Received AOS RFE for tax return, but is it for 2013 or 2014?

[AlissaCarly 44]

Hi everyone,

my husband (petitioner) and I filed AOS for me in December and received NOA1 on December 31st. Now today we received an RFE for the tax return. It states this:

"Submit all supporting tax documentation (W-2s, 1099s, Form 2555, and all supporting tax schedules) submitted to the IRS for the most recent tax year."

We did submit his main tax return and W-2 for 2013 (as well as for 2012 and 2011 by the way), which is why I'm now confused. Do they mean we didn't supply enough information for the 2013 tax return and need to add more documents, or do they mean (because the RFE is dated January 29th) that we need to supply year 2014? Which would kind of make sense, since my husbands income on his December AOS affidavit is higher than the 2013 tax return and therefore there is a discrepancy. But since we filed in 2014, can they really give us an RFE for not supplying the same year's tax return, which we obviously didn't have back then?

What is more confusing is that my husband worked in the Netherlands (with me) from 2010 - 2013 and therefore also filed a Dutch tax return for 2013. Maybe they need that one? However his US 2013 tax return states the amount earned in the Netherlands, so I don't know why they'd need the Dutch one as well. It doesn't specifically say in the RFE that they need the Dutch one either.. And the RFE letter says 'submitted to the IRS', which is obviously not the same tax organization as the Netherlands.

Thank you so much for any help! I'm going to also call the help desk on Monday and ask them by the way, but my husband is leaving on a long business trip tomorrow and if it does turn out to be the 2014 one, he'd rather start filing it quickly tonight before he leaves.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Most recent is still 2013. You only need to provide 2014 if you have already filed. You must send a complete copy, which is a copy of each and every form, attachment, schedule, W-2 and/or 1099. Basically exactly what you would need if you were to mail in your tax filing to the IRS instead of e-file. OR, you can use an IRS tax return transcript, which is probably the best thing to use to answer the RFE. Then you do not have to worry if you sent in a complete copy of the return or not > http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript

If you have not yet filed the 2014 taxes but have the W-2 for 2014 already, then include a copy of the W-2 too, along with a note that you have not yet filed for 2014 as of yet.

[Sirliner 26]

Sounds like they noticed the "discrepancy". Which would explain why they're asking for "supporting tax documentation". You need to resolve the difference in income between your 2013 return and AOS affidavit.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Current income not matching total income from the tax return is not really a discrepancy. They do not have to match. You do need to send proof of your current income though, separate from the most recent tax transcript, which is typically a letter from employer and/or recent pay stubs.

[AlissaCarly 44]

Thanks to both of you for answering! My husband filed his 2014 taxes just in case and I called the NCSC this week. The lady said that they would prefer the most recent tax year we filed (2014) because it matches my husband's income much closer than the 2013 one. Otherwise there will be a year's gap in between his current income and his 2013 income. We were however allowed to file 2013 if we couldn't file 2014 fast enough to respond to the RFE. We also had a new updated employer's letter drafted with much more info in it and we printed six months of payslips, so I hope these things together will be enough!