fsp

4 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

Yes, your name is on the account in 2020 so report the highest balance of 2020 on your FBAR.

 

Yes she would need an ITIN. That does not make her a resident alien for tax purposes.  You opt in to that by writing a statement you each sign, which is attached to your paper return. See How to Make the Choice on this page https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse  Getting an ITIN also involves having a certified copy of her passport for ID purposes. You’ve run out of time to get that and all the signatures  required from her (tax return, statement electing to be resident for tax purposes, W7). You should file for an extension if you want to go the ITIN and joint filing route.

 

Yes, if the total of her accounts exceeds $10k, which they would since you’ve already stated one account meets that requirement. So all accounts, no matter how small. From FinCen:
Both spouses are required to file separate FBARs, and each spouse must report the entire value of the jointly owned accounts.

 

I use TurboTax so not sure what H&R is saying specifically. Do you live in a community property state?

I believe they are discussing who claims what when two spouses in a community property state are filing MFS. You can ignore that because your wife is not filing a MFS return. It’s only when both spouses are filing separately. You claim and pay it all...whatever it is they are talking about. It would be things like earning interest on a joint bank account. Who puts the interest on their MFS return? In a community property state, you each report half on your Schedule B.
 

Nope. IRS and Immigration are separate parts of the government and don’t share info. The guys at immigration probably don’t know how to file taxes any better than you do. They won’t be auditing your tax return to see if it was accurate. They will only be looking for your income proof with Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support). 

Thank you so much for the very detailed response. You’ve given the most information, aside from what we’ve read. We’re going the MFS route with NRA status, because like you said we’ve run out of time for MFJ unless we file for an extension. For the fbar, the US citizen would only need to report that one joint account, and my spouse’s individual accounts can be left unreported since we're filing MFS?

Help would be greatly appreciated. I’ve gone to several tax accountants, and some have said to file single or I can’t file Married filing separately without a SSN. I can’t seem to find the right person  who can clarify my concerns. 

My beneficiary spouse resides and works in the Philippines, does not have SSN or ITIN and we are currently at the NVC stage of our petition. I, the petitioner, am a dual citizen of the U.S and the Philippines, and I do not have any income in the Philippines. 

My spouse and I have a joint account (does not earn interest)  in the Philippines that is just slightly over the FBAR threshold of 10k, I am prepared to report this, but does it matter that before I was added to the account late in 2020 that it was my spouse’s account and half of the amount was deposited by her before I was added to the account? Do I have the responsibility to report the entire account, regardless of circumstances of how we got above the reporting threshold as a US citizen? 

I've done some research and saw I would have 2 options to file taxes, Filing either Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) or Separately (MFS).

From my understanding, if I file MFJ, I would need to also file a W7 to obtain an ITIN for my spouse to opt-in to make my spouse a resident alien for tax purposes. Will doing so subject her income in the Philippines to U.S taxation? Also, since she is considered a resident alien for tax purposes, would she be required to report her individual bank accounts in the Philippines to FBAR?  

I've read that MFS is the default filing status when marrying a non-resident alien. The procedure would be that in place of a SSN or ITIN, I would place "NRA" for my spouse meaning, Non-resident Alien. If I go this route, e-filing would not be an option, and I would have to paper file. The downside would be on the tax side taking lower deductions, etc, which I'm okay with. H&R block online seems to allow me to go through taxes without a spouse’s SSN, and assist with filing by mail, but I hit a portion about Community Property Tax, and have absolutely no idea what to do for this. Can anyone kindly explain?

I guess the overall worry (aside from the tax issues of course) is if I incorrectly file my taxes, would that affect the petition at the NVC or at the U.S. embassy? Thank you again to any responses.

41 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

You COULD leave out the 2018 and 2019 tax transcripts but there's really no need to.  Pay stubs ARE your current income evidence.  No need for an employer letter if you have a current pay stub.

Ohhh got it! thanks so much!

15 hours ago, pushbrk said:

You will be good to go with the 2020 complete tax return and the others you have.  Be sure to include a current pay stub as evidence of current income.

 

2018 will be a negative factor among the rest of your totality of circumstances.  Not a worry usually unless it's India.

appreciate the response! 

so submitting only 2020 tax return with W2 and 1099 plus current pay stubs with employment verification is good enough? Opt out from submitting 2019 and 2018 tax transcripts? (spouse beneficiary is in the Philippines)

Would appreciate any advice on what to do for submitting supporting evidence with i-864 to the NVC for my spouse’s application. 

The Department of State website “strongly recommends” submitting tax transcript over tax returns, and there can be delays processing tax returns vs tax transcripts. I have not filed my 2020 tax return yet (I’m submitting this week), and would have to file by mail, and tax transcripts take about 6 weeks to process. My tax return for 2020 would include W-2 and 1099, as they’re not over complicated to do. I just put it off for a bit since I wasn’t expecting our i-130 to be approved so quickly. Which delay should i go with? The possible delay by submitting my tax return or wait the 6 weeks to submit my tax transcript for 2020? Any experience submitting tax returns vs tax transcripts? 

Additionally, I’m able to submit 2018 & 2019 tax transcripts. However, for 2018, my income was below 125% of the poverty level as I was still in college. From 2019 onward, it has been over. Would having the 1 year out of 3 being below the 125% level affect the application negatively?