Thank you for your continued guidance, Opus 17 and pk.
My non-resident alien wife has mailed to me the following:
1. Signed and dated IRS Form W-7
2. Signed IRS non-resident alien spouse statement
3. Signed and notarized IRS Form 2848 (Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative)
4. Original Philippine passport
I will meet with an authorized civilian at a tax preparation center who will create a certified passport so I do not have to mail the original and wonder when it is will returned to my spouse's foreign address.
Adding another wrinkle: I received a corrected consolidated 1099 for my brokerage. Previously, I "printed" our original federal and state income taxes but not mailed them as I wait to meet with the designated passport certifier. Unable to delete my original tax return in TurboTax, I was forced to amend our federal and state tax returns. TurboTax limits the space available to explain why tax returns are amended, but if a rational human reads the blocks they will understand that no original returns were mailed.
The plan forward:
1. Meet with the tax professional to certify my spouse's original passport
2. Mail the W-7, IRS non-resident alien spouse statement, notarized 2848, amended federal income tax return, and certified passport to the IRS ITIN office
3. Mail the W-7, amended federal income tax return, IRS non-resident alien spouse statement, and amended state income tax return to the state
4. Return the original passport to my non-resident alien spouse
5. Pray for a miracle!
Note: No taxes are due: I am to receive a small federal refund; state is $0
Per my call to the IRS ITIN office, it is backed up 3+ months. I would love NOT filing an extension for the state; if the state will accept only the items identified in #3 above, it would allow my wife to change her middle and surname (we are waiting until after our taxes are accepted)...however, like the federal income taxes, the signature block does 'require' both signatures for a "Married, filing Jointly" return and I do not have a spouse-signed & notarized Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative (IRS Form 2848) for the state. I suspect I will have to locate the state equivalent form and have my wife mail the signed/notarized version in order to file with the state.
