Is a tax return from Mexico considered valid document for US tax purposes?

[respinosa]

I have income and tax payments in Mexico but did not receive documents from banks or the social security administration; however, in Mexico all that information is automatically reported to the tax authorities, which is used for your Mexican tax return. Can I take the details from that Mexican return to prepare my US tax return? In case of a US audit, can I use that as supporting documents?

[RalphH1]

You could use the details from your Mexican tax return as you prepare your U.S. return. If the return is correct, it shouldn’t be a problem. But If it isn’t (or the IRS thinks it isn’t), whether your supporting documents will help you depend on the circumstances and a lot of variables.

There are no officially “valid” documents in the event of an audit. But the U.S. tax reporting forms have the most credibility, followed closely by things like the other documents your bank sends you about your investments. And other evidence, like your personal records and the Mexican tax return, would be somewhere a little further down the scale (and if printed in another language, possibly a little more problematic).

The best idea is to access your Social Security account here, to get your SSA-1099, and the bank website(s) for their 1099s and other documents. But if you’ve been trying that, and it’s not working for some reason (like security measures), then this may be a situation where you’re filing the most accurate return you can with the available information. And depending on how complicated your tax scenario is and how much detail the Mexican documents have, you may or may not feel comfortable about the accuracy of the return in the event of an audit.

@respinosa, it may look like I’m trying to avoid your question(!), but I hope this helps a little!

[respinosa]

This is helpful. Thank you!