My husband never file tax

[DianaSa 0]

Hi everyone.

I'm filling for CR1 visa.

At this moment we are filling our form I-864 and i have a question.

My husband is an USC, he was born in the US but he came to Portugal when he was 1 or 2 years old. He never went to the US after that. He grew up in Portugal, studied in Portugal and worked in Portugal.

So he never file taxes in the US, just in Portugal. How can we explain why he didn't file?

Thank you so much for your help.

Diana

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

As a US citizen he is required to file taxes. They tend to only look at the last few years for immigration. So he can go to the irs.gov site and file those taxes. He needs to be living in the US for you to get a visa. He may not owe any money on what he has earned unless he makes a lot of money.

[DianaSa 0]

As a US citizen he is required to file taxes. They tend to only look at the last few years for immigration. So he can go to the irs.gov site and file those taxes. He needs to be living in the US for you to get a visa. He may not owe any money on what he has earned unless he makes a lot of money.

He just have SS number and passport. How can he file tax with this documents?

He doesn´t need to live in the US, he just needs to prove that he will reestablish domicile.

[kzielu 1,147]

He just have SS number and passport. How can he file tax with this documents?

He doesn´t need to live in the US, he just needs to prove that he will reestablish domicile.

Same way millions of other people do, he doesn't need anything else. Filing taxes has little to do with establishing domicile and most likely won't be even close to it - it something he was supposed to be _doing_ by law, not because he is trying to establish domicile.

[Caryh 5,206]

He just have SS number and passport. How can he file tax with this documents?

He doesn´t need to live in the US, he just needs to prove that he will reestablish domicile.

There's a taxes section at VJ that may help him sort that out. But I would assume his Portuguese tax filings would be part of the way he shows both income there and taxes he paid there already.

[DianaSa 0]

Same way millions of other people do, he doesn't need anything else. Filing taxes has little to do with establishing domicile and most likely won't be even close to it - it something he was supposed to be _doing_ by law, not because he is trying to establish domicile.

He didn't know that he needs to fille taxes in the US. My parents in law never told him that he needs to do it.

My parents in law and my sister in law are also USC and they never did it and all of them live in Portugal.

[DianaSa 0]

He didn't know that he needs to fille taxes in the US. My parents in law never told him that he needs to do it.

My parents in law and my sister in law are also USC and they never did it and all of them live in Portugal.

His income is in euros. Filling taxes alows him to put the income in euros?

[Ian H. 207]

I think the income would have to be converted, I'm not really sure how it works. Also an SSN is pretty much what you need to file taxes. As a USC he isn't exempt from filing taxes, even if he never worked in the US. I think you are allowed to make like $90k in foreign income without paying taxes. Therefore, if he makes less than this, he should be ok.

[kzielu 1,147]

He didn't know that he needs to fille taxes in the US. My parents in law never told him that he needs to do it.

My parents in law and my sister in law are also USC and they never did it and all of them live in Portugal.

Does he have US passport ? If yes, make him look at all the pages carefully - it's actually written there. And fact that others violated the law isn't quite an excuse for him...

Anyway - he will use from 2555 (if I remember correctly) for a foreign tax exclusion, convert his euro salary in $ and report to IRS. If he make over the exclusion limit he'll have pay tax on it, if not - no problem (assuming he paid taxes on Portugal). I had to do same thing during the year I immigrated to US - had to report income from my home country which was for most of the year.

For the most part it's not as bad as it sounds as in the most cases you don't pay anything - just have to file it.

[DianaSa 0]

Does he have US passport ? If yes, make him look at all the pages carefully - it's actually written there. And fact that others violated the law isn't quite an excuse for him...

Anyway - he will use from 2555 (if I remember correctly) for a foreign tax exclusion, convert his euro salary in $ and report to IRS. If he make over the exclusion limit he'll have pay tax on it, if not - no problem (assuming he paid taxes on Portugal). I had to do same thing during the year I immigrated to US - had to report income from my home country which was for most of the year.

For the most part it's not as bad as it sounds as in the most cases you don't pay anything - just have to file it.

Thanks for your reply. We will have to solve this.

I'm really angry because nobody in our family knew this

[brownbella 13]

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/U.S.-Citizens-and-Resident-Aliens-Abroad

"If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns and paying estimated tax are generally the same whether you are in the United States or abroad. Your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you reside."

That website also says you must file in USD and gives info on how to convert.

USCs everywhere in the world have to file and pay taxes. Our tax dollars fund social programs that the USC can take advantage of whenever they return. Its only fair to pay into a program that you can then use once you're back in the US.

Edited October 11, 2014 by brownbella

[Ian H. 207]

You know you make an excellent point and please note that I'm in no way referring to or offending the OP, but I have seen the nerves of some people who live abroad never file taxes and then come over to the US to get things like financial aid for school, medicaid and the works.

I think the government should start requiring proof of taxes paid in order to claim any benefit in this country. If you don't contribute, you shouldn't leech. Not to mention that I have seen several posts here about people who don't pay taxes because they work off the books.

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/U.S.-Citizens-and-Resident-Aliens-Abroad

"If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns and paying estimated tax are generally the same whether you are in the United States or abroad. Your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you reside."

That website also says you must file in USD and gives info on how to convert.

USCs everywhere in the world have to file and pay taxes. Our tax dollars fund social programs that the USC can take advantage of whenever they return. Its only fair to pay into a program that you can then use once you're back in the US.

[XXXYYYZZZ 20]

Don't panic. It's not a big deal. All that is need to file a tax return in the US is the SSN; you don't even need the card. In the US the number has all your banking and credit history attached. Do not carry the number with you and never give the number out unless it's for your job, opening a bank account, paying taxes or getting a drivers license. US taxes are based on citizenship not where you live. You might not be required to file a return if you have no income but it is recommended you file a return every year.

The good news is your husband has no state residence in the US so no need to file a state tax return. Also under the foreign earned tax exclusion your husband may not owe and tax. Also adding to this any income tax paid to a foreign government can be deducted from your US taxes. Last year I wrote off almost all of my US taxes as I paid a lot of income taxes to a foreign country.

I don't know how the rules work if you never filed taxes. I don't know if you need to file the last year or the last several years. There could also be late filing fee's.

Now that you are married your husband will have to file as married. This actually lowers your tax burden but when filing the return for the year you married you will have to file for an ITIN; individual tax identification number. This is like an SSN for you but grants no benefits and you can't work in the US with it. Once you immigrate to the US you go to the local IRS office and get your new SSN and ITIN merged together.

My suggestion is to find an expat accountant in Portugal to file your husbands US taxes. If your unfamiliar with the paperwork they can help.

[XXXYYYZZZ 20]

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/U.S.-Citizens-and-Resident-Aliens-Abroad

"If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns and paying estimated tax are generally the same whether you are in the United States or abroad. Your worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you reside."

That website also says you must file in USD and gives info on how to convert.

USCs everywhere in the world have to file and pay taxes. Our tax dollars fund social programs that the USC can take advantage of whenever they return. Its only fair to pay into a program that you can then use once you're back in the US.

You only pay income tax once. If you paid income tax in a foreign country you are not required to pay the same tax again in the US. Also if you spend less then 30 days in the US in any give one year period and earn less than $90k you don't owe any US taxes. You are required to file a US federal return every year. State income tax is a different story. The US is on a short list of countries in which citizens are required to pay tax even if they don't reside there.

US tax laws are now crippling Americans living aboard which is why there is an increase in USC giving up there citizenships. Banks are required to report accounts of over $10k of USC's living aboard. Most foreign banks don't want to bother meeting the requirements. Imagine you got citizenship from your parent and never lived in the US. Suddenly as a US citizen you can't open a bank account to deposit your pay check, pay a bill or take out a home loan.

[Ian H. 207]

That's why they're making it more expensive to give up USC and also I'm sure there's a law that says you are subject to US taxes for like 10 years after giving up citizenship.

The thing is that people want all of the benefits of being a USC without any of the responsibilities which is why brownbella made a good point.

I wasn't aware that foreign banks are required to report USC accounts, but if true that's also a good thing because people also have assets abroad and apply for all sorts of benefits and tax credits while in the US.

OP: Your husband won't have an issue because he never lived in the US or received US income. As long as he made less than $90k USD in those years, he will be fine. Also I believe he only has to file for the last 3 years.