Tax filing while removing conditions

[KennethBk 67]

Hi everyone,

I am currently awaiting my removal of conditions, I submitted in August  so I know I have a long way to go. For the past three years, my wife and I filed married filing jointly but this year our tax advisor advised we file married filing separately so we don’t owe the government a lot of money. Do you think this will affect my case in the future?

[OldUser 6,636]

8 minutes ago, KennethBk said:

Hi everyone,

I am currently awaiting my removal of conditions, I submitted in August  so I know I have a long way to go. For the past three years, my wife and I filed married filing jointly but this year our tax advisor advised we file married filing separately so we don’t owe the government a lot of money. Do you think this will affect my case in the future?

Probably wouldn't make much difference if you file as Married Filed Separately. The question is: are you saving a lot by filing MFS vs MFJ? If savings are minuscule, file MFJ. Be always ready to explain why you filed under MFS option in the future if asked by IO.

Edited February 18, 2023 by OldUser

[KennethBk 67]

Just now, OldUser said:

Probably wouldn't make much difference if you file as Married Filed Separately. The question is: are you saving a lot by filing MFS vs MFJ? 

I’ll know more tomorrow, but we will be owing $11,000 if we file jointly. 

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, KennethBk said:

I’ll know more tomorrow, but we will be owing $11,000 if we file jointly. 

Owing how much if  MFS?

[KennethBk 67]

1 minute ago, Mike E said:

Owing how much if  MFS?

Honestly I’m not sure, she is still working on it and will let us know tomorrow. But we made over 160k together, so she suggested filing married filing separately and claiming our child on the lesser income. My wife (USC) made less than me less year, so I’m just wondering if it will have any effect with USCIS.

[OldUser 6,636]

7 minutes ago, KennethBk said:

Honestly I’m not sure, she is still working on it and will let us know tomorrow. But we made over 160k together, so she suggested filing married filing separately and claiming our child on the lesser income. My wife (USC) made less than me less year, so I’m just wondering if it will have any effect with USCIS.

Get all information first to make an informed decision. Understand the difference of taxes owned when filing MFJ vs MFS. Ask tax advisor to calculate both and present to you. Ideally, do MFJ. But if tax burden is substantially lower, you could go with MFS.

Edited February 18, 2023 by OldUser

[KennethBk 67]

1 minute ago, OldUser said:

Get all information to make an informed decision first. Understand the difference of taxes owned when filing MFJ vs MFS. Ask tax advisor to calculate both and present to you. Ideally, do MFJ. But if tax burden is substantially lower, you could go with MFS.

Sounds good, thanks for your help!

[Mike E 11,739]

6 minutes ago, KennethBk said:

if it will have any effect with USCIS.

Joint returns are strong evidence of bonafide marriage. If there will be an N-400 on the basis of 3 years marriage to a U.S. citizen, MFJ is more such evidence. 
 

 

[Ayrton 965]

48 minutes ago, KennethBk said:

Honestly I’m not sure, she is still working on it and will let us know tomorrow. But we made over 160k together, so she suggested filing married filing separately and claiming our child on the lesser income. My wife (USC) made less than me less year, so I’m just wondering if it will have any effect with USCIS.

If you are both W2 employees, you both probably messed up your W4s. Make sure you follow Step 2 to account for multiple jobs in the household and don't own the same amount next year.

 

In terms of MFJ vs MFS, I doubt filing MFS will bring any advantages to total tax owned. 

[KennethBk 67]

2 hours ago, Mike E said:

Joint returns are strong evidence of bonafide marriage. If there will be an N-400 on the basis of 3 years marriage to a U.S. citizen, MFJ is more such evidence. 
 

 

Yeah I figured the same, but I guess it depends on the difference. Jointly we already paid over 25k on federal taxes so paying an extra 11k seems like a lot. 

[KennethBk 67]

2 hours ago, Ayrton said:

If you are both W2 employees, you both probably messed up your W4s. Make sure you follow Step 2 to account for multiple jobs in the household and don't own the same amount next year.

 

In terms of MFJ vs MFS, I doubt filing MFS will bring any advantages to total tax owned. 

Yes, we definitely messed up our W4. We will definitely not be making the same mistakes next year, the tax advisor already advised us to amend the W4s. I’ll know more tomorrow so we can make a more informed decision. Thank you!

[Stein 276]

Unlikely there will be a large difference filing separately.  On another note you will probably end up with a decent sized underpayment penalty on top of the tax if you are $11,000 under.  They sure don't give you any benefit you if you have a $11,000 return but they do like to hit you for owing too much.

[Sarge2155 4,587]

5 hours ago, Stein said:

Unlikely there will be a large difference filing separately.  On another note you will probably end up with a decent sized underpayment penalty on top of the tax if you are $11,000 under.  They sure don't give you any benefit you if you have a $11,000 return but they do like to hit you for owing too much.

 Plus they will want you to pay next years taxes quarterly, its not required but they always suggest it. Yes the underpayment penalty is going be substantial!

Edited February 18, 2023 by Sarge2155

[Scandi 4,166]

No it doesn't matter if you file jointly or separately, that's a personal choice and not an immigration issue at all. Your spouse's SSN and your address is the same and will show on both your return transcripts, that's what USCIS want to see. So instead of sending a joint tax transcript to USCIS, you send both your and your spouse's return transcripts if you file separately. That's all, no difference otherwise.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

19 hours ago, KennethBk said:

Yeah I figured the same, but I guess it depends on the difference. Jointly we already paid over 25k on federal taxes so paying an extra 11k seems like a lot. 

???

 

Did you pay over $25k on Fed income tax only, or did you pay $25k for Fed income+Social Security+Medicare taxes?

 

Some simple tax math:

 

$160,000 

-$25,900 standard deduction

=$134,100 taxable:

MFJ Liability: $9,615+$11,121 = $20,736

-$2000 qualifying child credit (1 child)

= $18,736.

 

The above, if you made $169,999 together:

$20,936 tax owed as MFJ

 

By my calculation above, you should be getting between $4k to $6k+ refund if filing MFJ and if you payed over $25k in just Fed income tax.

 

If the $25k was for fed income+ssi+med, then up to $13k was just for ssi+med = $12k in fed income tax withholdings.  In this case you would owe $6.7k to $8.9k, depending on the exact amounts.

 

Also note, the above is assume all income is wage income.