OCman

1 hour ago, JoJoJoJo said:

Here is some information for MFS in community states in case you need it: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p555.pdf

 

Thanks. 

But there is no ambiguity as I will report all of my US based income, including a little bit of our joint income.  

I have no overseas asset or income.  

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

How about she email the family and ask them to provide info for any accounts they share with her and her name is actually on the account as a joint owner. Highest balance account ever reached during the year. 
 

Then you have some working numbers to report. There is no tax on the balance. The government just wants to know who’s stashing money abroad. And they are really trying to fish out Americans who are hiding millions in secret offshore accounts.  They probably won’t be that interested in your wife, but you can feel better that she filed something, even if not entirely accurate. They don’t likely have a way or enough personnel to actually track it down in China. 
 

If you filed a joint return with your wife, her income earned anywhere in the world during tax year 2019 has to be reported.  It is self reported, meaning no documentation from China has to be sent in.  Not sure from your comment if you knew that or thought only US earned income had to be reported.  

She says her relatives are trying to get the bank info also. 

But this has been going on since February, so I am losing faith.  

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

And if she files MFS dual status, then everything she earned after she got her green card has to be reported regardless where it was earned. It’s not clear to me if she got her green card and just stayed in the US, or went back at any stage.

 

This bit sounds quite unbelievable to me too but there must be enough Chinese green card holders in the US who can confirm whether or not it’s true.

 

 

She stayed in the US with me since she got her green card last year.  

I don't believe it's true that's why I feel she is not cooperating with me.  

We had many heated arguments over this.  

5 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Just to clarify on this. She needs to file FBAR regardless if she wants to bring anything over or not, if she has relevant assets (cash, securities, signing powers etc) that are worth over $10k at any stage during the year. 

She needs to file for her assets. My husband and I are MFJ, but the assets overseas are only in my name, and only I file FBAR.  As I recall (we get a tax preparer so I somewhat embarrassedly admit i don’t know all the details) those asset balances are listed somewhere in our tax return, though. So yes I think it does have implications at some level if you are MFJ.

 

 

I am sure Chinese banks are sophisticated  enough to have statements etc online. My concern at this point would be the legality of her investments/income as reasons for her being unsure of what is earned where. And as a green card holder she needs to be reporting this interest etc earned overseas on her tax return too. Are you effectively saying she’s left income off the tax return that should have been reported?

 

Perhaps you need to emphasis to your wife that problems with the taxman can put her green card at risk. It can certainly prevent her becoming a citizen in due course.

 

The secrecy is a separate issue but obviously one that needs to be dealt with too. Good luck. 

 

 

Yes, we both know that we have to file.  But I can't get anything info about her banks and China-based income.  

This is why I want to re-file and amend my tax to MFS, and let her to face the music from FinCen or IRS, because I don't want to keep yelling at her for not having the info.

If I re-file as MFS, then she becomes a dual-status alien, in which case, the filing requirement starts when she arrives in the country, not the entire 2019.  

18 hours ago, JoJoJoJo said:

Yeah, a serious conversation would be good. If she gets penalties like a $10k fine per year per form, wouldn't you have to pay for that as well at the end of day? If she does not report interest or any other (passive) income in China or elsewhere in her MFS returns in the future, and got caught by IRS, your family as a whole would be in trouble, not just her.

 

A phone call to her banks or brokerages would be the easiest. Some money market funds, as well as many banks and brokerages should be accessible from a phone app or online.  If she sold her house in China in 2019 for example, then there should be paperwork.

 

Good luck!

 

Yes, a penalty would definitely hit me if my status remains as MFJ.  

If the penalty hits her, I would ask her to pay for it, since she has the funds in China.  

She said her banks don't provide banking info without personal appearance.  

And her banks don't mail her statements, so she has no records either.  

I was pretty mad about this, because it all sounds quite unbelieveable to me.  

22 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

You need to have a serious conversation with her. You think she is hiding something. She may actually not know how much money she has in foreign accounts. Does she know the Financial penalty for not reporting?  Do they have online banking? All she needs for FINCIN is name, address of bank, account number and the highest balance during 2019 if it is only bank accounts. 
 

Does she own property or just have a bank account. Does she have more than $100K.  Tell her you have to know because she doesn’t want to be in trouble with the US government. Maybe 8938 isn’t even an issue so nothing changes on your tax return. 
 

Did she have a job in China during 2019? Did you report that income on your joint return? 

Did she have a US job during 2019?
How did you do taxes? Yourself or hire somebody?
Did you get a stimulus payment this year from the US government? How much?

 
And for what it’s worth to ease your panic, I didn’t do the FinCen (FBAR) the  first year because we didn’t even know about it.  I did the next year and all since then. Nothing has happened to me. And when FATCA (8938) came out we skipped it for two years because the information was so vague and nobody at the IRS could answer specific questions. The tax law department admitted they didn’t know what qualified.

Yes, she knows about the penalty that's why she told me about FinCIN in the first place.  

The problem according to her is that she is unable to access many of her banks from here in the US.

She was planning to go back to China last month to get everything, but coronavirus changed everything.

There is hardly any flights going to China now, and she doesn't want to risk catching coronavirus from flying.  

A further problem is that not all of the money in her accounts are hers.  

Many of her family members share accounts with her, and their funds are commingled.  

She says she is also not 100% sure how much is hers.  

She was self-employed last year.  No US based income.  

Yes, I do my taxes.  We already got our share of stimulus check.  

22 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

You can file those ways regardless of if she files or has to file.  

Generally no if you didn't acquire a house together or hold other cash or similar accounts jointly.

 

There is a provision for community property states like California that you might want to check into tho.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p555

 

No house together, but we do have bank accounts together.  

Do I have to file as MFJ?  

9 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

Correct

And then she is going to give you what is needed?   Seems like a waste of effort.

Wives

 

Is she required to file for her first year in the US as a resident or dual-status alien?  

She doesn't have any US based income last year.  

If she doesn't have to file, then I can just file for myself as MFS or Head of household.  

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

If you amend your return from MFJ to MFS, it has to be done before this years filing deadline.  Your tax liability will be higher.  Going the other way separate to joint can be done later, just to be clear. It’s changing filing status  after already filing 2019 jointly that must be done before the 2019 deadline of July 15. 

If I switch from MFJ to MFS, my wife have to file a MFS return by July 15 right?   

I probably would have to do her return.  

What other options do I have?  

It's becoming a big headache for me.  

12 hours ago, JoJoJoJo said:

Also, you may want to check Form 8621 https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8621 and Form 3520 https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-3520

 

• You may need to file 8621 for "Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund", which could include mutual funds or ETFs from foreign countries.
• Also, 3520 is for reporting foreign trusts, which probably include 401(k) type of trusts of foreign countries. It is required when a US person receives a gift of more than $100k in a year from foreign persons.

 

So it would be important to know what you as a couple have and then figure out what you need to file, because delinquent filings could result in large penalties.

Yes, I am very worried about the penalties.  But so far she is not giving me any concrete information.  

12 hours ago, JoJoJoJo said:

 

A separate point: were you able to get the exact information about how much interest, dividend, capital gains, rental income, etc. she made from foreign countries? You needed to report them in your joint 1040 return, because US (and maybe your state) taxes worldwide income.

No, I have nothing from her.  She said it's almost impossible to figure out how much interests she is getting from her banks.  

12 hours ago, JoJoJoJo said:

If you have filed 1040, then maybe you can file 1040X to add 8938 within 3 years.

But I would always be liable for the late filing and her missing taxable items.  

So I feel filing MFS is safer for me at this point.   

3 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

You didn’t indicate you had Form 8938 obligations. You asked about FBAR which is not IRS related.

You said “So when we filed our taxes as MFJ back in February...”

You already filed without 8938 so you must not have $100k in foreign assets, right?

I have no idea how much assets she has. 

I would amend my 1040 once I get her bank info.    

She has been very vague on how much assets she has.  

13 minutes ago, JoJoJoJo said:

Can you file Form 4868 to extend the due date of 1040 with 8938 by 6 months? https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/extension-of-time-to-file-your-tax-return

FinCen 114 automatically extends the due date to October 15 https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/Due_Date_for_FBARs.pdf

 

The problem is I already filed the 1040 back in February as MFJ.   

So I don't think they will allow me to extend the due date.  

Yes, I can still wait a little bit on FinCen 114.  

But I want to take proactive steps to protect myself in case I get nothing from her by then.  

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

FinCin is not an IRS document. It’s a report to the US Treasury. The IRS will not come after you. It’s her foreign account, her report to file, and her fine potential.

 

FORM 8938 (aka FATCA) is part of the tax return when foreign assets exceed $100,000. 

Yes, you're correct. 

But the info needed for FinCin can also be used for Form 8938 which is due at the coming tax deadline, July 15.  

I have nothing to do either report, as she says she can't get anything from China.  

My wife came to the US last year. 

She told me that I need to report her overseas assets so that she won't have problems bringing them here later.  

So when we filed our taxes as MFJ back in February, I checked off the box saying we will file FinCEN Form 114.  

I don't have any overseas assets.  Just her.  

Now 4 months later, with coronavirus rampaging, she is not cooperating with me in getting me the info I needed to file FBAR.  

She says she can't go back to China and get her info, as her banks won't give them to her without her being there.  

I kind of doubt that, because she has many friends and relatives there, some even working in banks.  

So now I get the feeling that she doesn't want to disclose her money to me anymore.  

But now I am very worried about the taxman coming after me. 

Since I have already indicated to IRS that we will be filing a FinCEN Form 114, what can I do to protect myself?

Should I file an amended tax return as MFS?  

Thanks

20 hours ago, Pitaya (火龙果) said:

Well, did your wife have her Guangzhou consulate interview yet? Can't tell from your timeline, it is missing......

 

Yes we did.  It went pretty well.  My attendance definitely helped a lot.  

The consulate is in a very nice are part of the town.  

It's worth while to just walk around the area during the interview.

But I was kind of depressed by the ordinary people who were rejected for visa applications.

I felt bad for them.  

7 minutes ago, JFH said:

Just looked up on OC recorder’s page and when you fill out the application to marry you must select how many times you have been married (assuming this current marriage is the OP’s only marriage he would select “1”) it then asks you to say how that marriage ended. You must select either divorce, death, annulment or termination of SRDP in order to proceed. “Still married but want to marry again” is not an option. 

Thanks for the research.  I guess getting officially married here may not be possible.  

How about in other counties?  Just have to find one that doesn't ask these questions.  

10 minutes ago, JFH said:

No benefit and not even possible even if there were benefit. In order to obtain a marriage license you will have to sign an oath that you are free to marry. How can you do that if you’re already married?

Not sure if that will get asked.  But my wife and I thought it would be nice to do it again in an American ceremony.  A friend of ours actually got re-married in several countries many years ago.  No problem so far.  

1 minute ago, missileman said:

You can have a ceremony....but it won't be a legal marriage.   It won't change your legal marriage date.  Did you read @JFH's post above?

Yes, we know it won't change anything.  We are already married to each othere, so there is no fraud either.  

Just getting another paper documenting our marriage.  

2 minutes ago, missileman said:

It isn't even possible to be officially married in the US (or anywhere) again unless you divorce first.......there is no benefit in getting married again in the US......

I don't believe you have to be divorced first.

A friend of mine did that and we thought  it was kind of nice to get married again in the US.  

Yes, I have an officially translated copy of the marriage certificate.   The white book?  

We want to get an American marriage certificate in addition to the Chinese one.  

So there is no need or benefit with getting married again in the US?

Hi Everyone:

My wife has been approved as a new immigrant.  We were originally married in China so our marriage certificate is in Chinese.

But we are thinking about getting married again in the US so we have the certificate in English.

Are there any issues that we need to be aware of? 

For immigration, we will always use the original marriage date and certificate.

But for other US business, can we use the new marriage certificate?

Thanks for your advice!  

On 4/30/2019 at 12:44 AM, LightSear said:

Thanks pushbrk.  I've grown confident enough about this to just take in my tax forms over the past 3 years.  The transcript ordering system is not recognizing my Chinese address written in pinyin to authenticate I am who I say I am so I can't get my transcripts.  Not until I'm in the States at least.

Has your interview been scheduled?  The later it is, the more likely the consulate will want your 2018 transcript.  

On 4/21/2019 at 9:50 PM, TBoneTX said:

My interview contemporaries and I were all hosed by the rogue Guayaquil consulate when we didn't accompany our fiancees/wives to their first interview.  It was an unspoken expectation that we petitioners should have been there (thanks for not having told us).

 

Until a couple of years ago, and perhaps even still, Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) strongly preferred that the petitioner be on the premises.

 

I have since learned that the chief factor affecting a petitioner's invitation into the consular area is space for them.  That said, it's still not a bad idea for the petitioner to hang around the consular premises, within range, in case the CO has a question that can be cleared up then and there without the need for a 221g, as in the personal example described earlier.

Thanks for your valuable advice and insight.  I think the unspoken rule is what every petitioner need to worry about.