Missed filing of taxes

[tesen]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

Hi there, I am looking to naturalize and in preparation I have learned my wife (who is a US citizen) and I were late filing our state taxes in 2016. In fact, we received a notice from the state with an estimated amount of monies owed (she uses a website and apparently the state filing was accepted then rejected later on for something or another wrong on the form) and this was immediately corrected, penalty and owed amounts paid. Fast forward, I have also learned she failed to file the last two years with our local city. She has since gone in to the tax department, they have asked her to come back with required tax forms (W2's etc) and they'll help her determine if anything is owed or not (likely not, since I work out of the city and we get a tax credit if my income tax is higher elsewhere... which it is).

My question is: Will this hurt me during the naturalization process? Am I likely to get denied because of this? Other than performing the filings and paying anything owned to the locality, what else can I do?

Tes

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

Hi there, I am looking to naturalize and in preparation I have learned my wife (who is a US citizen) and I were late filing our state taxes in 2016. In fact, we received a notice from the state with an estimated amount of monies owed (she uses a website and apparently the state filing was accepted then rejected later on for something or another wrong on the form) and this was immediately corrected, penalty and owed amounts paid. Fast forward, I have also learned she failed to file the last two years with our local city. She has since gone in to the tax department, they have asked her to come back with required tax forms (W2's etc) and they'll help her determine if anything is owed or not (likely not, since I work out of the city and we get a tax credit if my income tax is higher elsewhere... which it is).

My question is: Will this hurt me during the naturalization process? Am I likely to get denied because of this? Other than performing the filings and paying anything owned to the locality, what else can I do?

Tes

No, that sort of thing (honest mistakes) generally do not effect naturalization. While is possible for tax problems to reach the level where there are potential criminal charges that is quite rare, and requires something a lot worse than not realizing your state taxes rejected, and not realizing what you had to do for city taxes.

 

[Ohiogal]

Ignore LDIJ. She is wrong about the law. Read this information from an actual immigration attorney and other legal sites:

http://www.nejamelaw.com/articles/taxes-and-immigration-consequences.html
https://immigration.findlaw.com/citizenship/4-issues-that-will-affect-your-us-citizenship-application.html
https://www.bing.com/search?q=naturalization+if+not+paid+taxes&form=EDNTHT&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&refig=64fa4dd6de1a401ad3b05a400cff4c0b&sp=-1&pq=naturalization+if+not+paid+taxes&sc=0-32&qs=n&sk=&cvid=64fa4dd6de1a401ad3b05a400cff4c0b

 

[LdiJ]

OP, put your mind at rest by speaking to an immigration attorney.

 

[Ohiogal]

Also look at this:
https://www.uscis.gov/files/form/attachments.pdf\
https://www.uscis.gov/archive/blog/2013/10/applying-for-citizenship-what-to-know
https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/Print/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartF.html

Failure to pay taxes shows a lack of good moral character. That is what USCIS states. You need counsel.

 

[Taxing Matters]

My question is: Will this hurt me during the naturalization process? Am I likely to get denied because of this? Other than performing the filings and paying anything owned to the locality, what else can I do?

Tes

Address the tax problem with the locality. It is not something that is likely to interfere with your immigration process so long as you can show you are taking care of your tax responsibilities. As a general matter, ICE looks in particular to federal tax issues, so problems with the IRS are more likely to be a problem than state or local taxes. That said, you want to be in compliance with all your tax obligations to ensure no hiccups with your naturalization.

 

[Ohiogal]

Address the tax problem with the locality. It is not something that is likely to interfere with your immigration process so long as you can show you are taking care of your tax responsibilities. As a general matter, ICE looks in particular to federal tax issues, so problems with the IRS are more likely to be a problem than state or local taxes. That said, you want to be in compliance with all your tax obligations to ensure no hiccups with your naturalization.

Thank you for jumping in because I posted stuff from immigration attorneys and legal sites as well as the USCIS.gov site and LD wants to act like it is guaranteed it won't cause problems because it is NOT criminal. When that is not the standard.

 

[t74]

Wait until everything gets straightened out and look for a financial advisor (CPA) to file your taxes or to get you and your wife organized so as to not have these problems in the future.

 

[HRZ]

Late to file and pay may not be more than a bump on the log especially if you cure the gap promptly ....deliberate failure to pay might might get into issues of a crime of moral turpitude if convicted ...and that might be a big problem even if the $ amounts are relatively modest ....not a smart thing to test those issues. IN theory failure to file local taxes could get a prospect of jail time ( varies by local ordinance ) and that's not something to mess with ...get the taxes up to date .

 

[tesen]

Thanks guys for the response and to answer some replies:

1. Yes, CPA will be doing our taxes from now on. My wife said she had it, I did not feel comfortable doing it and she has proven not capable. So yes, professional filings (may also help if challenged I can produce receipts showing this issue has been resolved by hiring a professional).
2. She has a meeting with the tax department on Tuesday; the manager there told her they deal with his a lot and not to worry, bring in documentation and they'll help us determine if we owe etc. At minimum we owe late fees and I told her I will need documentation from them to prove this has been settled so I can present during my naturalization interview (if they even ask).
3. Also, yeah I need to see an immigration attorney to help fill out the N400 and advise me on how to handle this.

I don't think she (my wife) fully comprehends how big a deal this is! State missed (but resolved), two years local filings not done... this starts to look habitual!

Tes

 

[LdiJ]

Thanks guys for the response and to answer some replies:

1. Yes, CPA will be doing our taxes from now on. My wife said she had it, I did not feel comfortable doing it and she has proven not capable. So yes, professional filings (may also help if challenged I can produce receipts showing this issue has been resolved by hiring a professional).
2. She has a meeting with the tax department on Tuesday; the manager there told her they deal with his a lot and not to worry, bring in documentation and they'll help us determine if we owe etc. At minimum we owe late fees and I told her I will need documentation from them to prove this has been settled so I can present during my naturalization interview (if they even ask).
3. Also, yeah I need to see an immigration attorney to help fill out the N400 and advise me on how to handle this.

I don't think she (my wife) fully comprehends how big a deal this is! State missed (but resolved), two years local filings not done... this starts to look habitual!

Tes

The local filings are much less of an issue than you think. Yes, you have to take care of them or you will end up with local problems, but its really, really common for people to not understand that they need to file them or make mistakes in doing so. Our practice has a lot of Ohio tax clients who have had hiccups with local taxes. Your local taxes were actually paid, you just didn't do the return to demonstrate that the payment was accurate.

I think that its highly unlikely that immigration will even know that you have had local tax hiccups.

 

[Just Blue]

The local filings are much less of an issue than you think. Yes, you have to take care of them or you will end up with local problems, but its really, really common for people to not understand that they need to file them or make mistakes in doing so. Our practice has a lot of Ohio tax clients who have had hiccups with local taxes. Your local taxes were actually paid, you just didn't do the return to demonstrate that the payment was accurate.

I think that its highly unlikely that immigration will even know that you have had local tax hiccups.

Tesan the ^ poster is not a CPA, an Ohio Attorney or a Tax Attorney. You have been advised by a Ohio Attorney (OhioGAL) and a Tax Attorney (Taxing Matters) both site vetted.

 

[tesen]

Tesan the ^ poster is not a CPA, an Ohio Attorney or a Tax Attorney. You have been advised by a Ohio Attorney (OhioGAL) and a Tax Attorney (Taxing Matters) both site vetted.

Thanks! Both gave good advice and I will sort out the missed tax filings with confirmation documentation and then seek out an immigration lawyer to assist.

 

[tesen]

Thank you for jumping in because I posted stuff from immigration attorneys and legal sites as well as the USCIS.gov site and LD wants to act like it is guaranteed it won't cause problems because it is NOT criminal. When that is not the standard.

Also look at this:
https://www.uscis.gov/files/form/attachments.pdf\
https://www.uscis.gov/archive/blog/2013/10/applying-for-citizenship-what-to-know
https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/Print/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartF.html

Failure to pay taxes shows a lack of good moral character. That is what USCIS states. You need counsel.

Thank you. I intend to see legal counsel and get the late filings completed. I've already checked with the IRS that I am current for prior years and we are square with the state (one late filing out of 17 years of on time, hopefully that helps!).

Tes