Can Filing Wrong Tax Relationship Status Hurt CR1 Visa Petition?

[pushbrk 12,878]

7 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

Since I have had content removed that was advising something even less "illegal", I now try to follow the TOS to a T, and would never dare to advise someone to misrepresent their marital status. 

Yes, fingers have been wagged at me for providing this information before, but from members, not moderators.  Maybe some of them filed single themselves.  I did, but have no idea how MANY others have done the same. I'm not advising anybody to do anything.  I'm saying there is no immigration related consequence for this action.

 

[TaskenLander 13]

4 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

??

 

You do realize that by married filing jointly, with the W7 application, you get double the standard deduction and the tax tables are much more favorable?  I would not be surprised if you are due a refund compared to filing MFS.

 

 

That's absolutely the situation haha. Filing 'married separately'  -- I owe $1K, filing 'married jointly' I GET $1K. Am I able to file 'married separately' now, pay, apply for an ITIN, and once received, amend my 2022 taxes as 'married jointly' to hopefully receive some kind of refund? I have never sought to amend a tax return before, so please pardon my ignorance on the matter.  

[Sam Burns 155]

1 hour ago, TaskenLander said:

Lol. You think I can get an 'Alf' stamp?? 

 

Real (embarrassing) question -- since I was able to save a PDF of my Form 1040 when I went to go file w/ TurboTax, it should just be as simple as copying what I put in those fields onto the printed blank copy I just printed, no? Yes, I know this is another tax, non visa, question but you seem like "good people", so I thought I'd ask! 😊

 

Thanks in advance, newbie

turbotax (the app, if it’s the website I’m not sure but I’d be surprised if this was not the case) allows you to just print your filled-out tax forms for paper filing. You don’t need to re-enter anything again or fill anything out by hand. For goodness sake don’t do that…

Edited May 8, 2023 by Sam Burns

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

2 hours ago, TaskenLander said:

That's absolutely the situation haha. Filing 'married separately'  -- I owe $1K, filing 'married jointly' I GET $1K. Am I able to file 'married separately' now, pay, apply for an ITIN, and once received, amend my 2022 taxes as 'married jointly' to hopefully receive some kind of refund? I have never sought to amend a tax return before, so please pardon my ignorance on the matter.  

 

To file MFS, you'd need to paper file with your spouse's SSN field hand-written to "NRA" (Non Resident Alien)

 

You can file that way and amend your taxes within the next 3 years.

 

Or you can fill out the W7 and paper file your 2022 1040 as MFJ.  Send both to the IRS address for submitting the W7.

[TaskenLander 13]

16 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

To file MFS, you'd need to paper file with your spouse's SSN field hand-written to "NRA" (Non Resident Alien)

 

You can file that way and amend your taxes within the next 3 years.

 

Or you can fill out the W7 and paper file your 2022 1040 as MFJ.  Send both to the IRS address for submitting the W7.

I cannot file 'married jointly' while applying for an ITIN for my wife and still receive the tax credit,  though.  I'm going to file 'married separately' and still apply for an ITIN for her to avoid confusion and pay the amount owed to prevent any further interest. I was asking if anyone knew if I could later amend it to MFJ to see about getting something of a refund for the 2022 tax year. No biggie if not, just thought that's what SteveInBostonI130 was suggesting was possible.

[SalishSea 17,827]

3 hours ago, TaskenLander said:

That's absolutely the situation haha. Filing 'married separately'  -- I owe $1K, filing 'married jointly' I GET $1K. Am I able to file 'married separately' now, pay, apply for an ITIN, and once received, amend my 2022 taxes as 'married jointly' to hopefully receive some kind of refund? I have never sought to amend a tax return before, so please pardon my ignorance on the matter.  

With the extension, when are your taxes due?  Perhaps you'll have the ITIN before that, right?  That is what I would do, if possible.

[Lemonslice 4,837]

3 hours ago, TaskenLander said:

Lol. You think I can get an 'Alf' stamp?? 

 

Real (embarrassing) question -- since I was able to save a PDF of my Form 1040 when I went to go file w/ TurboTax, it should just be as simple as copying what I put in those fields onto the printed blank copy I just printed, no? Yes, I know this is another tax, non visa, question but you seem like "good people", so I thought I'd ask! 😊

 

Thanks in advance, newbie

Just make sure you also print/attach any required schedule/forms. Keep a copy for yourself, will be useful when you amend your taxes later. 

[TaskenLander 13]

23 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

With the extension, when are your taxes due?  Perhaps you'll have the ITIN before that, right?  That is what I would do, if possible.

Dangit. That is such lateral thinking I would have never thought of that haha. They say an ITIN can take up to seven weeks to process. My worry was what if my wife is approved before then (not too likely maybe) and I cannot move on to the next part of the process -- which entails me showing USCIS proof of my tax return. Last processing status estimate showed '3 months' wait time. But now we also have to resubmit her I-130a as I left several boxes blank on the form as I wasn't aware I had to fill in every single box (please see my other thread if interested).

 

Hmm.. I think I have until October? I already filed the extension. Do you think it's worth submitting the ITIN request *now and finishing my taxes AFTER we get one back? Perhaps this officially a question for the IRS ha? 

 

Thank you for your reply!

[TaskenLander 13]

19 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

Just make sure you also print/attach any required schedule/forms. Keep a copy for yourself, will be useful when you amend your taxes later. 

Oh, I'm so OCD I make copies of my copies haha. Will do though; thanks for the recommendation! 

[Lemonslice 4,837]

7 minutes ago, TaskenLander said:

Oh, I'm so OCD I make copies of my copies haha. Will do though; thanks for the recommendation! 

This is the only way 🤐

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

1 hour ago, TaskenLander said:

I cannot file 'married jointly' while applying for an ITIN for my wife and still receive the tax credit,  though.  I'm going to file 'married separately' and still apply for an ITIN for her to avoid confusion and pay the amount owed to prevent any further interest. I was asking if anyone knew if I could later amend it to MFJ to see about getting something of a refund for the 2022 tax year. No biggie if not, just thought that's what SteveInBostonI130 was suggesting was possible.

 

You can file MFJ and W7 at the same time, and take advantage of MFJ standard deductions and tax table.  That is how my wife and I filed our 2019 taxes.  Got over 7k in refunds.

[TaskenLander 13]

4 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

You can file MFJ and W7 at the same time, and take advantage of MFJ standard deductions and tax table.  That is how my wife and I filed our 2019 taxes.  Got over 7k in refunds.

According to IRS.gov, I can't though: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw7#en_US_202112_publink10002180

 

"The ITIN can’t be used to claim certain federal tax credits.

Individuals filing tax returns using an ITIN aren’t eligible for the earned income credit (EIC)."

 

Am I understanding this wrong? Thanks.

 

 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

Just now, TaskenLander said:

According to IRS.gov, I can't though: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw7#en_US_202112_publink10002180

 

"The ITIN can’t be used to claim certain federal tax credits.

Individuals filing tax returns using an ITIN aren’t eligible for the earned income credit (EIC)."

 

Am I understanding this wrong? Thanks.

 

 

 

Correct.  EIC cannot be claimed by someone with ITIN.

 

But ITIN qualifies for the rest of MFJ benefits.  For example, standard deduction of $25.8k vs $12.9k, and tax brackets that kick in at higher incomes bands than for MFS.

[TaskenLander 13]

14 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

Correct.  EIC cannot be claimed by someone with ITIN.

 

But ITIN qualifies for the rest of MFJ benefits.  For example, standard deduction of $25.8k vs $12.9k, and tax brackets that kick in at higher incomes bands than for MFS.

So, in other words -- bare with me please as I'm somethin' of a dumb dumb clearly lol -- submitting my return 'MFJ' along with a W-7 ITIN request (for her), *I can still qualify for the some kind of credit? 

Edited May 8, 2023 by TaskenLander

[SalishSea 17,827]

1 hour ago, TaskenLander said:

Dangit. That is such lateral thinking I would have never thought of that haha. They say an ITIN can take up to seven weeks to process. My worry was what if my wife is approved before then (not too likely maybe) and I cannot move on to the next part of the process -- which entails me showing USCIS proof of my tax return. Last processing status estimate showed '3 months' wait time. But now we also have to resubmit her I-130a as I left several boxes blank on the form as I wasn't aware I had to fill in every single box (please see my other thread if interested).

 

Hmm.. I think I have until October? I already filed the extension. Do you think it's worth submitting the ITIN request *now and finishing my taxes AFTER we get one back? Perhaps this officially a question for the IRS ha? 

 

Thank you for your reply!

I would for sure.  However, I don't know how long ITINs are currently taking to be issued.  If < 6 months, I'd say try it.

 

If your spouse gets scheduled for an interview before that, you can always file as MFS (so that you'll have evidence of filing for the interview), and amend your filing status to MFJ later.