my husband's tax debt and my US citizenship

B

Basya

Registered Users (C)
Hi,
I and my husband got married in 2006. And I received my GC based on marriage. All years of our marriage we have been filing our taxes jointly. Now I want to file for my citizenship. And it turns our that my husband has an overdue taxes for 2001 and 2005 (when we were not yet married) and he haven't set up a payment plan yet.
The question is: Would it effect my naturalization?
Thank you
 
Basya said:
Because he is my husband now, and we are filing taxes jointly...
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His reckless disregard of the law will have NO bearing on your naturalization. He owes, you don't and you are going to be fine. Apply as soon as you are eligible, stay clear of his tax issues, USCIS cares about whether you filed for taxes or not, he owes from 2001 and 2005, long before you got married and file jointly.

Good luck to you.

Al
 
I am not sure it is that simple. As I understand t, you'll be filing N-400 based on the 3-year marriage rule, right? In that case you'll need to show tax transcripts for the last three years. You should request both the tax return transcripts and tax account transcripts for your s.s.n. from IRS and see what they show; in particular see if the tax account transcripts really do show zero balance (as they should if you don't owe any taxes). I don't know how IRS treats such things, but you'd better make sure that your tax account transcripts do not show any taxes owed. Since you did file taxes jointly with your husband, and presumably the IRS is aware of his tax liability from 2001 to 2005, it is possible that that liability also showed up in your tax return and account transcripts as well - you really do need to check that before filing N-400.
 
The N400 asks about taxes for the last 3 years, 2001 to 2005 is not in the last three years so forget about all that and file your N400. Call the IRS and get your transcripts for the last three years.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Those taxes for 2001-2005 were from years before you got married. The IRS will not hold you liable for them, and USCIS will not deny your citizenship because of them. You can still answer NO to the question about failing to file a tax return and owing overdue taxes, unless you have other unfiled or overdue taxes that you're not telling us about.
 
Basya said:
Thank you Al
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You don't have problems and I stand by my initial post, go and file and enjoy the ride. Your hubby will deal with his demons when they come to visit him in the future, I am certain they won't be giving you any problems.
 
I wasn't filing jointly in 2001 and 2005. And I already have transcripts for the last three years and it doesn't show his debt. I never heard about tax account transcript, hopefully tax return transcripts will be enough.
Thank you everybody for your thoughts and advices!
 
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