Tax returns as evidence for removal of conditions - help

[LucaBonnie 0]

Hello everyone.

I need to file for my removal of conditions by the end of this month and I have a few questions. If someone can help me I would very grateful:

a) Better to use Tax Returns or Tax Transcripts as proof of bonafide marriage? If Tax Returns are good enough, do I need to include the whole 30 odd pages?

b) more importantly! My wife and I, (I am the green card holder by the way), filed the 2012 taxes together. However I did not file in the USA in 2011 because I filed my taxes in Italy that year. I was granted permanent residence in September 2011. Our accountant suggested that my wife file her 2011 taxes as "Married filing Separately" and suggested that I do not file taxes in the USA for 2011 otherwise I would have had to report my worldwide income. Is this going to be a problem?

Basically, I would be sending:

-copy of my wife's (American citizen) tax return for 2011. Filed as married but filing separately.

-copy of our jointly filed 2012 personal tax returns

-copy of our jointly filed 2012 partnership tax returns (we own and run a business here in the US)

Will this be enough or am I going to have some issues?

Thanks a bunch to anyone who can give me a hand.

[AE & J 0]

Hello everyone.

I need to file for my removal of conditions by the end of this month and I have a few questions. If someone can help me I would very grateful:

a) Better to use Tax Returns or Tax Transcripts as proof of bonafide marriage? If Tax Returns are good enough, do I need to include the whole 30 odd pages?

b) more importantly! My wife and I, (I am the green card holder by the way), filed the 2012 taxes together. However I did not file in the USA in 2011 because I filed my taxes in Italy that year. I was granted permanent residence in September 2011. Our accountant suggested that my wife file her 2011 taxes as "Married filing Separately" and suggested that I do not file taxes in the USA for 2011 otherwise I would have had to report my worldwide income. Is this going to be a problem?

Basically, I would be sending:

-copy of my wife's (American citizen) tax return for 2011. Filed as married but filing separately.

-copy of our jointly filed 2012 personal tax returns

-copy of our jointly filed 2012 partnership tax returns (we own and run a business here in the US)

Will this be enough or am I going to have some issues?

Thanks a bunch to anyone who can give me a hand.

Hello!

It says on the USCIS website they they preffer tax return transcripts, you can request them online, takes about a week to recieve them in the mail. But if you don't have time to wait, just send them like that. It says "preffer" so it's not mandatory.

I've sent my petition yesterday and I included copies of joint Federal Tax Return Transcripts and joint NY State tax return. Each for last 2 years.

Is this all that you will send with your I-751 form? Just tax returns?

[LucaBonnie 0]

Hi Dottie. thanks for your reply. No, Im not only sending tax returns. I am sending all sorts of documents, from copies of joint checking and savings accounts, to copies of joint car ownership and joint home ownership. Florida home lease agreement, (joint), Joint home owners insurance, copies of airline tickets for the many trips that we have done together overseas and lots of pics as well. I mean we are as bonafide as they come. Its that I did not file my taxes on the USA in 2011 despite moving to the US in September 2011. I filed them in Italy. If I send Tax Returns I guess I need to send the whole 30 odd pages...

[JohnR! 5,495]

Hello everyone.

I need to file for my removal of conditions by the end of this month and I have a few questions. If someone can help me I would very grateful:

a) Better to use Tax Returns or Tax Transcripts as proof of bonafide marriage? If Tax Returns are good enough, do I need to include the whole 30 odd pages?

b) more importantly! My wife and I, (I am the green card holder by the way), filed the 2012 taxes together. However I did not file in the USA in 2011 because I filed my taxes in Italy that year. I was granted permanent residence in September 2011. Our accountant suggested that my wife file her 2011 taxes as "Married filing Separately" and suggested that I do not file taxes in the USA for 2011 otherwise I would have had to report my worldwide income. Is this going to be a problem?

Basically, I would be sending:

-copy of my wife's (American citizen) tax return for 2011. Filed as married but filing separately.

-copy of our jointly filed 2012 personal tax returns

-copy of our jointly filed 2012 partnership tax returns (we own and run a business here in the US)

Will this be enough or am I going to have some issues?

Thanks a bunch to anyone who can give me a hand.

If you have the time, get the IRS transcripts. You can order them online www.irs.gov . They are free and should arrive within a week.

If you were a resident in the US prior to 12/31/2011 you will need to file your taxes for that year. Your wife can amend her taxes and change her status to 'married filing jointly' or you can file individually as 'married filing separately'. It is not hard to do at all.

Good luck!

[LucaBonnie 0]

If you have the time, get the IRS transcripts. You can order them online www.irs.gov . They are free and should arrive within a week.

If you were a resident in the US prior to 12/31/2011 you will need to file your taxes for that year. Your wife can amend her taxes and change her status to 'married filing jointly' or you can file individually as 'married filing separately'. It is not hard to do at all.

Good luck!

Thank you Gegel. I think that is what I must do. I will get our accountant to work on it right away. Thanks again for everyone's help and assistance.

[AE & J 0]

Hi Dottie. thanks for your reply. No, Im not only sending tax returns. I am sending all sorts of documents, from copies of joint checking and savings accounts, to copies of joint car ownership and joint home ownership. Florida home lease agreement, (joint), Joint home owners insurance, copies of airline tickets for the many trips that we have done together overseas and lots of pics as well. I mean we are as bonafide as they come. Its that I did not file my taxes on the USA in 2011 despite moving to the US in September 2011. I filed them in Italy. If I send Tax Returns I guess I need to send the whole 30 odd pages...

You have lots of evidence, I don't think you'll have any issue for filing your taxes separately in 2011 if you filed jointly in 2012.

If you can wait a week or so before you send your application you can order tax transcripts here:

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Return-Transcripts

They send them pretty fast, I think it took less than a week to receive them.

GOOD LUCK with your application!

[LucaBonnie 0]

You have lots of evidence, I don't think you'll have any issue for filing your taxes separately in 2011 if you filed jointly in 2012.

If you can wait a week or so before you send your application you can order tax transcripts here:

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Return-Transcripts

They send them pretty fast, I think it took less than a week to receive them.

GOOD LUCK with your application!

thank you for your help Dottie.

[Done--Really 331]

If you live close to an IRS office, just go there and it will take only a few minutes to print out your transcripts...

[LucaBonnie 0]

If you live close to an IRS office, just go there and it will take only a few minutes to print out your transcripts...

Thank you Magical.

ok, so here is something else. I just had a long conversation with my accountant explaining to him that we need to amend our 2011 Tax Return to include little me and file jointly. He states that a resident alien cannot file jointly unless he's been in the country for the whole calendar year, (bear in mind I got my green card in September 2011). Alternatively, I would need to report my World Wide Income, (the money I made in Italy from Jan through to Sept 2011) and, obviously, be taxed on. That would be a very, very expensive thing for me and I already paid my taxes in Italy. From September, (when I was granted conditional residence), to end December 2011 I had no income.

He suggests that the only thing to do would be to file a separate tax return, (me only), for the year 2011 showing no income.

I have a lot of documentation showing that we are legit. From joint home ownership to joint back accounts to joint insurance, to joint lease here in FL. Im the beneficiary on her retirement funds. Joint Health Insurance. Our 2012 Taxes are filed jointly, both Federal and State. I am part owner of our business. What I DONT have is a joint tax return for 2011, which, apparently, I cannot get unless I report my income overseas for the months thst I was NOT a resident...and pay lots of taxes. (which I paid already overseas).

Will a separately filed 2011 Tax return to my name showing no income help me or am I in a jam??

[Dave&Roza 748]

Thank you Magical.

ok, so here is something else. I just had a long conversation with my accountant explaining to him that we need to amend our 2011 Tax Return to include little me and file jointly. He states that a resident alien cannot file jointly unless he's been in the country for the whole calendar year, (bear in mind I got my green card in September 2011). Alternatively, I would need to report my World Wide Income, (the money I made in Italy from Jan through to Sept 2011) and, obviously, be taxed on. That would be a very, very expensive thing for me and I already paid my taxes in Italy. From September, (when I was granted conditional residence), to end December 2011 I had no income.

He suggests that the only thing to do would be to file a separate tax return, (me only), for the year 2011 showing no income.

I have a lot of documentation showing that we are legit. From joint home ownership to joint back accounts to joint insurance, to joint lease here in FL. Im the beneficiary on her retirement funds. Joint Health Insurance. Our 2012 Taxes are filed jointly, both Federal and State. I am part owner of our business. What I DONT have is a joint tax return for 2011, which, apparently, I cannot get unless I report my income overseas for the months thst I was NOT a resident...and pay lots of taxes. (which I paid already overseas).

Will a separately filed 2011 Tax return to my name showing no income help me or am I in a jam??

I filed for myself and my wife as married filing jointly. She arrived on the 22nd of December and we were married on the 30th. The IRS clearly states that you can submit a statement signed by both tax payers that you want the alien resident to be considered as a LPR for tax purposes and then you claim that person's income. For us it made sense to do it this way as the deduction for my wife more than made up for what little income she had. I would look at your tax situation and see which has the lowest tax cost to you--filing jointly or filing seperately and claiming a credit for the Italian taxes already paid. I hope your accountant can do that, but given that he/she did not know about the rules for an immigrant I am wondering. (By the way, you do not have to live the whole year to meet the residency requirements. Again this is spelled out in the IRS rules and I think it does not even have to be 6 months, but I know that if you are a LPR in the US for at least six months then you do not have to even make the statement about wanting to be considered a LPR for tax purposes, the IRS already considers you one). If you file a 2011 income tax return as a LPR then it must include all your worldwide income, however; you do get a credit for foreign taxes paid. Like I said, you need to see if adding your income to your wife's with the foreign tax exclusion and your standard deduction is better than filing your taxes alone and owing no US income tax. In other words, would filing jointly give you a gigger refund or would you end up owing more taxes--that is the real question and that is what you should use to determine how to file your income tax return, not just to satisfy the USCIS and your ROC application. Too many people here on VJ say you MUST file jointly because to do otherwise would cause a red flag for your ROC. I say that is a bunch of BS. Do whatever is in YOUR best interest and saves you the most in income taxes.

Good luck,

Dave

Edited June 13, 2013 by Dave&Roza

[LucaBonnie 0]

I filed for myself and my wife as married filing jointly. She arrived on the 22nd of December and we were married on the 30th. The IRS clearly states that you can submit a statement signed by both tax payers that you want the alien resident to be considered as a LPR for tax purposes and then you claim that person's income. For us it made sense to do it this way as the deduction for my wife more than made up for what little income she had. I would look at your tax situation and see which has the lowest tax cost to you--filing jointly or filing seperately and claiming a credit for the Italian taxes already paid. I hope your accountant can do that, but given that he/she did not know about the rules for an immigrant I am wondering. (By the way, you do not have to live the whole year to meet the residency requirements. Again this is spelled out in the IRS rules and I think it does not even have to be 6 months, but I know that if you are a LPR in the US for at least six months then you do not have to even make the statement about wanting to be considered a LPR for tax purposes, the IRS already considers you one). If you file a 2011 income tax return as a LPR then it must include all your worldwide income, however; you do get a credit for foreign taxes paid. Like I said, you need to see if adding your income to your wife's with the foreign tax exclusion and your standard deduction is better than filing your taxes alone and owing no US income tax. In other words, would filing jointly give you a gigger refund or would you end up owing more taxes--that is the real question and that is what you should use to determine how to file your income tax return, not just to satisfy the USCIS and your ROC application. Too many people here on VJ say you MUST file jointly because to do otherwise would cause a red flag for your ROC. I say that is a bunch of BS. Do whatever is in YOUR best interest and saves you the most in income taxes.

Good luck,

Dave

Thanks for this. As far as $$ is concerned it makes a hell of a lot more sense for me to file on my own - or not file at all, which is the present scenario. I actually did not file in 2011 because I had no income! (here anyway) If I am to do amend and file jointly then I am only doing it for the USCIS, having read all the blogs that say that you must file jointly. It would cost me in the area of $15,000. (and good luck getting a tax refund from Italy).

So I think I will just file my 2011 as separate (married) and show no income and hope that the rest of my papers can prove that we are definitely legit.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Thanks for this. As far as $$ is concerned it makes a hell of a lot more sense for me to file on my own - or not file at all, which is the present scenario. I actually did not file in 2011 because I had no income! (here anyway) If I am to do amend and file jointly then I am only doing it for the USCIS, having read all the blogs that say that you must file jointly. It would cost me in the area of $15,000. (and good luck getting a tax refund from Italy).

So I think I will just file my 2011 as separate (married) and show no income and hope that the rest of my papers can prove that we are definitely legit.

Just to be clear, as a LPR or USC you MUST declare all international income. So for 2011, you would declare your income from Italy on your US tax return, take your standard deductions, and then take the foreign income exclusion and foreign tax credit. End result is that your TAXABLE income will be zero, but your income was not zero. So in your case I would file as married filing seperately as it is the best for your tax situation. I think if some idiot at the USCIS interview asks, "Well, I see here you did not file a joint tax return in 2011. Why?" You shoot back, "Because to file jointly would have cost me about $15,000. Why would I do something that would cost me $15,000? Would you?" For most ROC applications they are looking that you are married and have started to join your lives together and everybody does that differently. As long as there is other evidence you will be fine.

Good luck,

Dave

Edited June 14, 2013 by Dave&Roza

[kzielu 1,149]

. What I DONT have is a joint tax return for 2011, which, apparently, I cannot get unless I report my income overseas for the months thst I was NOT a resident...and pay lots of taxes. (which I paid already overseas).

Will a separately filed 2011 Tax return to my name showing no income help me or am I in a jam??

First - separate tax return is fine for RoC. People do file separately all the time, because that gives them bigger return. I did that two years in a row for that very reason, including 2011 when I moved to US, had income in Poland, reported it and paid nothing here.

Second - not filing taxes in 2011 when with no doubt you were a resident here is pure tax fraud. You really need to change accountant or do it yourself. You have to report all your worldwide income - but - as said above - if your country has a tax treaty with US (pretty sure Italy does) you pay nothing on taxes you already paid (unless you exceed certain amount - $59k if I remember correctly).

There is no if, you had to do it. Tax fraud is not a great way to start living in a new country.

[LucaBonnie 0]

First - separate tax return is fine for RoC. People do file separately all the time, because that gives them bigger return. I did that two years in a row for that very reason, including 2011 when I moved to US, had income in Poland, reported it and paid nothing here.

Second - not filing taxes in 2011 when with no doubt you were a resident here is pure tax fraud. You really need to change accountant or do it yourself. You have to report all your worldwide income - but - as said above - if your country has a tax treaty with US (pretty sure Italy does) you pay nothing on taxes you already paid (unless you exceed certain amount - $59k if I remember correctly).

There is no if, you had to do it. Tax fraud is not a great way to start living in a new country.

ok, hang on here. There is no tax evasion. Below is from the IRS website:

You are a dual status alien when you have been both a resident alien and a nonresident alien in the same tax year. Dual status does not refer to your citizenship, only to your resident status for tax purposes in the United States. In determining your U.S. income tax liability for a dual-status tax year, different rules apply for the part of the year you are a resident of the United States and the part of the year you are a nonresident.

Income from sources outside the United States that is not effectively connected with a trade or business in the United States is not taxable if you receive it while you are a nonresident alien. The income is not taxable even if you earned it while you were a resident alien or if you became a resident alien or a U.S. citizen after receiving it and before the end of the year.

For the part of the year you are a nonresident alien, you are taxed on income from U.S. sources only.

In 2011 I was a NONRESIDENT ALIEN until in received my green card in mid September. I had no income from US sources. When I got my green card I became a resident alien, but from then through to the end of the year 2011 I had no income. Its quite clear there is no tax evasion.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

LPR is not the same as resident for tax purposes. If you came on K-1 then you were living in the US before September 2011 when you got your GC. Your accountant has given you bad advice (especially that you would have to pay more, ridiculous!).

Edit: According to your timeline you entered early July and got your GC in October. Not sure why you keep mentioning September.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Harpa Timsah