Is your wife in another country? Are you a US Citizen or Resident or are you a Non Resident Alien?
In order to include your wife on your return, she would have to agree to it. She does not have to be physically present next to you while you fill out the return, however, you cannot include her on your return without her permission.
If she is living in another country and you are a US Citizen or Resident alien, and she agrees, then yes, you can include her on a joint return. If you do this you will need to include her income from worldwide on your return. You will need to print and mail your return along with the W-7 which is an application for an ITIN and any other required documents to the address in the instructions. You will not be able to file electronically.
If you do not want to include her income on your return, and she is not a resident of the US, you can choose to file Married Filing Separate. To do this you would enter spouses name and DOB and then on the next screen you can select "xxx is a non resident alien or dual status spouse" Make sure you put a check mark in the box that says My spouse is a Non-Resident alien in the My info section. When you get to the end and try to transmit the return, ignore the e-file errors regarding your NRA spouse and select transmit your return. If that does not work you will need to print and mail your return and write NRA (Non Resident Alien) in the space for her SSN.
If you are a Non Resident Alien, then you would need to file a 1040 NR which TurboTax does not support, however, our partner Sprintax.com does.
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