HOW SHOULD I FILE MY 2010 INCOME TAX

[Sem_I_am 0]

Yes and the country that it is coming from has to be part of the Hague Convention....not all countries are. I know for a fact the philippines is not part of the Hague Convention.

From the same document I mentioned earlier: "If the document originates in a country that is not part to the Convention, applicants should have the documents certified by the foreign authority that issued it."

[pushbrk 12,152]

From the same document I mentioned earlier: "If the document originates in a country that is not part to the Convention, applicants should have the documents certified by the foreign authority that issued it."

If my IRS contact can't get it done for himself without the passport in hand, I'd like to see a report from somebody who has actually done it. So far, the only reports I've seen are from US Citizens who took the foreign passport to either a US Consulate or IRS office abroad. Yes the IRS has offices in some major foreign cities.

[agynyame 2]

Could you please explain a bit more about how this works? From what you wrote it seems supersimple, just sending tax return to different address and attaching form W7. Now, I'm confused with IRS website where it says that it "takes about 6-8 weeks to get ITIN number" and I don't understand why and what for do I need this number when my taxes are already sent out with W7 form??

SEM,

I hope this simplifies it for you.

Posted 24 January 2011 - 10:38 PM

yido, on 24 January 2011 - 09:31 PM, said:

my wife in ghana with no SSN and no any income in united states'so if i want to file my incometax do i have to file single or marreid.because she will be taking this tax document to the embassy whenever they call her for interveiew.i dont know which way to follow;and no room for any mistakes.so please help ;those who have gone throug this cr-1 process thank you

Yido,

I was in the same boat you are in last year. As a matter of fact my accountant filed my tax as single although I was married in Sept. of 2009. So when I called IRS the agent said it was wrong to file as single when I was married, as a matter of fact he seemed irritated by that. He suggested I file a 1040X to amend my tax and then I had to go to the IRS website to fill the W-7. I attached the biographic page of my wife's passport to the W-7 and mailed the whole packet to ITIN Operation in Texas after I took the W-7 home to have my sign both it and the amended tax which now reflected married filing jointly. I sent this around September and I was told last week to expect the refund sometime within the next few weeks. IRS will then mail the ITIN number to your home address in the States and you can use this to file other returns until she is able to join you here. Once she comes and receives her SSN, you will have to take the ITIN form to a local IRS office to have the ITIN changed to her SSN. If you need help, send me a PM.

Here is the link to the IRS website on the W-7 and ITIN: http://www.irs.gov/i...d=96287,00.html

good luck

Marriage: 09-12-2009

USCIS

4-26-10 Sent of I-130

10-07-10 Approved

10-12-10 Received hardcopy of NOA2

NVC

10-12-10: NVC has application but case number yet to be assigned.

10-18-10: Case number assigned.

10-19-10: Provided both email addresses

10-23-10: DS-3032 emailed; no response

10-28-10: Received IIN, dithering around instead of paying the fee

10-30-10: DS3032 Kit and I-864 AOS review fee ($88) online payment; In Process

11-03-10: I-864 AOS status 'PAID"; printed cover sheet and mailed I-846EZ package

11-04-10: I-864EZ AOS received and signed by N. Visa Center

11-05-10: DS-230 IV fee ($404) online payment

11-17-10: AOS entered into the system

12-03-10: IV fee paid ($404); In Process

12-06-10: DS-230 IV status 'PAID',

12-07-10: IV package mailed out

12-08-10: DS-230 IV package delivery; signed by N. Visa Center

12-14-10: DS230 entered into system; yay

12-29-10: SIF

12-30-10: Case Completed @ NVC

Total days @ NVC:79 I-130 to Case Complete 249 days

Consulate

xx-xx-11: Consulate Interview Schedule

1

[agynyame 2]

I was going to file an extension, but if you say you are married when filing for the extension, they ask for your spouse's SSN or ITIN. I was going to do the extension stuff on turbotax, print it out and send it...but I didnt have anything to go with.

It is clear that there is no one answer for taxes. For me it was better to file HOH (because I qualified) and ammend it later. Some others want to do it the other way...file joint and wait. No problems with that either. Either way is right and gets the same outcome.

Yes and the country that it is coming from has to be part of the Hague Convention....not all countries are. I know for a fact the philippines is not part of the Hague Convention.

All I did was to take a copy of my wife's biographical page to my bank in the US and since the branch manager knows me and is aware I am married, they notarized it for me. I sent everything to Texas and about eight weeks later, I had an ITIN for my wife in my mailbox.

You do not need to include the original passport just a copy of the biographical. As the IRS Agent told me, all I had to do was then make sure it was notarized but it has to be someone in the US. I hope this resolves a lot of the issues about having to turn in the passports etc., etc.

[Scott and Mhay 57]

From the same document I mentioned earlier: "If the document originates in a country that is not part to the Convention, applicants should have the documents certified by the foreign authority that issued it."

Yes and that would require you to get it authenticated by the DFA...they are the ones that issued the passport. You cannot just have a notary in the PI stamp a copy...the DFA is the authority to put the apostille on it.

All I did was to take a copy of my wife's biographical page to my bank in the US and since the branch manager knows me and is aware I am married, they notarized it for me. I sent everything to Texas and about eight weeks later, I had an ITIN for my wife in my mailbox.

You do not need to include the original passport just a copy of the biographical. As the IRS Agent told me, all I had to do was then make sure it was notarized but it has to be someone in the US. I hope this resolves a lot of the issues about having to turn in the passports etc., etc.

I realize that, but I didnt have my wife's passport with me to take to a notary in the US...she didnt have her visa yet last year when I filed. A notary needs to see the original document to certify that it is a true copy...

I never said you needed to turn in the passport with your taxes...but you do need the passport in hand to get a notarized copy from most notaries...if they dont ask to see the original they are not doing their job correctly.

Edited February 6, 2011 by Scott and Mhay

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Not true. Trust me on this. It is PERFECTLY OK to file as single and then later amend the return when the spouse has an SSN. In fact, that's what I did and many others have done. I know an IRS appeals officer who will be doing exactly that too because the only way to file as married would be for him to have his wife mail him her passport from abroad, so he could get it authenticated "downstairs". "Downstairs" doesn't care if he works "upstairs". Mailing passports back and forth across oceans is risky business.

Filing as married when single would be fraud but doing things to increase your taxes is not fraud.

Give me that Appeals Officers name and I will make sure he is no longer an Appeals Officer. I am sure TIGTA would love to talk to him.

Filing as single is not the correct thing to do. If you are legally married at the end of 2010 then single is not the correct filing status. Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately and in some cases Head of Household are the only correct Filing Status options for a married person.

[Val and Gary 29]

It's pretty straight forward really.

http://www.visajourn...of-the-country/

Make sure you use the Turbo Tax PC software though. You cannot e-file this.

To claim single on your tax return when you are married is FRAUD and you would be subject to fines or even imprisonment. You may get away with it, but it is fraud none the less. Check out all the advice on the IRS website, and every single piece of tax attorney's advice.

Married filing jointly, or married filing separately is the only way.

Edited February 6, 2011 by Val and Gary

[Val and Gary 29]

Where does it say that you need original passport? That's nonsense. Certified copies accompanied by apostille stamp are fine.

Quite correct. An apostle stamp and notary are acceptable.

[Val and Gary 29]

Not filing married would be considered tax fraud and could come with a prison sentence. Also how are you going to use taxes from a year you are married to show that you can be a sponsor and have it say single when the whole point of the interview is to show you have a genuine marriage? It seems counterintuitive and screams fraud.

I agree. It is technical fraud to claim as a single person when you are married. Yes, you may get away with it, but a red flag audit could lead to a fine or even imprisonment.

A very risky route to take whilst in the process of an I - 864 application.

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Give me that Appeals Officers name and I will make sure he is no longer an Appeals Officer. I am sure TIGTA would love to talk to him.

Filing as single is not the correct thing to do. If you are legally married at the end of 2010 then single is not the correct filing status. Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately and in some cases Head of Household are the only correct Filing Status options for a married person.

On second thought, there is no need to give me his name. I hope his dumb a$ files as single and then files an amended return to change his filing status to married filing joint. IRS employee returns get close scrutiny when filed. His changing his filing status from Single to Married will raise all kinds of red flags.

Edited February 7, 2011 by CarlosAndSveta

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

As far as what I can see on the W-4 form, the actual form that determines how much tax is taken out of your paycheck, it states that if you are married and your spouse is a non-resident then you should file as a single.

So when the government told me to file as single if my spouse is a non-resident, I did as I was told.

I was worried too that when the time came for me to send in my AOS that I would have problems. But I will be sending the W-4 form with the section highlighted stating that you should file as a single if your spouse is a non-resident.

Just my two cents or two paisas.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

(page 1, question 3)

There is nothing wrong with showing yourself as single on your W-4. The W-4 is for your employer's use to determine how much tax to withhold from your wages. That is different than claiming a filing status of single on your tax return when you are actually married. On your income tax return you should not file as single when you are actually married. That is not correct.

[Scott and Mhay 57]

I dont know why you are arguing so much about filing status. There is nothing wrong with filing single and later amending your return. Typically you would file what gives you the least amount of tax burden, but you can file single and later amend it. That is why you can amend your return filing status. You have 3 years to do this. How will the IRS know that you are married unless you tell them? Filing single and not amending actually lets the IRS keep more money than they should since the tax burden for a single person is typically more than married. Most of the people filing single or HOH got married and their spouse is outside the US and the alien spouse most of the time doesnt have and income other than from their american spouse. I dont see how it is fraud when you can file one way and amend it later...even filing status!

[Val and Gary 29]

I dont know why you are arguing so much about filing status. There is nothing wrong with filing single and later amending your return. Typically you would file what gives you the least amount of tax burden, but you can file single and later amend it. That is why you can amend your return filing status. You have 3 years to do this. How will the IRS know that you are married unless you tell them? Filing single and not amending actually lets the IRS keep more money than they should since the tax burden for a single person is typically more than married. Most of the people filing single or HOH got married and their spouse is outside the US and the alien spouse most of the time doesnt have and income other than from their american spouse. I dont see how it is fraud when you can file one way and amend it later...even filing status!

You can get away with it, but it is fraud. You don't make the rules, the IRS do.

Type it into Google and look at the results....

http://www.bluntmone...ried-or-single/

Just one of many thousands of options. We can all do as we wish, we can all take risks, but it is very wrong to give people incorrect advice.

• # 3 T-Bone Says: February 18th, 2008 at 8:38 pmYour tax consultant is right. Regarding how much you owe the govt, filing single is the most beneficial way. (ever hear people refer to the marriage penalty)
  Unfortunately, your tax consultant is also advising you to do something that is illegal (I hope you’re not paying him/her). You should pray that you don’t get audited IRS. See the filing status linked above in the main article for details.
  See Wikipedia for info on the marriage penalty:

Edited February 7, 2011 by Val and Gary

[Scott and Mhay 57]

yes that refers to each person making the approximately the same income. In my case my wife had ZERO income...so yes it would have been better for me to file married, but I needed the money right away for her immigration process and ticket to the US. Also, it was going to be a PITA to get the stuff for my wife to get her ITIN and I would have never had the papers in time to file before the deadline. I was going to have to file an amendment anyway because I didnt get a 1099C in time...even after filing the amendment with the 1099C I get approximately $600 more back filing joint than single.

Where the fraud would come in would be if you filed separately because you would owe taxes....claiming married when in fact you were single...claiming a dependent child when you were not legally able to claim them....that would be fraud.

I wish there was this much passion about filing status last year when I was filing. I was asking all sorts of questions and very few people said anything. I just went with what the majority said and other tax professionals said. Like Pushbrk said...it is not illegal to claim more tax...just less. As long as you file the amendment within the 3 years, there is no reason to worry. In the end, it is up to the individual to decide on how to file. I dont have to worry about this now since my wife is with me and has her SSN.

The first step to filing your federal income tax return is to determine which filing status to use. Your filing status is used to determine your filing requirements, standard deduction, eligibility for certain credits and deductions, and your correct tax. There are five filing statuses: Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household and Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child.

Here are eight facts about the five filing status options the IRS wants you to know so that you can choose the best option for your situation.

1. Your marital status on the last day of the year determines your marital status for the entire year.

2. If more than one filing status applies to you, choose the one that gives you the lowest tax obligation.

3. Single filing status generally applies to anyone who is unmarried, divorced or legally separated according to state law.

4. A married couple may file a joint return together. The couple’s filing status would be Married Filing Jointly.

5. If your spouse died during the year and you did not remarry during 2010, usually you may still file a joint return with that spouse for the year of death.

6. A married couple may elect to file their returns separately. Each person’s filing status would generally be Married Filing Separately.

7. Head of Household generally applies to taxpayers who are unmarried. You must also have paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home for you and a qualifying person to qualify for this filing status.

8. You may be able to choose Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child as your filing status if your spouse died during 2008 or 2009, you have a dependent child and you meet certain other conditions.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0%2C%2Cid=105098%2C00.html

I have posted the above before...each person should check with their state to see what defines "legally separated". Some states would consider living in 2 separate countries legally separated.

So in the end...whatever makes the person most comfortable is what they should do.

Edited February 7, 2011 by Scott and Mhay

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

1. Your marital status on the last day of the year determines your marital status for the entire year.

2. If more than one filing status applies to you, choose the one that gives you the lowest tax obligation.

3. Single filing status generally applies to anyone who is unmarried, divorced or legally separated according to state law.

4. A married couple may file a joint return together. The couple's filing status would be Married Filing Jointly.

5. If your spouse died during the year and you did not remarry during 2010, usually you may still file a joint return with that spouse for the year of death.

6. A married couple may elect to file their returns separately. Each person's filing status would generally be Married Filing Separately.

7. Head of Household generally applies to taxpayers who are unmarried. You must also have paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home for you and a qualifying person to qualify for this filing status.

8. You may be able to choose Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child as your filing status if your spouse died during 2008 or 2009, you have a dependent child and you meet certain other conditions.

http://www.irs.gov/n...05098%2C00.html

I have posted the above before...each person should check with their state to see what defines "legally separated". Some states would consider living in 2 separate countries legally separated.

So in the end...whatever makes the person most comfortable is what they should do.

There are two places in the Internal Revenue Code where legally separated is specifically mentioned. IRC section 2(b) defines Head of Household filing status. In Section 2(b)(2)(A) it states that an individual who is legally separated from his spouse under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance shall not be considered as married. IRC Section 7703 deals with determination of Marital Status. In section 7703(a)(2) it states that an individual legally separated from his spouse under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance shall not be considered as married.

So for federal income tax purposes they only way you are considered legally separated and therefore unmarried is for you to have made a petition to a court. Just living apart does not mean you are legally separated. If you are physically separated from your spouse and you want to be considered legally separated and unmarried why the hell would you be petitioning to have your spouse be granted a visa to come to the U.S. Are you lying to the USCIS about your relationship with your spouse?

You are wrong about filing status but you are correct in that you can do whatever the hell you want just don't say that it is correct or legal.