With the arrival of tax season in the United States, people have questions about who should declare their income tax, who is exempt, what benefits exempt tax payers may get, tax payers’ responsibilities, etc.
Find below a few questions and answers that may help immigrants who reside in the United States.

1) What is the situation of immigrants who illegally crossed the Mexican border when they have to declare their income tax?

TH – Considering that this person is illegal in the country, but has resided in the USA for more than 6 months and has taxable income, the situation of this Brazilian is exactly the same as any American. They have to declare their income like anyone else.

2) People who declare their income tax with an ITIN and have a refund to receive from the government, can they receive their income tax refund?

TH – The ITIN is equivalent to the Social Security when declaring the income tax. For that reason, eventual refunds should be paid normally.

3) Is it possible for someone to set up a company with the ITIN alone? What about the people who came into the country through Mexico?

TH – Yes. They can set up a company as long as they also have another identification document with a photo. As the person has already gotten the ITIN, we understand that he/she certainly has a passport as it would not be possible to get the ITIN without one.

4) Is there any news about Income Tax regulations for the 2007 declaration?

TH – There is not a whole lot of news, but due to lack of information, many tax payers are not aware of the tools already available. Tax House, for example, operates a system which is integrated with the American Government, called E-FILE, which enables on-line filing of income tax declarations, that is, the IRS receives them instantly. This results in a faster refund besides providing more security.
The immediate refund is another novelty that Tax House offers its clients. This service allows the client to receive his/her refund check almost instantly. In this case, the tax payer only needs to meet the IRS demands.

5) What about someone who has never declared his/her income tax? Is it possible to start declaring without penalties?

TH – Yes. Tax House has the competence and experience to assist the Brazilians who wish to regularize their situation with the IRS. There are cases where a penalty may apply, but we have been able to review these penalties, reducing them and, in some cases, eliminating them completely.

6) Some attorneys claim that the person who has an ITIN or has an open immigration process should not declare their income tax. Is that true?

TH – With relation to the declaration prepared with an ITIN, the information is not true, since the ITIN has been created by the government with the sole purpose of declaring income. With regard to the person with an open immigration process, what must be taken into account is the consistency of the information presented to the Immigration and Tax Collection Departments. Our team has a board of attorneys represented by Law House (954-725-4600), which can assess each case and advise the client on the best course of action so as to avoid future problems.

7) What is the best advice before filing the income tax return?