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

[jaycali 415]

Do you have a citation for this Supreme Court case you are talking about?

Cheek v. United States.

This supreme court ruling from 1991 stated that "an actual good-faith belief that one is not violating the tax law, based on a misunderstanding caused by the complexity of the tax law, negates willfulness, even if that belief is irrational or unreasonable."

[jaycali 415]

If you file a joint return, you are supposed to include your worldwide income, where ever it was earned.

Hmm. Our tax lady that did our taxes never asked me or my wife for my income abroad in 2011. We filed married filing jointly and received our refund already. Should I be concerned?

[Ryan H 3,790]

i wish i were living in spain, cuz i would have done DCF so fast my head would still be spinnning :-)

I post this for the benefit of others who may be reading this, DCF is not available in Spain as there is no USCIS field office there.

[alizon 77]

your humor makes me coming back for more, thanks for your input, and at this rate, i think VJers should just overtake NVC, IRS, USCIS and all the embassy's with all the research we do, we could run the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just keep MFJ in mind for once your husband makes it over here and gets a social security number. You can amend again (I'm assuming you're allowed to amend more than once, but not sure) without worrying about the W-7 and exclude his foreign income. --> bigger refund like Darnell said! And you get to use your credits for paying student loans again.

Hmm. Our tax lady that did our taxes never asked me or my wife for my income abroad in 2011. We filed married filing jointly and received our refund already. Should I be concerned?

Well, for immigration purposes you probably don't have to worry, but for the IRS...she definitely should have asked you. If either of you is a US citizen you are required to report and be taxed on all worldwide income no matter where you live, and if you want to file jointly with a spouse who is living abroad, you have to have them treated as a resident for tax purposes which means their foreign income is also subject to American taxes. The only way to get out of being taxed over foreign income is the foreign income exclusion (excludes up to about $95,000 from taxes if you were living and working abroad) or the foreign income credit (gives you an American tax credit for the taxes you paid to a foreign government). Both of those paths take extra paperwork though; you can't just say to yourself, "oh, I made $50,000 before I moved to the US, so I'll pretend like that didn't happen and file jointly with my spouse." The IRS would not be cool with that.

Edited March 30, 2012 by alizon

[Joandjo 20]

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.

I filed my Tax electronically (Turbo Tax) I filed Married, enetered my wifes' SSN, during the process I was asked the Exact date of her arrival and entered it (11/30/2011). I still got the deduction for 2.

[Trina & Raja 2]

I think some of us are loosing track of the question. If I understand correctly, this thread was about whether to file single or married (but filing separately) when your spouse is living abroad waiting for the paperwork to get processed by NVC, Embassy/Consulate or USCIS.

On that subject, my personal experience based on consultation with friends (who were in similar situation in the past), TurboTax adviser and my company's account payable team, I was advised to file as Married but filing separately and that's exactly what I did.

Now, based on some of your experiences, a few of us were able to get away with filing single. But is that the correct way to report earnings? No, because filing Married but separate has several differences than filing married. A few to name are - restrictions on contributions towards Roth IRA and inability to deduct certain education credits (especially interest on student loans).

So the next question is whether NVC and the Embassy/Consulate has the jurisdiction to reject you based on the accuracy of your Tax Filing? And unfortunately, I do not have the answer to that. Therefore, I had suggested filing for an adjustment to be on the safe side and avoid future heartburn.

My 2 cents...

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Cheek v. United States.

This supreme court ruling from 1991 stated that "an actual good-faith belief that one is not violating the tax law, based on a misunderstanding caused by the complexity of the tax law, negates willfulness, even if that belief is irrational or unreasonable."

This is only true for the assertion of criminal penalties. The following quote is from Wikipedia:

Some tax protesters have cited this case for the argument that it is possible to avoid paying taxes without punishment by using the kind of defense raised by Cheek about a good faith misunderstanding of the tax law itself. The Cheek defense is available, however, only in a criminal trial, and not as a method to avoid the payment of tax.

In the case of John Cheek:

The 48-year-old airline pilot said in a telephone interview that he had changed his views about paying taxes and was now "straightened out with the I.R.S." after paying the money he owed the Government and "substantial" penalties. From now on, he said, he intended to pay taxes.^[14]Further, the case was remanded for a re-trial. In the re-trial, the jury rejected Mr. Cheek's argument that he actually "believed" that wages were not taxable. He was again convicted. The second conviction was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court let that decision stand by denying review.^[15] John L. Cheek was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, and was released from prison in December 1992.^[16]

At least one Federal district court has indicated that, in the absence of either testimony by the defendant about his own belief or some other evidence that provides a link to the "taxpayer's mindset," the defendant's lawyer cannot require a court to give a "Cheek defense instruction" to a jury.^[17] That decision has been affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

[lizka 3]

So the next question is whether NVC and the Embassy/Consulate has the jurisdiction to reject you based on the accuracy of your Tax Filing? And unfortunately, I do not have the answer to that. Therefore, I had suggested filing for an adjustment to be on the safe side and avoid future heartburn.

My 2 cents...

from what i've read here...yes they do and they have. i filed single but now im amending just in case to mfs