Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Greetings, TurboTax Community. I appreciate your continued interest and questions, Opus 17 and pk.

I returned to the U.S. last week after performing the in-person Catholic wedding ceremony my wife dreamed about for all her life. She looked magnificent in her long flowing white dress. She plans to keep the dress forever; while impractical, I now have learned that anything and everything is viewed as a "memory" in Filipino culture - hence why they take a billion photos and selfies wherever they go.

During yesterday's video chat, my wife confirmed that she intends to become a U.S. citizen. Once USCIS grants her a visa, she will move wherever I am. However, Immigration is so far behind that no decision is expected before mid-2026 (visa applications submitted in March 2024 have yet to be acted upon). Until she receives a visa, she will remain in her native Philippines.

When I die, my wife will inherit my Roth 401k, Roth IRA, small life insurance and annuity policies, and possibly a survivor's benefit in addition to spouse's Social Security income. (Due to my chronic relocating for work, I have not purchased a house. If/when we do, she will be the sole owner after my passing.) No trust currently exists as we wait for the Philippine Statistics Authority to recognize our U.S. marriage so she can legally change her name. Due to her lack of income, my wife does not own foreign equities.

My tax home is the U.S. It is only when I reach retirement age that we may consider relocating permanently abroad. I have filed an annual U.S. tax return for 20+ years.

Please forgive me; my "undocumented live-in caretaker" reference relates to my wife working full-time as a domestic servant in the Philippines without any employment documentation submitted to the Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue.  My wife has been fully employed for 20+ years, but the Philippine government possesses no employment earnings record for her (this is common for low-skilled domestic laborers in the Philippines).

We do not have any children. This may change only after my wife is able to relocate with me in 2026 (or later).

When I pass, in the absence of children (either biological or adopted), my wife will be my only nuclear family member. Accordingly, she will inherit all that I have saved/prepared for her. Reading today that an "inheritance tax" is state-specific (https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/estates/what-are-inheritance-taxes/L93IUc3sC#GoTo-What-are-inhe...), it does not appear that she will be required to file a tax return when she assumes ownership of these assets. Since she will not work for a third-party after immigrating to the U.S., my wife may not need an ITIN or SSN until she takes distributions from these inherited accounts? (Again, I recognize the need for a revocable trust to bypass probate.)

Long-term, she and I are open to relocating anywhere in the world. Without children, I suspect that we could wind up spending our last years in the Philippines - or in an Eastern country - to be closer to her family. This depends on our financials, however: If I must work until my death to sustain a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes on our backs, we'll remain in the U.S. While I am a huge saver, no amount of savings can make up for a poor economy (i.e., high inflation) or market crash.

Given these details, it doesn't appear that assigning an ITIN for my wife is an urgent need and I can continue to e-File as "Married, Filing Separately" knowing that my wife has no cause to file until my passing. Does this seem accurate? (A SSN is still required for my wife to be added to a bank account and/or issued a credit card.)