Even if you are not a lawful permanent resident for immigration law purposes, you may be – and if you have lived in the U.S. for a long time, you probably are – a “resident alien” for tax law purposes.
- If you are a “resident alien” for tax law purposes, you should complete the Form 1040 (or Form 1040-SR if age 65 or older) at the end of the tax year as you would have if you were in the United States.
- If you are a “non-resident alien” for tax purposes, you should complete Form 1040NR at the end of the tax year in order to receive any refund for the year.
- A resident spouse can file his or her tax returns jointly with a deported spouse if the deported spouse chooses to be treated as a “resident alien”for tax purposes. In that case, the deported spouse must declare his or her worldwide income on the return.
- If you fail to file your appropriate tax forms, you may be subject to civil and criminal penalties. This may make it impossible for you to ever immigrate to the United States again.
- All necessary forms are available on the IRS website at www.irs.gov (Spanish language version: www.irs.gov/Spanish)
KEY TAKEAWAY
If you are deported, you may still have to, or may wish to, file a Form 1040 or 1040NR, as appropriate, at the end of the tax year. Filing a tax return will allow you to receive any overpaid taxes and any tax credits – such as the Earned Income Tax Credit – that you are owed.