If you are a U.S. citizen with a nonresident alien spouse, you have three options for filing your taxes. The first two options require your spouse to have a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), while the third option doesn't require your spouse to have an SSN or ITIN but requires you to have a qualifying person with an ITIN.
Option #1. Married Filing Jointly with a Nonresident Alien Spouse
For federal tax purposes, if you choose this option, you’ll need to include all of your spouse's income, both foreign and domestic. This income will be subject to U.S. tax. You may be able to claim credits for any taxes your spouse paid on their foreign income. If your spouse doesn’t have an SSN or ITIN, you’ll need to apply for one using Form W-7
Option #2. Married Filing Separately with a Nonresident Alien Spouse
If you choose the Married Filing Separately (MFS) filing status, you won’t treat your spouse as a resident for tax purposes, and therefore you won’t include your spouse's income on your return. However, the Standard Deduction is less than Married Filing Jointly (MFJ), and you lose certain tax credits and benefits. If your spouse doesn’t have an SSN or ITIN, you’ll need to apply for one using Form W-7
Option #3 Filing as Head of Household
To qualify for Head of Household (HOH) status, you must pay more than half the cost of maintaining a household for certain dependents or relatives other than your nonresident spouse. Your nonresident spouse does not need an SSN or ITIN for you to file as HOH
To file using TurboTax - See Steps here.
For more details, you can check out IRS - Nonresident Spouse
