Tax return for AOS

[Natalia1]

Hey guys! My husband and I have been together for 5 years and married for 3. I am just now going to apply for a green card and I had some questions regarding his tax return. Is it necessary for him to add me as dependent on his tax return? Thank you in advance.

[rayb]

If you are married, the tax return should he filed as "joint/married" or as "married/separate" to meet IRS requirements. Lack of such tax filing (both on same return or referenced as "married/separate") can be interpreted by USCIS reviewer as a suspicious indication of failure to commingle financial affairs.

--Ray B

Hey guys! My husband and I have been together for 5 years and married for 3. I am just now going to apply for a green card and I had some questions regarding his tax return. Is it necessary for him to add me as dependent on his tax return? Thank you in advance.

[Blessing007]

It is Very Necessary!

I know a couple of people that did not filed together and they had to find lawyers because their paper work did not go through....

[Natalia1]

Thank you! We're going to do that for this year's tax return. Do you know if we have to go back and change the ones from the previous two years?

If you are married, the tax return should he filed as "joint/married" or as "married/separate" to meet IRS requirements. Lack of such tax filing (both on same return or referenced as "married/separate") can be interpreted by USCIS reviewer as a suspicious indication of failure to commingle financial affairs.

--Ray B

[newacct]

Can you be specific about how he filed? If he filed as Single when you were married, then that is a violation of tax law and needs to be corrected. If he filed as Married Filing Separately, then that is fine, although there may be a question as to why that choice was made, as it is almost always more beneficial to file as Married Filing Jointly.

Spouses cannot be "dependents" -- an "exemption" can be counted for the spouse (an exemption is exactly the benefit of a dependent, anyway) when filing as Married Filing Jointly, or as Married Filing Separately when the spouse had no income and is not filing a return.

[Natalia1]

He has been filing as single. We didn't know he could add me since I don't have a SSN. So I guess the first step to correct this is to get an ITIN number and then go to the IRS? Thank you so much for the help. You guys have been very helpful.

Can you be specific about how he filed? If he filed as Single when you were married, then that is a violation of tax law and needs to be corrected. If he filed as Married Filing Separately, then that is fine, although there may be a question as to why that choice was made, as it is almost always more beneficial to file as Married Filing Jointly.

Spouses cannot be "dependents" -- an "exemption" can be counted for the spouse (an exemption is exactly the benefit of a dependent, anyway) when filing as Married Filing Jointly, or as Married Filing Separately when the spouse had no income and is not filing a return.

[newacct]

He has been filing as single. We didn't know he could add me since I don't have a SSN. So I guess the first step to correct this is to get an ITIN number and then go to the IRS? Thank you so much for the help. You guys have been very helpful.

But he didn't have to add you -- he could have filed as Married Filing Separately. The point is, he must file as MFS or MFJ and not Single since he is married. This has nothing to do with whether you are in the US or what your status is.

Filing as Married Filing Jointly is probably more beneficial tax-wise, but requires applying for an ITIN with the submission of the tax return.