Has ANYONE filed single on 2011 tax returns and gone to the interview?

[lizka 3]

If so, was there a problem? Would you suggest writing a letter and sending it to my spouse abroad explaining why I filed single? (because i was advised by irs.gov, irs agent, nvc and tax attourney and professor that if your spouse doesn't live with you for the past 6 months you file as single)

please answer if you have been through this and have filed single yourself. i don't need to hear how i'm lying and cheating the irs one more time, so please save your breath. i'm following the rules set forth BY the irs. any constructive help would really be appreciated.

thank you everyone.

[kike732 6]

hello,

we are on the same page!!! i was told yo file single by the IRS.so thats what i did!!!!

for 2011 :

[lizka 3]

hello,

we are on the same page!!! i was told yo file single by the IRS.so thats what i did!!!!

for 2011 :

on hold with IRS tax specialist that will tell me exactly what to do, so i'll let you know ASAP.

[lizka 3]

if you call an irs specialist and answer some questions, they tell you were you fall with the status, i fall in the married filing separately, so thanks to the mistake of another IRS agent (not specialist) i have to ammend status. this takes 8-12 weeks. i may suggest you call irs and give them your specs.

[Love's JAA 100]

If so, was there a problem? Would you suggest writing a letter and sending it to my spouse abroad explaining why I filed single? (because i was advised by irs.gov, irs agent, nvc and tax attourney and professor that if your spouse doesn't live with you for the past 6 months you file as single)

please answer if you have been through this and have filed single yourself. i don't need to hear how i'm lying and cheating the irs one more time, so please save your breath. i'm following the rules set forth BY the irs. any constructive help would really be appreciated.

thank you everyone.

Is your spouse's absence other than temporary? If the absence is temporary (even if it is six months or more), then you should be filing married. You can only be considered unmarried under this six month rule if you can file as head of household. Do you have a dependent other than your spouse? If not, it seems you should be filing as either married filing jointly, but more likely married filing separately. As far as your interview goes, it would probably look a whole lot better if you had filed some kind of married return.

[Love's JAA 100]

if you call an irs specialist and answer some questions, they tell you were you fall with the status, i fall in the married filing separately, so thanks to the mistake of another IRS agent (not specialist) i have to ammend status. this takes 8-12 weeks. i may suggest you call irs and give them your specs.

You would think calling the irs would make sense. But in surveys, their ability to answer tax questions correctly is way below average. Find yourself the related IRS instructions, IRS publications, and maybe a reliable off the shelf tax guide from your book store to answer your questions. Also, relying on IRS advice has no weight under audit.

[DaveE 178]

All I can say is that you are not single, and this lady had her visa delayed because her husband filed as single. You have to do what you think is right though.

The answer to your question is yes, many people have reported on this forum that they filed as single and it didn't cause any problem.

Tax status

Edited March 29, 2012 by DaveE

[lizka 3]

You would think calling the irs would make sense. But in surveys, their ability to answer tax questions correctly is way below average. Find yourself the related IRS instructions, IRS publications, and maybe a reliable off the shelf tax guide from your book store to answer your questions. Also, relying on IRS advice has no weight under audit.

totally agree with you on that, but it actually makes sense this time, i am amending my status to married filing separately, the 1040x is a bit confusing so if anyone's done it with filing separately let me know.

All I can say is that you are not single, and this lady had her visa delayed because her husband filed as single. You have to do what you think is right though.

The answer to your question is yes, many people have reported on this forum that they filed as single and it didn't cause any problem.

Tax status

thank you! i'm too nervous, so i'm ammending (and losing some money with it) but oh well

[JJ:( 0]

WhenI completed my W4, I did married but filing single but when I went to do my taxes I had to revert to filing single because he doesnt have a SSn nor ITIN, we have only been married dec of last year.

All this now is scaring the daylights outta me...

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

You would think calling the irs would make sense. But in surveys, their ability to answer tax questions correctly is way below average. Find yourself the related IRS instructions, IRS publications, and maybe a reliable off the shelf tax guide from your book store to answer your questions. Also, relying on IRS advice has no weight under audit.

Yes, the IRS makes mistakes but a lot of the time the answer you get depends on the facts that you present to the person that is trying to help you. Some people like to "shop" around for the answer that they want to hear. I am in my 33rd year as an Internal Revenue Agent and I know I have made my share of mistakes in my job. As a Revenue Agent I can tell you with certainty that if you are married at the end of a year then Single is not an appropriate filing status for that year. Here is a link to a tool on the IRS website that helps you determine your filing status. If you answer the questions truthfully then you will find out your proper filing status.

What is my Filing Status?

[Love's JAA 100]

WhenI completed my W4, I did married but filing single but when I went to do my taxes I had to revert to filing single because he doesnt have a SSn nor ITIN, we have only been married dec of last year.

All this now is scaring the daylights outta me...

You should amend your return and put the correct filing status. As far as when you got married, your filing status is determined by your marital status as of the last day of the year. If you are married on 12/31, then you should file as married (whether jointly or separately is another question). I would say if you file married-filing-separately, you can get away with not having an itin for him. Just add nonresident alien after his name. You can't claim a spousal exemption without an ITIN or SSN, however.

[lizka 3]

Yes, the IRS makes mistakes but a lot of the time the answer you get depends on the facts that you present to the person that is trying to help you. Some people like to "shop" around for the answer that they want to hear. I am in my 33rd year as an Internal Revenue Agent and I know I have made my share of mistakes in my job. As a Revenue Agent I can tell you with certainty that if you are married at the end of a year then Single is not an appropriate filing status for that year. Here is a link to a tool on the IRS website that helps you determine your filing status. If you answer the questions truthfully then you will find out your proper filing status.

What is my Filing Status?

thank you carlos and sveta (spasibo!!!) i talked to an irs specialist who told me that i am in the tax bracket of married filing seperately. which is what i will do with 1040x, however, i'm not sure how tax brackets work. there is NO change in income whatsoever, so do i just change the status and send the 1040x and that is it, since they have all my documents already?? also, part III asks to define WHY we are ammending, i cannot say, well IRS told me to do it first and then told me not too :-) so if you have some IRS friendly terminology i would really appreciate it (change from S to MFS) thank you!

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

thank you carlos and sveta (spasibo!!!) i talked to an irs specialist who told me that i am in the tax bracket of married filing seperately. which is what i will do with 1040x, however, i'm not sure how tax brackets work. there is NO change in income whatsoever, so do i just change the status and send the 1040x and that is it, since they have all my documents already?? also, part III asks to define WHY we are ammending, i cannot say, well IRS told me to do it first and then told me not too :-) so if you have some IRS friendly terminology i would really appreciate it (change from S to MFS) thank you!

Just state that you filed your return with the wrong filing status because you were given bad tax advice.

[lizka 3]

Just state that you filed your return with the wrong filing status because you were given bad tax advice.

awesome, thank you so much!

[jaycali 415]

The supreme court actually ruled that in tax issues, it's a valid defense to claim ignorance due to the complexity of US tax laws. It's actually one of the only areas of the law where claiming ignorance is considered viable defense.

Without having much knowledge about this matter, I'd like to add my personal opinion that if the supreme court claims that US tax laws are too complex and confusing for normal people to be expected to file correctly, the embassy should accept the "i really didn't know" excuse.

I worked in the US last year (legally) and my wife's tax lady who filed our taxes filed us married filing jointly.

That being said, I don't know if that was the correct thing to do, but we are married afterall..