Questions regarding taxes and Naturalization

johnnie Walker

New Member
Became a PR back in late 2006, had extensive travel and oversea employment (Europe) between that time and Dec 2009. Have been living/working in the US since Jan 2010 with little to none overseas travel up till this time. I am getting ready to apply for citizenship (Oct to be precise) but ...I didn't file taxes between 2006 and 2009. I didn't make a lot of money cos I was also studying at the time.
1. What effect would this have on the naturalization process if left unfiled?
2.Any potential issues if I should go ahead and file those taxes now?. Perhaps someone who have been in a similar situation can shed some light.
Thank you.
 
As a PR you are a resident alien for tax purposes, which means all your worldwide income is subject to U.S. taxes. There is a certain income threshold below which you are not required to file taxes. You can find this amount in the first few pages of the Form 1040 instructions for that year. Each year's form and instructions are different, you need to refer to the Form 1040 and Form 1040 instructions for the year whose taxes you are considering, not the most recent one. If your income was below the threshold for the relevant year, the it was okay to have not filed taxes; you may need to explain this if asked.
 
Thanks newacct. My earnings for a couple of those unfiled years are greater than the threshold. So I guess I will just go ahead and file these but digging out the income/pay statements will be the challenge here. Is there anyone on here who has been through this and can share their experience?

Thanks.
 
As a PR you are a resident alien for tax purposes, which means all your worldwide income is subject to U.S. taxes. There is a certain income threshold below which you are not required to file taxes. You can find this amount in the first few pages of the Form 1040 instructions for that year. Each year's form and instructions are different, you need to refer to the Form 1040 and Form 1040 instructions for the year whose taxes you are considering, not the most recent one. If your income was below the threshold for the relevant year, the it was okay to have not filed taxes; you may need to explain this if asked.
Are you saying that if I live in Australia earning a wage after recieving the green card through the DV lottery and are tidying up my affairs in Australia, is my already taxed income from Australia also subject to taxes in the USA?
 
Are you saying that if I live in Australia earning a wage after recieving the green card through the DV lottery and are tidying up my affairs in Australia, is my already taxed income from Australia also subject to taxes in the USA?
It is "subject to U.S. taxes". But that doesn't mean you have to pay more than you pay in one country. You can use the Foreign Tax Credit to reduce your taxes by the amount already paid to foreign taxes. There may also be tax treaties you can use.
 
Are you saying that if I live in Australia earning a wage after recieving the green card through the DV lottery and are tidying up my affairs in Australia, is my already taxed income from Australia also subject to taxes in the USA?

Yes and no. You have to report the non-US income on your US tax return, but you probably won't have to actually pay US taxes on that income because the Foreign Income Tax Credit allows you to write off some or all of the tax paid to non-US governments against your US tax liability.

There is a formula to determine how much of an offset you'll get; if you don't understand it yourself, hire an accountant who has experience with it. But generally, if the foreign tax rate is higher than the US tax rate for the same income level, with the way the formula works you usually won't have to pay any US tax on that foreign income.
 
Yes and no. You have to report the non-US income on your US tax return, but you probably won't have to actually pay US taxes on that income because the Foreign Income Tax Credit allows you to write off some or all of the tax paid to non-US governments against your US tax liability.

There is a formula to determine how much of an offset you'll get; if you don't understand it yourself, hire an accountant who has experience with it. But generally, if the foreign tax rate is higher than the US tax rate for the same income level, with the way the formula works you usually won't have to pay any US tax on that foreign income.
That's great information I really appreciate it:)
 
I became an Alien in 1994, I was only here for few months in 1994 I did not work here or abroad after I become a resident So I did not file any taxes. In 1997 and 1998 I had to take of my father in the UK so I was unable to work in the USA or UK so I did not file any taxes, Every other year has been filed. I checked the I failed to file an income tax since becoming a resident. Its asking for correspondence from the IRS, I never had any correspondence with them. I didn't think I needed to. They have never requested any information from me or questioned me regrading these years. I have checked the IRS website and the transcripts only go back as 2004


Thanks
 
Last edited:
Top