IRS Announces Temporary Change to Procedures for Form 8802

The IRS announced a temporary change in policy with respect to Form 8802, Application for United States Residency Certification, for a two-year period. Effective April 4, 2022, if taxpayers received a request from the IRS for a signed copy of their most recent return to support an application for a U.S. residency certification because their return had not yet been posted by the IRS by the time they filed their Form 8802, they will only need to submit a signed copy of the current year base income tax return rather than a copy of their entire return. This means the tax return without any accompanying forms, schedules or attachment. If, at the time of filing Form 8802, taxpayers are unsure if their most recent tax return has yet to be posted by the IRS, it may take less time to process their application if they include a signed copy of the base income tax return with their Form 8802. Further, by filing a signed copy of the base return with their Form 8802, taxpayers are attesting that they have previously filed the income tax return with the IRS as shown on the signed copy. Additionally, the IRS will monitor compliance during this time to determine whether to extend this policy after the two-year pilot period. Finally, more information can be found at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/temporary-change-in-policy-with-respect-to-applications-for-us-residency-certifications-for-a-two-year-period.