Greetings, TurboTax Community. Once again, I appreciate your interest and questions, DaveF1006 and pk.
I do think the "long-term" perspective is the most efficient path in most constructs. As pointed out in the "Filing Basics" link within DaveF1006's second message, "A spouse who is Married Filing Separately is not required to provide the Social Security card for the other spouse, although the return cannot be e-filed without the spouse’s Social Security number." Therefore, if my wife is currently eligible for a SSN through our marriage, perhaps I will visit a Social Security Office 'now' to seek a SSN for my non-resident alien spouse. If the Social Security Office assigns a SSN to my wife, it still won't prevent my filing "Married Filing Separately" or "Married Filing Jointly" given my wife's lack of income. With an assigned SSN, would this permit me to resume e-filing annual tax returns (regardless of classification)?
Believing that I can change my filing status between "Married Filing Separately" and "Married Filing Jointly" from year to year, I will plan to test both options in the TurboTax software and file the classification that is most beneficial (though short of significant tax reform, no meaningful difference in outcome is foreseen between them).
If the course of action I state above is just and actionable, then, again, I appreciate your insight and advice on this sensitive topic, Opus 17, TomD8, DaveF1006, and pk.
Finally, belated congratulations to pk for a "very Happy Married Life" spanning "55 years"! My age will not allow my wife and I to attain such an enduring milestone; however, every moment we are together feels like I/we are in our youth. I will remain contented by each moment we share together for love transcends all time.
