Proof of income - Form 1040

[Forward23 1]

I am self employed and I do not have a W2.  I only have a Form 1040 to show as proof of income and my lawyer is telling me that that isn't going to be sufficient.   Has anyone had experience with this or is the form 1040 sufficient?  My friend just submitted a 1040 and they denied him for lack of evidence.  He had to get a joint sponsor with a W2 but I have no way of doing that 

[pushbrk 12,285]

1 hour ago, Forward23 said:

I am self employed and I do not have a W2.  I only have a Form 1040 to show as proof of income and my lawyer is telling me that that isn't going to be sufficient.   Has anyone had experience with this or is the form 1040 sufficient?  My friend just submitted a 1040 and they denied him for lack of evidence.  He had to get a joint sponsor with a W2 but I have no way of doing that 

A copy of a complete tax return including all schedules is accepted.  Consulates accept that if you are willing to state the income to IRS, and pay the applicable taxes, that the income is real.  Your full tax return or Tax Return Transcript absolutely IS how the self employed show evidence of their income.  Works every time it is tried.

 

Note that it is the schedule C that details revenue minus expenses to produce the "total income" number on the first page of the 1040.

 

Only if your lawyer is saying that the 1040 alone without the other schedules is insufficient, would they be correct.

Edited June 15, 2023 by pushbrk

[Forward23 1]

8 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

A copy of a complete tax return including all schedules is accepted.  Consulates accept that if you are willing to state the income to IRS, and pay the applicable taxes, that the income is real.  Your full tax return or Tax Return Transcript absolutely IS how the self employed show evidence of their income.  Works every time it is tried.

 

Note that it is the schedule C that details revenue minus expenses to produce the "total income" number on the first page of the 1040.

 

Only if your lawyer is saying that the 1040 alone without the other schedules is insufficient, would they be correct.

 

I have other schedules attached to the return but I don't see a schedule C for some reason.  Only schedule B and D.  On my 1040 this is what I show:

 

I am hoping this is correct as I purposefully planned on taking this exact amount to more than cover the minimum but I am afraid that my accountant may have done too much deduction?

 

I can also provide proof of several real estate assets but they are held in various LLC's owned by my main LLC.  I also can provide proof of a lot of liquid cash in excess of 500k+ as well as 100% ownership of my home. 

 

I am just stressed and worried since the 1040 thing got denied for my friend last week.  Do you think this would all be sufficient enough evidence?

[pushbrk 12,285]

4 minutes ago, Forward23 said:

 

I have other schedules attached to the return but I don't see a schedule C for some reason.  Only schedule B and D.  On my 1040 this is what I show:

 

I am hoping this is correct as I purposefully planned on taking this exact amount to more than cover the minimum but I am afraid that my accountant may have done too much deduction?

 

I can also provide proof of several real estate assets but they are held in various LLC's owned by my main LLC.  I also can provide proof of a lot of liquid cash in excess of 500k+ as well as 100% ownership of my home. 

 

I am just stressed and worried since the 1040 thing got denied for my friend last week.  Do you think this would all be sufficient enough evidence?

Looks like you don't have a schedule C because you are not in business. Your income comes from investment dividends. Your current income is $37,000. What's your household size?

You could also add any investment statements that state the amount of the dividends.  Dividends in even thousands, is going to look rare.  I would go ahead and state and document the liquid cash, but skip the home equity or any other real property.

[Forward23 1]

Just now, pushbrk said:

Looks like you don't have a schedule C because you are not in business. Your income comes from investment dividends. Your current income is $37,000. What's your household size?

You could also add any investment statements that state the amount of the dividends.  Dividends in even thousands, is going to look rare.  I would go ahead and state and document the liquid cash, but skip the home equity or any other real property.

My household size is just me and my wife when she arrives here so if the income states 37k that should hopefully be good?  I see what you mean with the round numbers but that was just an intentional thing since I solely took the money for this visa process.

 

I'll skip the home and property then since its very complex to explain and just show the liquid cash as well.

 

Hopefully this is enough.  I appreciate your response 🙏

[pushbrk 12,285]

4 minutes ago, Forward23 said:

My household size is just me and my wife when she arrives here so if the income states 37k that should hopefully be good?  I see what you mean with the round numbers but that was just an intentional thing since I solely took the money for this visa process.

 

I'll skip the home and property then since its very complex to explain and just show the liquid cash as well.

 

Hopefully this is enough.  I appreciate your response 🙏

Yes, for a household of two, 37k should be fine.  I see what you mean.  You elected to take the dividends instead of reinvesting them.  That would explain the even number.  It just raised a flag to me.

 

[Jason and May 69]

On 6/15/2023 at 4:33 PM, Forward23 said:

I am self employed and I do not have a W2.  I only have a Form 1040 to show as proof of income and my lawyer is telling me that that isn't going to be sufficient.   Has anyone had experience with this or is the form 1040 sufficient?  My friend just submitted a 1040 and they denied him for lack of evidence.  He had to get a joint sponsor with a W2 but I have no way of doing that 

As pushbrk mentioned, a tax return transcript is the most complete form of proof of taxable income that will always (as far as I'm aware) be accepted--at least in light of the interviewer, who is basically the final boss, being incredibly difficult. 

 

If you choose to submit your W2s or Form 1040s, then the rules require you to submit a "complete" return, which includes all schedules and 1099s. Which many of us may not have for various reasons. In lieu of this, you may submit an IRS tax return transcript, which shows all your taxable income in a very complete, very brief, and easy-to-read format. 

 

I realize you have an attorney doing this for you, but if you are interested (so you know and understand), here is the verbiage from USCIS on this issue (from the I864 instructions, which your attorney is probably referencing in telling you your documentation is not enough): 

 

• "You must provide either an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year." 

 

• "If you provide a photocopy of your Federal individual income tax returns, you must include a copy of each and every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your returns. Do not include copies of these forms if you provide an IRS transcript of your Federal individual income tax returns rather than a photocopy unless you filed a joint income tax return with your spouse and are qualifying using only your income."

 

• And, finally: "If you selected Part 6., Item Number 2. that you are self-employed, you should have completed one of the following forms with your Federal income tax return: Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business), Schedule D (Capital Gains), Schedule E (Supplemental Income or Loss), or Schedule F (Profit or Loss from Farming). You must include each and every Form 1040 Schedule, if any, that you filed with your Federal income tax return." The language of this last sentence applies if you are not submitting a tax transcript, which is why for many of us who are self-employed, retired, or living on investment income, it is easier to just provide tax return transcripts. It avoids unnecessary hassles and potential delays. 

 You may request your tax return transcript from the IRS online, by using IRS Form 4506-T, or you may use your tax account portal to print one (it is the exact same form the IRS sends you when you request it from them, only it's available at will). 

 

To order your transcript from the IRS, you would go here: How To Order Tax Return Transcript. 

 

If you want to sign into your tax account (or set up your portal), you would go here, and then everything is in the dashboard on your homepage: IRS Tax Account Homepage. 

 

I hope this helps. 

[Forward23 1]

On 6/17/2023 at 10:00 PM, Jason and May said:

As pushbrk mentioned, a tax return transcript is the most complete form of proof of taxable income that will always (as far as I'm aware) be accepted--at least in light of the interviewer, who is basically the final boss, being incredibly difficult. 

 

If you choose to submit your W2s or Form 1040s, then the rules require you to submit a "complete" return, which includes all schedules and 1099s. Which many of us may not have for various reasons. In lieu of this, you may submit an IRS tax return transcript, which shows all your taxable income in a very complete, very brief, and easy-to-read format. 

 

I realize you have an attorney doing this for you, but if you are interested (so you know and understand), here is the verbiage from USCIS on this issue (from the I864 instructions, which your attorney is probably referencing in telling you your documentation is not enough): 

 

• "You must provide either an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year." 

 

• "If you provide a photocopy of your Federal individual income tax returns, you must include a copy of each and every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your returns. Do not include copies of these forms if you provide an IRS transcript of your Federal individual income tax returns rather than a photocopy unless you filed a joint income tax return with your spouse and are qualifying using only your income."

 

• And, finally: "If you selected Part 6., Item Number 2. that you are self-employed, you should have completed one of the following forms with your Federal income tax return: Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business), Schedule D (Capital Gains), Schedule E (Supplemental Income or Loss), or Schedule F (Profit or Loss from Farming). You must include each and every Form 1040 Schedule, if any, that you filed with your Federal income tax return." The language of this last sentence applies if you are not submitting a tax transcript, which is why for many of us who are self-employed, retired, or living on investment income, it is easier to just provide tax return transcripts. It avoids unnecessary hassles and potential delays. 

 You may request your tax return transcript from the IRS online, by using IRS Form 4506-T, or you may use your tax account portal to print one (it is the exact same form the IRS sends you when you request it from them, only it's available at will). 

 

To order your transcript from the IRS, you would go here: How To Order Tax Return Transcript. 

 

If you want to sign into your tax account (or set up your portal), you would go here, and then everything is in the dashboard on your homepage: IRS Tax Account Homepage. 

 

I hope this helps. 

 

This is extremely helpful!  Thank you.

 

I just made an account and downloaded the transcript - very simple.

 

I assume this is indisputable proof because it contains a tracking number that can be traced back to the IRS?

[pushbrk 12,285]

2 hours ago, Forward23 said:

 

This is extremely helpful!  Thank you.

 

I just made an account and downloaded the transcript - very simple.

 

I assume this is indisputable proof because it contains a tracking number that can be traced back to the IRS?

USCIS and Consular officers DO accept the tax return Transcript as evidence of income for the self employed.  If you were willing to declare it and pay taxes on it, they conclude you earned it.  The "total income" line is the key.

[Jason and May 69]

9 hours ago, Forward23 said:

 

This is extremely helpful!  Thank you.

 

I just made an account and downloaded the transcript - very simple.

 

I assume this is indisputable proof because it contains a tracking number that can be traced back to the IRS?

The generally accepted rule is that if you declared it on your tax return as income and therefore paid tax on it, while not necessarily indisputable, per se, it is accepted as income. Though I'm less experienced with immigration than many others on this forum, I've never heard of someone's tax return transcript being unacceptable, particularly as it is indicated as acceptable in USCIS financial disclosure language. 

 

That said, I think the most dependable person to ask this question would be your immigration attorney. 

 

I'm glad my input was helpful. Best of luck to you.