May 30, 2024
Taxes & Marital status
Hi y'all,
I did my 2023 taxes with an H&R Block tax preparer (27 years in the business with ITIN license) who strongly advised me to file as "single" *which I did despite the fact that I explained to her that I was married, and my worries about it since going thru some immigration proceedings with my spouse. She said that when the spouse arrives to the US, the marital status could be amended. I filed as married for my 2022 taxes (got married in 2022), and applied along for an ITIN # (dft tax preparer) for my foreign national spouse living overseas, until today I never got that ITIN# from the IRS (I spare you the details of the sh!t show that I went thru with the IRS).
Do you guys think it might cause a roadblock at the NVC?
Thanks!
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Youssef aitMay 30, 2024
I’m in the same situation as you. I hope we get some answers
E RMay 30, 2024
Im in the same boat but I did it as married filing separately. He is overseas can always file when he gets here i guess. I just did not want to put single. I downloaded my transcript and it says married filing separately.
Jesus is KingMay 30, 2024
you are good filing married separate or married jointly, but to file as single while being married, that will raise some questions from USCIS. technically you are one house household and it now counts as one, the only difference is that I believe your spouse would just have 0 income when filing so the fact that that lady told you that is insane. always get a second opinion when it comes to things like that, she might have 27 years experience, but based on this I question her experience. The only thing you’ll expect from them is why did you file single when you’re clearly married? just tell them what happen and you should be fine. honesty goes a long way with them
Jesus is KingMay 30, 2024
also I forgot to mention, The IRS allows you to change your filing status for a tax return you filed if no more than 3 years have passed. So go on ahead and change that.
rb brMay 30, 2024
You are not allowed to claim your spouse as a defendant if they live outside of the US.
T MMay 30, 2024
yes you can file jointly and should even without a ssn or itin, just put NRA (non resident alien) in ssn spot and send note that you both want to be treated as us citizens for tax purposes. unless they make a lot of money in there country because you would have to claim it to IRS and pay tax on it.
E RMay 31, 2024
@rb br its not claiming for spouse. You cannot claim for anyone without an ss number. OP is asking about the filing status.
Ersen SimsekMay 31, 2024
You generally can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident alien, a U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. However, there is an exception for certain adopted children, as explained next.
Exception for adopted child. If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. national who has legally adopted a child who isn't a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, or U.S. national, this test is met if the child lived with you as a member of your household all year. This exception also applies if the child was lawfully placed with you for legal adoption and the child lived with you for the rest of the year after placement.
E RJun 2, 2024
@Ersen. read the OP again. its refering to the filing status very different from
claiming someone as dependent.
Jul 3, 2024
Just an update on how my case has unfolded: My worries about the mismatching filing statutes were not justified, they don't care about your filing status (married or single), all they care about is how much money you make. I only submitted my most recent tax returns (2023), filed as single and it was no issue. Please submit all the W2s and proof of other income mentioned on your tax returns as well (1099 etc...) since they'll need it. The NVC adjucates cases faster and more professionally than the USCIS. DQed since Jin 24th.
Good luck to y'all.
