ILLMAS Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 I amended a 2016 return for a client because the prior preparer prepared it as MFJ, but the spouse was living in another country. The claim was denied because it had to be filed before April 15, 2017, I get that, but my client and I both agree the return was prepared incorrectly and received an extra benefit they are not entitled to, the 2016 IRS refund check was sent in with the amended tax return because it was never cashed. Has anybody here been successful amending a return MFJ to MFS outside of the filing period? Or what do you recommend I do? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jklcpa Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 Below is a link to the IRM that agents use to determine if an amended return such as this that is filed outside of statute will be processed or denied. The sections that pertain to your amendment are sections 21.6.1.5.5 through 21.6.1.5.7 https://www.irs.gov/irm/part21/irm_21-006-001r#idm139996536576528 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacun Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 ILLMAS, as long as they are married, they have the right to file jointly so MFJ is a correct filing status. Now if they didn't cash the check and now they want a portion of the refund, that's another story. My brother, US Citizen, got married on December 31, 2017 to a student in El Salvador. My bother is here in the United States and his wife will be there for at least a year while her visa is processed. He applied for an ITIN for his wife and they attached a letter signed by both stating that they wanted the wife to be treated as a resident for tax purposes and they were including global income. IRS gave ITIN to wife and needless to say that my brother saved more than $5K. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILLMAS Posted June 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 17 minutes ago, Pacun said: ILLMAS, as long as they are married, they have the right to file jointly so MFJ is a correct filing status. Now if they didn't cash the check and now they want a portion of the refund, that's another story. My brother, US Citizen, got married on December 31, 2017 to a student in El Salvador. My bother is here in the United States and his wife will be there for at least a year while her visa is processed. He applied for an ITIN for his wife and they attached a letter signed by both stating that they wanted the wife to be treated as a resident for tax purposes and they were including global income. IRS gave ITIN to wife and needless to say that my brother saved more than $5K. How did they cash the check? My client was not able to cash the refund check because the spouse is not on the account, but that is the least of their issue, TP is more upset that prior preparer signed electronically on behalf of the spouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacun Posted June 25, 2018 Report Share Posted June 25, 2018 You have a hard one in your hands, unless you go after the previous preparer, which is hard to do and maybe we are not trained for that and a lawyer is needed. I have a husband with a wife in Mexico, they didn't file jointly and for immigration purposes, they wanted to file jointly so I added $50 a week on line 21 that the wife makes selling hot dogs and filed jointly. Of course, this was the opposite from your case because client filed S and the amendment was from S to MFJ. I would explore the possibility of correctly filing an amendment as MFJ so that a new direct deposit is issued. Of course, filing MFJ while spouse is outside the US, is available only to U.S. Citizens, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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