Work with IRS on back taxes
Q Though I have been working, I have not filed tax returns the last couple of years. If I file now and arrange for a payment plan with the Internal Revenue Service, can I become a U.S. citizen? Name withheld, Queens
A If you file correct tax returns and arrange and comply with an IRS payment plan, you can become a U.S. citizen.
If a naturalization applicant has earned enough income so that the law requires filing a tax return, failure to file shows a lack of the good moral character needed to naturalize. To naturalize, a permanent resident must prove five years’ good moral character or three years under the special rules for the spouse of a U.S. citizen. Applicants who have failed to file required returns can prove good moral character by filing late. If you can’t afford to pay your taxes in full, the IRS will arrange for a payment plan. Compliance with that plan usually convinces U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that you have the necessary good moral character.
Q I didn’t file a tax return in 2008. Will that keep me from naturalizing? I have been a permanent resident since 2001. In 2008, my employer said he was giving me a raise, but I later learned that he wrongly reported that I had five dependents. So, the taxes deducted from my paychecks were less and my takehome pay was more. If I apply to naturalize, am I putting myself at risk of being deported? Name withheld, Phoenix
ANot to worry. USCIS typically looks to see if a naturalization applicant has complied with IRS tax-filing requirements only for the five (or three) years prior to the naturalization interview. Though naturalization form N-400 asks whether you have filed returns since becoming a permanent resident, your failure to file in 2008 won’t keep you from naturalizing.
Readers should note that if you earned so little money that the law doesn’t require you to file a return, you need not provide proof of filing. Even someone who is unemployed or receiving public assistance can become a naturalized U.S. citizen.