Confusion on filling requirements

[ILikeBread 43]

Hi All,

 

I spent a few hours on the phone with IRS but it appear it's an 'out of scope' question for them.

 

I became a permanent resident on jan 9 2019 and we didn't file taxes for year 2018 when tax season came, I'm researching if we were required to. My US Citizen wife was living abroad with me in 2018 so I assume a return needs to be filed with her as the main taxpayer and me as the spouse for that year as I wasn't a PR in 2018?

 

Thanks for the help!

[JeanneAdil 6,203]

yes,  she should have filed tax returns on income (from US employer or foreign )  she would have filed MFJ or MFS but needed to put u as spouse on either

her foreign income would be exempt for year 2018 amounts  2018 exclusion is $111,000. by filing form 2555 

 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

1 hour ago, ILikeBread said:

Hi All,

 

I spent a few hours on the phone with IRS but it appear it's an 'out of scope' question for them.

 

I became a permanent resident on jan 9 2019 and we didn't file taxes for year 2018 when tax season came, I'm researching if we were required to. My US Citizen wife was living abroad with me in 2018 so I assume a return needs to be filed with her as the main taxpayer and me as the spouse for that year as I wasn't a PR in 2018?

 

Thanks for the help!

As a US citizen she is required to file if she had income (US or abroad). There is no point in her filing jointly with you. By taking the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion she likely owes $0 taxes filing Married Filing Separately. Adding you to a Married Filing Jointly return would not benefit her and would be a hassle because you would need an ITIN number. She can’t get any lower than $0 taxes owed filing separately. You have no obligation to file anything  for 2018 or be on a joint return.

 

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by Wuozopo

[ILikeBread 43]

Thanks for the help guys!

[Wuozopo 4,285]

1 hour ago, ILikeBread said:

Thanks for the help guys!

Wait. I think I said that wrong.  If you became a permanent resident Jan 2019, you could have gotten a SSN  encore the filing deadline to file for the tax year 2018 jointly.  Forget what I said about ITIN. I just wanted to correct that bit.
 

But there is still no benefit to filing a joint return if she needs to report her income from abroad.  Her tax would be zero so a joint return couldn’t get her lower than $0 tax. 

[ILikeBread 43]

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

Wait. I think I said that wrong.  If you became a permanent resident Jan 2019, you could have gotten a SSN  encore the filing deadline to file for the tax year 2018 jointly.  Forget what I said about ITIN. I just wanted to correct that bit.
 

But there is still no benefit to filing a joint return if she needs to report her income from abroad.  Her tax would be zero so a joint return couldn’t get her lower than $0 tax. 

We realized we forgot to file the taxes when I was looking at the requirements for the N400, so I think we have to file jointly then?

[Wuozopo 4,285]

12 hours ago, ILikeBread said:

We realized we forgot to file the taxes when I was looking at the requirements for the N400, so I think we have to file jointly then?

No.
Your naturalization is looking at your moral character; filing required tax returns is one measure of that. So your three years of permanent residency that allows you to be a citizen, started January 2019. That means your first required tax return was tax year 2019. You, the 2019 immigrant, had zero obligation to file a 2018 tax return.

 

Another reason to submit your tax returns is to show you maintained a marital union for those three years. Have you read the instructions? Page 11 says tax transcripts for the last three years. That would be years 2019, 2020, 2021, not year 2018.

[ILikeBread 43]

What's confusing me is tax season hasn't started yet for 2021 income, so I thought if I were to submit now I'd need 2018 to get to 3 years of returns.

[Wuozopo 4,285]

2 hours ago, ILikeBread said:

What's confusing me is tax season hasn't started yet for 2021 income, so I thought if I were to submit now I'd need 2018 to get to 3 years of returns.

The instructions says you can take to your interview. How about filing your 2021 tax return before you apply for citizenship if you are concerned?  There’s no rush or due date. 
 

If you plan to do a late 2018 return, the whole hassle is going to take you some time to get done. You can’t do an e-file beause you were a non-resident alien who can’t file a joint return unless you send a paper signed statement electing to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes. Thus a paper return. You won’t have a 2018 transcript of a long time. And if you don’t know how to do it, you’re going to have to pay somebody experienced in international tax returns. You will have to report yours and her earnings in the UK during 2018. I think you could do your 2021 taxes easier, sooner, and cheaper than filing a return that you are not required to file. 

Edited January 13, 2022 by Wuozopo