My mom got her US green card in July 2019. She is 65+ and a widow. Her gross yearly income is less than $25700. Her source of income is only from abroad, no U.S income.

- Does she need to file taxes in U.S (including Form 8938)?
- Does she need file FBAR? She has more than $10000 in her foreign bank account.

Thanks in advance.

Yes, she DOES have to file a tax return. Under the "green card test", she must file as a resident alien (Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR) and report ALL world-wide income on her return.

Yes, she DOES have to submit the FBAR.

She WILL have to submit Form 8938 (FATCA) with the tax return if she has more than $50,000 in her foreign bank account.

She will also have to file a part-year state tax return if she lives in a state that has a state income tax.

Assuming se has made NO estimated tax payments, she will owe $1,231 to the IRS.

Thanks. Is she supposed to file as Single or Qualified Widow? What are the income limits for filing taxes (Federal and California)? Since she got her green card towards July end, her taxable income is only what she earned between July and December, right? ~$25700 is for the whole year. She lives in California.

If her income is below the filing limit and she doesn't have to file Federal taxes, will she automatically be exempt from filing FBAR and California State Tax also? She lived only July and August in California and flew back to her home country.

She will have to file SINGLE; qualified widow only applies if there are children.

No requirement to file the California return, but the FBAR is STILL required even if she does not file the federal tax return.