I-864 IRS History

[bmorgz 2]

I am a US/UK dual national, and I have worked in the UK for my entire adult life. I am filling out the I-864. I was offered a job in the US which is why I am moving myself and my spouse and filing under exceptional circumstances, so I do not have a history of working in the US and have never had to file taxes in the US. I have ticked the box on the I-864 that says: "I was not required to file a federal income tax return as my income was below the IRS required level and I have attached evidence to support this."

 

As I have never filed taxes in the US, I don't have evidence to support this. What do I do in this situation? Do I provide my tax returns from the UK? 

 

I make over the minimum required amount on the poverty guidelines to support my household, but am still filing with an extra sponsor for safety. Our additional sponsor does have a tax return history - could this help? 

Edited January 23, 2023 by bmorgz

[bmorgz 2]

1 hour ago, bmorgz said:

I am a US/UK dual national, and I have worked in the UK for my entire adult life. I am filling out the I-864. I was offered a job in the US which is why I am moving myself and my spouse and filing under exceptional circumstances, so I do not have a history of working in the US and have never had to file taxes in the US. I have ticked the box on the I-864 that says: "I was not required to file a federal income tax return as my income was below the IRS required level and I have attached evidence to support this."

 

As I have never filed taxes in the US, I don't have evidence to support this. What do I do in this situation? Do I provide my tax returns from the UK? 

 

I make over the minimum required amount on the poverty guidelines to support my household, but am still filing with an extra sponsor for safety. Our additional sponsor does have a tax return history - could this help? 

EDIT: Have since read some dual citizen posts and learned that I will need to backfile! Any advice or help on that also appreciated.

[iwannaplay54 985]

9 minutes ago, bmorgz said:

EDIT: Have since read some dual citizen posts and learned that I will need to backfile! Any advice or help on that also appreciated.

Oh you may not have owed taxes but you assuredly had to file.

I hope you haven’t (ever) been keeping more than $10k in your UK bank account.  The penalties for not complying with FBAR are brutal.  FBAR is the number one reason for people to dump their US citizenship.

 

Your income in the UK is (zero) for immigration purposes however if you are doing an intra-company transfer it will count as long as it continues from the same source.

Edited January 23, 2023 by iwannaplay54

[bmorgz 2]

2 minutes ago, iwannaplay54 said:

Oh you may not have owed taxes but you assuredly had to file.

I hope you haven’t (ever) been keeping more than $10k in your UK bank account.  The penalties for not complying with FBAR are brutal.  FBAR is the number one reason for people to dump their US citizenship.

I have not had more than 10k in my UK bank account, thank goodness so I should not have to struggle with FBAR. Do you have any advice for backfiling? I cannot believe I never knew this, I'm so worried.

[bmorgz 2]

59 minutes ago, iwannaplay54 said:

Oh you may not have owed taxes but you assuredly had to file.

I hope you haven’t (ever) been keeping more than $10k in your UK bank account.  The penalties for not complying with FBAR are brutal.  FBAR is the number one reason for people to dump their US citizenship.

 

Your income in the UK is (zero) for immigration purposes however if you are doing an intra-company transfer it will count as long as it continues from the same source.

It's a new job so it won't be an intra-company transfer. I am going to schedule an appointment with a tax professional to see if I need to backfile, otherwise I have found this advice which gives me confidence there will be lenience for my case and I can file I-864 with either an explanation or my backfiled tax returns: 

 

If you’re a U.S. citizen abroad and have never filed a tax return, you can relax. The IRS built in a safeguard for honest expats who truly didn’t know they had to file. You can get caught up penalty-free with Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures. To qualify, you must:

 

- Have lived in a foreign country for at least 330 days during one of the last three years

 

- Confirm it was a genuine mistake you failed to file your U.S. tax return and FBAR

 

 

(Really just had such a huge panic attack, had no idea that I needed to be filing in the US because I have lived in the UK since I was a minor and my parents didn't know I needed to be filing either. So worried I cannot believe it.)

Edited January 23, 2023 by bmorgz

[iwannaplay54 985]

8 hours ago, bmorgz said:

I have not had more than 10k in my UK bank account, thank goodness so I should not have to struggle with FBAR. Do you have any advice for backfiling? I cannot believe I never knew this, I'm so worried.

FBAR terrified us working overseas.  The penalties are steep.

Intent to establish US residence is another hurdle.  Job hunting is one thing on the list.  It’s typically advised to open a US bank account and start moving assets over.  Is there somewhere in the US you can temporarily address to?  Family member?  We used my parents once and my brother another time for this.

[Crazy Cat 41,811]

10 hours ago, iwannaplay54 said:

Oh you may not have owed taxes but you assuredly had to file.

I hope you haven’t (ever) been keeping more than $10k in your UK bank account.  The penalties for not complying with FBAR are brutal.  FBAR is the number one reason for people to dump their US citizenship.

 

Your income in the UK is (zero) for immigration purposes however if you are doing an intra-company transfer it will count as long as it continues from the same source.

Ditto on the FBAR.  I hate that thing.  Luckily, we have used a really great CPA, who knows her stuff, for our taxes since 2017.  

Edited January 23, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[bmorgz 2]

2 hours ago, iwannaplay54 said:

FBAR terrified us working overseas.  The penalties are steep.

Intent to establish US residence is another hurdle.  Job hunting is one thing on the list.  It’s typically advised to open a US bank account and start moving assets over.  Is there somewhere in the US you can temporarily address to?  Family member?  We used my parents once and my brother another time for this.

I'm currently living in the US and have a bank account and job and everything. The job offer is what got our I-130 accepted, and we are currently in the stage of waiting to schedule my husband's interview. He is still in the UK. I did lots of research last night on dual nationals (especially dual nationals who have lived away from the US since they were minors) and it seems my issue is quite common. I've scheduled and appointment with a tax professional to help me backfile my taxes for three years and it turns out there are leniencies for dual nationals in regards to FBAR. Hoping it all works out.

[TBoneTX 45,258]

A post and replies to it have been split from this thread and moved to the Tax & Finances forum.