i-864 no 2022 tax return

[An D 27]

hi,

 

have a question regarding i-864 and submitting your most recent tax return.

 

since I am petitioning for my spouse abroad, they aren't here in the US, so they don't have a SSN and applying for a ITIN while a possibility just seemed like a huge hassle with having to get a certified passport copy and getting it over to me, etc then mailing all that stuff into the IRS. So, I thought we would just wait until she gets here, delay filing my tax return (of which I am owed a substantial refund, and of which I legally am allowed to delay since I am owed a refund) until she is here and has a SSN and just do married filing jointly. 

 

That means that I (plan) to not have a 2022 tax return submitted until later this year. I do however have all my tax returns going back to 2016 prior to 2022 readily available. I also have worked at my current employer for 6+ years full time and am considerably above the income requirements, have all my W2s and pay statements.

 

How much of an issue is it that I don't have my last year (2022) tax return? What will happen if I submit an explanation letter, W2s, pay statements for 5 years (with no breaks), and my 2021 tax return instead? 

 

[Mike E 11,739]

If you file I-864 before the April 2023 tax filing deadline, no problem. 

[An D 27]

4 minutes ago, Mike E said:

If you file I-864 before the April 2023 tax filing deadline, no problem. 

And what if it's after? I mean, even if I managed to submit the return with the itin application before submitting the I-864, It's going to take months for the IRS to do anything with it. Would submitting the tax return I send the IRS along with copy of the itin application be sufficient? Or are they looking for an actually completed tax return, and not just one that was submitted? Because either way, it would be a while.

[Liam2021 583]

24 minutes ago, An D said:

And what if it's after? I mean, even if I managed to submit the return with the itin application before submitting the I-864, It's going to take months for the IRS to do anything with it. Would submitting the tax return I send the IRS along with copy of the itin application be sufficient? Or are they looking for an actually completed tax return, and not just one that was submitted? Because either way, it would be a while.

Submit your I-864 together with 2021 tax transcript, then bring 2022 tax to the interview.

Edited February 28, 2023 by Liam2021

[Mike E 11,739]

33 minutes ago, An D said:

And what if it's after?

Then 2022 has become your most recent tax return and that's what you use for I-864.

33 minutes ago, An D said:

 

I mean, even if I managed to submit the return with the itin application before submitting the I-864, It's going to take months for the IRS to do anything with it.

That's ok.

33 minutes ago, An D said:

Would submitting the tax return I send the IRS along with copy of the itin application be sufficient? Or are they looking for an actually completed tax return, and not just one that was submitted? Because either way, it would be a while.

A submitted tax return with all forms, schedules, W-2s, and 1099s is a completed tax return 

[An D 27]

Just now, Mike E said:

Then 2022 has become your most recent tax return and that's what you use for I-864.

That's ok.

A submitted tax return with all forms, schedules, W-2s, and 1099s is a completed tax return 

I'm starting to think that it might be easier and safer to just do married filing separately now, use that for I-864, and adjust to married filing jointly later when spouse arrives. That way I have everything I need for the most recent tax year and there's no explaining to do. Whatever way I look at it, any of the options are a hassle (the itin process may be the biggest since I'd need to be mailed a certified passport from her and she doesn't even have that yet). 

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,923]

1 minute ago, An D said:

I'm starting to think that it might be easier and safer to just do married filing separately now, use that for I-864, and adjust to married filing jointly later when spouse arrives.

That is a viable option.  Many people have done that.

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, An D said:

I'm starting to think that it might be easier and safer to just do married filing separately now

Yes.

1 minute ago, An D said:

 

use that for I-864

Provided you don't rush your tax return to make an I-864 deadline, and make errors, that is fine.

1 minute ago, An D said:

 and adjust to married filing jointly later when spouse arrives.

s/adjust/amend/

 

Adjust means something else in immigration terminology.

 

1 minute ago, An D said:

That way I have everything I need for the most recent tax year and there's no explaining to do.

Yes. When you are explaining you are losing

1 minute ago, An D said:

 

Whatever way I look at it, any of the options are a hassle (the itin process may be the biggest since I'd need to be mailed a certified passport from her and she doesn't even have that yet). 

Yes. MFS usually requires a mailed in tax return though experiences vary. Some TaxACT filers have e-filed MFS. One hypothesis is that this is state dependent. But even with a mailed in tax return, it is the least of all evils.