Tax returns

[vkhutchings 15]

Hi all - really hope I'm not going too much over old ground, but just want some peace of mind

How essential are the tax returns? As of March my USC fiance got a steady job in the States, and we're very lucky that we have an inheritance (in our joint bank account in the States with 6 figure savings). We were hoping that evidence of those two things would be enough to support the I-134 for the interview, but I keep reading everywhere on here about tax returns.... which has me worried!

My USC fiance and I worked in Australia last year, and the year before that we were studying in the UK... So he hasn't done anything with the IRS for a couple of years. And before that he just had small student jobs whilst at college - is it worth him getting his tax returns from then? I get the impression (sorry, I haven't read that much past the interview stage yet! ) we might be needing them at the AOS stage? Is that right?

Big thank you to anyone shedding light on this!!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi all - really hope I'm not going too much over old ground, but just want some peace of mind

How essential are the tax returns? As of March my USC fiance got a steady job in the States, and we're very lucky that we have an inheritance (in our joint bank account in the States with 6 figure savings). We were hoping that evidence of those two things would be enough to support the I-134 for the interview, but I keep reading everywhere on here about tax returns.... which has me worried!

My USC fiance and I worked in Australia last year, and the year before that we were studying in the UK... So he hasn't done anything with the IRS for a couple of years. And before that he just had small student jobs whilst at college - is it worth him getting his tax returns from then? I get the impression (sorry, I haven't read that much past the interview stage yet! ) we might be needing them at the AOS stage? Is that right?

Big thank you to anyone shedding light on this!!

I -134 London: a letter from the employer will do it and a financial statement showing six figures is your extra "just in case" thing.

I-864 for AOS: the most recent tax return is required. That will be 2012 tax year. If a person has no tax return, then they write a statement saying why tax laws did not require a return be filed with the IRS. One legit reason is earning below the threshold. " I earned zero dollars (or $1234.56) in 2012 so was not required to file a tax return. If you just didn't bother to file even though you earned enough money, then that isn't an excuse. A US citizen is required to file a return, even if living in Australia or the UK. If he had any income in those countries, convert it to US dollars. Add on any money he earned from that six figure bank account. That is called "unearned income". Job is "earned income". If the total is over $9750 (2012 threshold for s single person) then he should file. There is a foreign income exclusion, so he probably won't owe any taxes, but he needs to file.

If he happened to be still carried as a dependent on his parents return or he earned a lot of interest off the investment of the inheritance , then other criteria might have to be considered. It's spelled out pretty well on page 7-8 of this http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040.pdf

The actual inheritance is not taxable, but if it has earned any interest from where he invested it, then the earnings are counted as unearned income. He would have gotten 1099 forms from the bank or broker saying his earnings in 2012.

[vkhutchings 15]

I -134 London: a letter from the employer will do it and a financial statement showing six figures is your extra "just in case" thing.

I-864 for AOS: the most recent tax return is required. That will be 2012 tax year. If a person has no tax return, then they write a statement saying why tax laws did not require a return be filed with the IRS. One legit reason is earning below the threshold. " I earned zero dollars (or $1234.56) in 2012 so was not required to file a tax return. If you just didn't bother to file even though you earned enough money, then that isn't an excuse. A US citizen is required to file a return, even if living in Australia or the UK. If he had any income in those countries, convert it to US dollars. Add on any money he earned from that six figure bank account. That is called "unearned income". Job is "earned income". If the total is over $9750 (2012 threshold for s single person) then he should file. There is a foreign income exclusion, so he probably won't owe any taxes, but he needs to file.

If he happened to be still carried as a dependent on his parents return or he earned a lot of interest off the investment of the inheritance , then other criteria might have to be considered. It's spelled out pretty well on page 7-8 of this http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040.pdf

The actual inheritance is not taxable, but if it has earned any interest from where he invested it, then the earnings are counted as unearned income. He would have gotten 1099 forms from the bank or broker saying his earnings in 2012.

That is absolutely amazing - thank you for being so thorough Nich-Nick (always wowed by the knowledge in your posts!). Have passed that all on to my fiance. It's all a lot clearer now

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

That is absolutely amazing - thank you for being so thorough Nich-Nick (always wowed by the knowledge in your posts!). Have passed that all on to my fiance. It's all a lot clearer now

Thank you for being so nice. I had taxes on the brain because I have been finalizing my return today and was taking a coffee break. IRS pages are open on my computer in 3 windows and currency conversion in another. I have officially e-filed as of a few minutes ago. Bam! Done. There are so many ifs, ands, and buts with US tax filing so it is really hard to give a simple explanation when you don't know all the details of the person. But it gives you some basic info to start with. If he thinks he may need to file or just wants to so he has a return, PM me. He at least needs to come up with a total he earned, even if he writes the statement saying he doesn't need to file. Foreign earned is self-reported so come up with anything...like look at bank account deposits, guesstimate or whatever if he earned abroad.