I filed my tax as Single

[pghknr 14]

9 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Based on my experience of never heard it being asked about in the 12 years I've been a member here, I'm willing to bet the Consular Officer will NOT ask about it, BECAUSE they already know the answer, and are fine with it, after seeing it hundreds of times already. Yes, really.

We should follow with @Pushbrk  Answer .He is telling with experience

Edited July 3, 2017 by pghknr

[Springrain22 427]

5 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

No, I'm only saying what I said.  USCIS has nothing to do with it as they never saw your tax return.  I'm saying the Consular Officer won't care about it, because they've seen it hundreds of times and know already EXACTLY why you filed that way.

What makes you think that they all know it?

[Mary Lou 682]

16 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

No, I'm only saying what I said.  USCIS has nothing to do with it as they never saw your tax return.  I'm saying the Consular Officer won't care about it, because they've seen it hundreds of times and know already EXACTLY why you filed that way.

 

20 minutes ago, Springrain22 said:

So, to confirm: you're saying that if it has passed USCIS and NVC and reached to the embassy, the CO will NOT ask for the amended tax return because it already has been reviewed and completed at the NVC? I am sure it will be true, just trying to avoid any delays (I just cannot have them). So is it worth to amend it now (I have about 1 month until interview) or just forget as they won't ask about it?

Well i had time to amend mine, and my financials didn't change with the amendment. 

[Springrain22 427]

Just now, Mary Lou said:

 

Well i had time to amend mine, and my financials didn't change with the amendment. 

Question is not about financials, but about STATUS. Amendment will actually give me MORE money from the government. My only concern is filing status which is single when I am married for 4 years already.

[Mary Lou 682]

6 minutes ago, Springrain22 said:

Question is not about financials, but about STATUS. Amendment will actually give me MORE money from the government. My only concern is filing status which is single when I am married for 4 years already.

Ok I understand now

[pushbrk 13,381]

What changes is the tax obligation, not the income or any other financial information.  Other than the always one or more persons who just can't abide the idea of any small error, the concern that need not concern anybody is whether the Consular Officer will think the filing status of Single indicates ANYTHING negative about the relationship bona fides.  I assure you, they don't.  It's part of both their TRAINING and EXPERIENCE.

[pushbrk 13,381]

11 minutes ago, Springrain22 said:

Question is not about financials, but about STATUS. Amendment will actually give me MORE money from the government. My only concern is filing status which is single when I am married for 4 years already.

Actually, the correct status means LESS money TO the government.  Taxes are a - not a + on a financial statement.  A tax "refund" (more money FROM the government) is ACTUALLY a reflection of over-payment of taxes, not some benefit from the government.

 

People like me who are self employed and don't pay quarterlies, NEVER have any money we actually PAID to the government be "refunded".  

Edited July 3, 2017 by pushbrk

[Springrain22 427]

1 minute ago, pushbrk said:

Actually, the correct status means LESS money TO the government.  Taxes are a - not a + on a financial statement.  A tax "refund" (more money FROM the government) is ACTUALLY a reflection of over-payment of taxes, not some benefit from the government.

So what I am saing is that I would get MORE money back from IRS if I filed as married than when I filed as single. I filed as single and had some amount back and if I amend it I will get around $1-2K from IRS because my tax will be LESS if I am married.

[pushbrk 13,381]

I know what you mean.  Your tax will be less.  Period.  Whether you previously overpaid your taxes through withholding is based on personal circumstance, not general fact.

 

[Voided 55]

I filed Head of Household as I met all the requirements below: 

 

If you were still legally married as of December 31, you are considered unmarried (and therefore eligible for Head of Household) if all 5 of these conditions apply:

1. You won't be filing jointly with your spouse; and
2. Your spouse didn't live in your home after June (temporary absences due to illness, school, vacation, business, or military service don't count); and
3. Your home was your child's, stepchild's, or foster child's main home for more than half the year; and
4. You paid more than half the costs of keeping up your home during the tax year; and
5. You meet the qualifications to claim the child as your dependent, even if the other (noncustodial) parent is actually claiming the child as a dependent on their return.  

You can also be "considered unmarried" for Head of Household if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year and you're not treating them as a resident alien.

Married filers who are "considered unmarried" cannot file with Head of Household status if their dependent is somebody other than a child, for example a parent.

 

Would I need to adjust anything? 

[amul 229]

5 minutes ago, August97 said:

I filed Head of Household as I met all the requirements below: 

 

If you were still legally married as of December 31, you are considered unmarried (and therefore eligible for Head of Household) if all 5 of these conditions apply:

1. You won't be filing jointly with your spouse; and
2. Your spouse didn't live in your home after June (temporary absences due to illness, school, vacation, business, or military service don't count); and
3. Your home was your child's, stepchild's, or foster child's main home for more than half the year; and
4. You paid more than half the costs of keeping up your home during the tax year; and
5. You meet the qualifications to claim the child as your dependent, even if the other (noncustodial) parent is actually claiming the child as a dependent on their return.  

You can also be "considered unmarried" for Head of Household if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year and you're not treating them as a resident alien.

Married filers who are "considered unmarried" cannot file with Head of Household status if their dependent is somebody other than a child, for example a parent.

 

Would I need to adjust anything? 

May I ask the source of this info? Those 5 conditions apply to me, so I'm curious now. I filed MFJ and applied for a ITIN for my husband (which we just received). 

 

Thanks. 

[Voided 55]

9 minutes ago, amul said:

May I ask the source of this info? Those 5 conditions apply to me, so I'm curious now. I filed MFJ and applied for a ITIN for my husband (which we just received). 

 

Thanks. 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2567672-can-a-married-person-claim-head-of-household-filing-status

 

And this is from the official IRS site:

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/u-s-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad-head-of-household

[Ketsuban 1,034]

While I lived abroad, my husband filed as Married Filing Separately and put NRA in my SSN field. That meant he had to paper file, but other than that there was no issue.

 

After I moved to the US and got my SSN, we amended that year's return to joint and got more money back. We used a 2555EZ form to exclude my already-taxed-in-my-home-country income.

 

If your spouse isn't here yet then you could do what my husband did above if you want to amend the single return you filed. I opted not to do the W7/ITIN form as another poster stated, it seemed like a real PITA at the time.

[sy1983 31]

I went through the same exact situation and had a specialist look into my case. It turns out, if you want to file properly ( not saying your's is wrong or anything) and avoid any possible problem during the interview in the embassy.

You must retract your current filing and apply an ITIN number for your wife in lure of SSN and file as married. It is possible that the interviewer would ask why you filed single and not married when you are clearly married. 
Even spouse that live in different countries must file either joint or separate.  USC that live and earn in another country are still required to pay taxes to the US gov. 

[pghknr 14]

14 minutes ago, sy1983 said:

I went through the same exact situation and had a specialist look into my case. It turns out, if you want to file properly ( not saying your's is wrong or anything) and avoid any possible problem during the interview in the embassy.

You must retract your current filing and apply an ITIN number for your wife in lure of SSN and file as married. It is possible that the interviewer would ask why you filed single and not married when you are clearly married. 
Even spouse that live in different countries must file either joint or separate.  USC that live and earn in another country are still required to pay taxes to the US gov. 

Wife is in another country, How ITIN number she will get?  @sy1983