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kumakun

Will my foreign fiance have to pay federal income tax for 2016?

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Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Japan
Timeline

Hi everyone,

Apologies if this has been addressed somewhere in this forum. I can't imagine it hasn't but I've not been able to find solid answers here.

My fiance will be arriving from Japan on a K-1 visa either at the end of August or end of September 2016 (we'll determine exact date once he has his visa in hand in the next couple of weeks). Based on the IRS' "183-day test" (and formula), he will have been present in the U.S. for ~168 days or less in 2014, 2015, and 2016. He will be resigning from his job in Tokyo in a couple of weeks and will terminate employment a few weeks before he moves here, so all income earned in 2016 will have been earned in Japan while he was living in Japan.

Since we won't be getting married until October/November, we don't anticipate he will have his green card or work authorization by the end of 2016, so we don't anticipate he will earn any income in the U.S. this year.

So...will he need to file a U.S. federal tax return for 2016? And will any of his earnings in Japan prior to his move here be taxable in the U.S.?

And on the off-chance he does receive his green card before December 31 (highly unlikely), would that change these circumstances at all?

We appreciate any guidance or online resources anyone can point us to!

K-1 (I-129F)

Spoiler

02/19/2016 I-129F Sent
02/22/2016 I-129F Received at Lewisville, TX Lockbox
02/25/2016 NOA1 Received (Email)
05/04/2016 NOA2 Received (Email, 69 days)
05/09/2016 NOA2 Received (Hard Copy)
05/19/2016 NVC forwarded to USE-Tokyo (verbal confirmation); Case # received
05/24/2016 Case received at USE-Tokyo
05/30/2016 Packet 3 received from USE-Tokyo
06/06/2016 Requested Japan Police Certificate
06/14/2016 Medical Examination
06/16/2016 Fiance picked up Police Certificate and Medical Exam results
06/16/2016 Petitioner mailed completed I-134 and additional relationship evidence to Beneficiary
07/05/2016 K-1 Interview at USE-Tokyo -- APPROVED!
07/07/2016 K-1 visa received in passport
09/23/2016 Fiance arrived in U.S. (POE=Honolulu)
10/29/2016 Married!!!

 

AOS (I-485) / EAD / AP

Spoiler

11/19/2016 AOS documents (I-485/864, I-131, I-765) sent to USCIS-Chicago via UPS
12/07/2016 Text messages and emails received confirming receipt/acceptance of I-485, I-131, I-765
01/06/2017 Biometrics for AOS and EAD (USCIS-Honolulu office)
03/09/2017 EAD and AP approved! (Email/text notifications received)
03/15/2017 EAD/AP Combo Card received via U.S. Priority Mail
09/29/2017 Notification of AOS Interview received
11/07/2017 AOS Interview at USCIS-Honolulu Office -- APPROVED!
11/09/2017 Notification of Approval received
11/16/2017 Green Card received -- no notifications received regarding production or shipping!

 

ROC (I-751)

Spoiler

08/26/2019 ROC Petition and evidence sent to Phoenix Lockbox via UPS (delivered 08/28/2019)

08/30/2019 Filing and biometric fees charged to credit card

09/04/2019 Text message received with case number (assigned to California Service Center)

09/06/2019 I-797 Notice of Action (18-month extension document) received via U.S. Mail (dated 08/30/2019)

05/13/2020 Text message received: "Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken" (we did not have a biometrics appointment)

05/18/2020 I-797 Notice of Action (reusing previously captured fingerprints/biometrics) received via U.S. Mail (dated 05/13/2020)

11/04/2020 Two (2) emails received: "Case transferred to another USCIS office"

11/11/2020 Notice received via U.S. Mail of case transfer to National Benefits Center

12/07/2020 Email received: "Card/Document Production" – new card being produced!

 

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So...will he need to file a U.S. federal tax return for 2016? And will any of his earnings in Japan prior to his move here be taxable in the U.S.?

And on the off-chance he does receive his green card before December 31 (highly unlikely), would that change these circumstances at all?

We appreciate any guidance or online resources anyone can point us to!

If he earns zero money in the US, he has no income to report or be taxed. So no, he does not have to file anything.

You on the other hand will be married in 2016 so would have to file Married Filing Separately which is probably the most expensive way to file as far as taxation.

BUT you can CHOOSE to file Married Filing Jointly with him instead, even though you are the only one earning in the U.S. In that case, all money earned anywhere in the world (Japan) by either of the joint filers is reported. He would qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion which would eliminate any taxes his foreign income would have created. So basically he reports it but is not taxed on it. Believe it or not, your taxes will be less that way than if you file Married Filing Separately.

Edited by Nich-Nick

England.gifENGLAND ---

K-1 Timeline 4 months, 19 days 03-10-08 VSC to 7-29-08 Interview London

10-05-08 Married

AOS Timeline 5 months, 14 days 10-9-08 to 3-23-09 No interview

Removing Conditions Timeline 5 months, 20 days12-27-10 to 06-10-11 No interview

Citizenship Timeline 3 months, 26 days 12-31-11 Dallas to 4-26-12 Interview Houston

05-16-12 Oath ceremony

The journey from Fiancé to US citizenship:

4 years, 2 months, 6 days

243 pages of forms/documents submitted

No RFEs

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Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: Canada
Timeline

Nich-Nick got in just ahead of me. While a tax preparer can speak to your specific circumstances when the time comes, it will likely be best to file jointly. Your husband will declare the income he made in Japan before arriving, but in most cases there is an offsetting deduction for it.

Edited by templeton
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Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Japan
Timeline

Great guidance, thanks! We'd probably rather file separately for 2016 and then jointly for 2017 and beyond, but we'll try it both ways for 2016 and see how significant the difference is before filing. Our biggest concern is ensuring he's not double-taxed, considering how, uh, greedy the IRS can be...

Edited by kumakun

K-1 (I-129F)

Spoiler

02/19/2016 I-129F Sent
02/22/2016 I-129F Received at Lewisville, TX Lockbox
02/25/2016 NOA1 Received (Email)
05/04/2016 NOA2 Received (Email, 69 days)
05/09/2016 NOA2 Received (Hard Copy)
05/19/2016 NVC forwarded to USE-Tokyo (verbal confirmation); Case # received
05/24/2016 Case received at USE-Tokyo
05/30/2016 Packet 3 received from USE-Tokyo
06/06/2016 Requested Japan Police Certificate
06/14/2016 Medical Examination
06/16/2016 Fiance picked up Police Certificate and Medical Exam results
06/16/2016 Petitioner mailed completed I-134 and additional relationship evidence to Beneficiary
07/05/2016 K-1 Interview at USE-Tokyo -- APPROVED!
07/07/2016 K-1 visa received in passport
09/23/2016 Fiance arrived in U.S. (POE=Honolulu)
10/29/2016 Married!!!

 

AOS (I-485) / EAD / AP

Spoiler

11/19/2016 AOS documents (I-485/864, I-131, I-765) sent to USCIS-Chicago via UPS
12/07/2016 Text messages and emails received confirming receipt/acceptance of I-485, I-131, I-765
01/06/2017 Biometrics for AOS and EAD (USCIS-Honolulu office)
03/09/2017 EAD and AP approved! (Email/text notifications received)
03/15/2017 EAD/AP Combo Card received via U.S. Priority Mail
09/29/2017 Notification of AOS Interview received
11/07/2017 AOS Interview at USCIS-Honolulu Office -- APPROVED!
11/09/2017 Notification of Approval received
11/16/2017 Green Card received -- no notifications received regarding production or shipping!

 

ROC (I-751)

Spoiler

08/26/2019 ROC Petition and evidence sent to Phoenix Lockbox via UPS (delivered 08/28/2019)

08/30/2019 Filing and biometric fees charged to credit card

09/04/2019 Text message received with case number (assigned to California Service Center)

09/06/2019 I-797 Notice of Action (18-month extension document) received via U.S. Mail (dated 08/30/2019)

05/13/2020 Text message received: "Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken" (we did not have a biometrics appointment)

05/18/2020 I-797 Notice of Action (reusing previously captured fingerprints/biometrics) received via U.S. Mail (dated 05/13/2020)

11/04/2020 Two (2) emails received: "Case transferred to another USCIS office"

11/11/2020 Notice received via U.S. Mail of case transfer to National Benefits Center

12/07/2020 Email received: "Card/Document Production" – new card being produced!

 

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Mexico
Timeline

One other option, which is not so common, is for you as the U.S. Citizen to file MFS (married filing separately) AND claim an exemption for your NRA (nonresident alien) spouse. You can claim the spousal exemption ONLY IF the NRA spouse has no U.S. source income. Although MFS is generally the least favorable filing status, at least it would allow you to claim the spousal exemption and reduce tax.

Look up the spousal exemption on IRS.gov for more info.

Other than that, if you want to keep things separate, then you would file MFS and your (soon to be) spouse would not need to file anything.

Edited by MariaR323

Maria ~ U.S. Citizen

 

K-1 & K-2 Process (Completed in 4 mos. 8 days)

 

1/19/16: I-129F Package recv'd by USCIS via FedEx overnight

4/1/16: NOA2 Approval :dancing:

5/17/16: Interview :star: - APPROVED :dance:

5/25/16 Visas in hand! :thumbs: 

8/5/16: Wedding (L)

AOS/EAD/AP Process, K-1 & K-2 (Completed in 4 mos. 15 days)

 

9/21/16: Package recv'd by USCIS via FedEx overnight [Day 1]

10/24/16: AOS Cases (I-864) RFIE recv'd hardcopy [Day 29]

12/23/16: AOS Case Status Updates - Interview Scheduled, text recv'd [Day 94] :dancing:

1/17/17: EAD/AP Combo Card recv'd via USPS Priority Mail [Day 119]

1/27/17: AOS Interview :star: - APPROVED!! :dance:  [Day 129 / 120 w/ 9day RFIE delay]

1/27/17: AOS Case status update - Approved | 1/31/17: New Card in Production | 2/1/17: Card Was Mailed

2/4/17: Green Cards Arrived :thumbs:

ROC Process, Spouse & 2 Step-Sons (Completed in 23 mos. 22 days)

 

1/25/19: Package recv'd by USCIS via FedEx overnight [Day 1]

1/29/19: NOA notice date, text & email recv'd, routed to CSC

2/1/19: NOA 18mo. Extension Letter arrived in the mail, for wife only [Day 7]

3/13/19: Filed SR for non-receipt of NOA for I-751A dependents [Day 48] | 3/21/19: Recv'd NOA for 2 stepsons [Day 56]

4/29/19: Biometrics (Scheduled) Appt Completed [Day 95]

8/28/20: Case Status Update - RFE [Day 582 ~ 19 mos. 4 days] | 11/20/20: Case Status Update - RFE response recv'd [Day 666 ~ 21 mos. 27 days]

1/7/21: Case Status Update - New Card in Production :dance: [Day 714 ~ 23 mos. 14 days] 

1/15/21: Green Cards Arrived :thumbs:[Day 722 ~ 23 mos. 22 days]

All done for now! :)

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Great guidance, thanks! We'd probably rather file separately for 2016 and then jointly for 2017 and beyond, but we'll try it both ways for 2016 and see how significant the difference is before filing. Our biggest concern is ensuring he's not double-taxed, considering how, uh, greedy the IRS can be...

Yes, try all ways. There are tax treaties in place to avoid double taxation. Your concern should also be that you don't get taxed more by avoiding putting him on the tax return.

England.gifENGLAND ---

K-1 Timeline 4 months, 19 days 03-10-08 VSC to 7-29-08 Interview London

10-05-08 Married

AOS Timeline 5 months, 14 days 10-9-08 to 3-23-09 No interview

Removing Conditions Timeline 5 months, 20 days12-27-10 to 06-10-11 No interview

Citizenship Timeline 3 months, 26 days 12-31-11 Dallas to 4-26-12 Interview Houston

05-16-12 Oath ceremony

The journey from Fiancé to US citizenship:

4 years, 2 months, 6 days

243 pages of forms/documents submitted

No RFEs

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