form? Won't there be a problem that numbers on attached I-864 don't match the numbers entered into the I-864?

2. As for W-2 and 1099, all I have to do is to add a statement to CEAC that I don't have them, since I didn't work in the US? I've seen many people getting RFE for not mentioning that on their applications.

3. I'm using external services(Expat Tax Online) to file my tax returns, and for the last year I got from the an almost 50 pages package with my 1040 and few other forms that are necessary for expat filing(1116, 2555, FBAR, IRS e-file Signature Authorization, etc.) Can I upload all of that together or do I need to extract only 1040 from that package?

[pushbrk 13,133]

20 minutes ago, aerodnight said:

Hi guys,

 

I'm close to sending a complete AOS package to the NVC and was wondering what should I do in regards to my tax returns. I'm an expat, so all the income I had in the last few years was non-US based, thus I assume that everywhere in I-864, when asked for income(current annual individual income, last three years incomes) I should put 0? If so, then there are two questions I have

1. I know I'm supposed to attach tax return/transcript. I can't get tax transcript because I have no proof of residency in the US, so I'm left with tax return. In my 2021 tax return I have total income around $20k, but I'm supposed to write $0 in the I-864, since it has to be only US based income on this form? Won't there be a problem that numbers on attached I-864 don't match the numbers entered into the I-864?

2. As for W-2 and 1099, all I have to do is to add a statement to CEAC that I don't have them, since I didn't work in the US? I've seen many people getting RFE for not mentioning that on their applications.

3. I'm using external services(Expat Tax Online) to file my tax returns, and for the last year I got from the an almost 50 pages package with my 1040 and few other forms that are necessary for expat filing(1116, 2555, FBAR, IRS e-file Signature Authorization, etc.) Can I upload all of that together or do I need to extract only 1040 from that package?

1.  The numbers will match.  You're stating what YOU think is your income.  But zero will appear on the total income line of your 1040.

 

2. Correct

 

2.  Complete tax return means everything that would have been included in the package if you filed by mail.  Upload it all.  Be sure to scan at a low enough resolution to stay under the 2 mg maximum.

[aerodnight 76]

8 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Complete tax return means everything that would have been included in the package if you filed by mail.  Upload it all.  Be sure to scan at a low enough resolution to stay under the 2 mg maximum.

It's already in the PDF version, so no need for me to scan I guess, fortunately.

11 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

But zero will appear on the total income line of your 1040

See the attachment, I can't find 0 in any income field but it could be that I still misinterpret something

[pushbrk 13,133]

So, the number you enter for current income is zero.  For each of the tax years, you enter then "total income" number.  

 

That the file is already PDF is great.  What's the file size though?

[aerodnight 76]

47 pages, 1.1MB in total so I'm good.

 

I just realized that I didn't file my tax return in 2019 because I was earning below the threshold required to file. So to summarize, for my current individual annual income I will enter 0, for 2021 and 2020 I will enter numbers from line 9 in 1040 form and for 2019 I have to enter 0, but do I need to attach an explanation that I wasn't required to file in that year?

[SteveInBostonI130 3,486]

30 minutes ago, aerodnight said:

47 pages, 1.1MB in total so I'm good.

 

I just realized that I didn't file my tax return in 2019 because I was earning below the threshold required to file. So to summarize, for my current individual annual income I will enter 0, for 2021 and 2020 I will enter numbers from line 9 in 1040 form and for 2019 I have to enter 0, but do I need to attach an explanation that I wasn't required to file in that year?

 

There is a question on the I-864 that asks if you filed income tax for the previous 3 years.  Your answer will be "No", and then you'll need to explain you filed for 2020 and 2021 but did not file in 2019 due to income being below threshold.

[pushbrk 13,133]

12 hours ago, aerodnight said:

47 pages, 1.1MB in total so I'm good.

 

I just realized that I didn't file my tax return in 2019 because I was earning below the threshold required to file. So to summarize, for my current individual annual income I will enter 0, for 2021 and 2020 I will enter numbers from line 9 in 1040 form and for 2019 I have to enter 0, but do I need to attach an explanation that I wasn't required to file in that year?

No.  Current income is a separate question on a different page than where you enter tax return information.  It's October 12, 2022.  Nothing from 2021 is current.  All tax return information is about the past.

 

As for 2019, there is a box to check indicating the reason for not filing.  Check it and move on.

[aerodnight 76]

9 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

No.  Current income is a separate question on a different page than where you enter tax return information.  It's October 12, 2022.  Nothing from 2021 is current.  All tax return information is about the past.

 

As for 2019, there is a box to check indicating the reason for not filing.  Check it and move on.

And because it's past April, then the most recent tax year is 2021 since my tax return was already accepted few months ago?

[pushbrk 13,133]

3 minutes ago, aerodnight said:

And because it's past April, then the most recent tax year is 2021 since my tax return was already accepted few months ago?

Correct.  Be literal.  It helps