I was in the US for two years with a J1 visa as visiting scholar, and for 2017 I am considered a resident for US taxes. I have two children with J2's that I would like to claim. However, they do not have SSN's. We are now back in Europe, so getting an ITIN does not seem possible. I have seen a Q&A regarding this issue, that is applicable to my situation:
I was in the US as a J1 and so was my spouse on a J2.
She didnt have a SSN or ITIN. If I file as single I have to pay, what do I do?
[IF you are ] classified as a US resident alien, then with
your J-1 visa status and a spouse with a J-2 visa and no Social Security Number
or ITIN, you have to paper-file, by mail, a US Form 1040 tax return as Married
Filing Separately, listing just your own income, and then manually writing in
with a pen the words "None" or "Not Applicable" where you
are asked to give the US tax ID number for your spouse. This is difficult
but can be done in TurboTax.
I believe it is exactly my situation, except the J2s are children, not spouse. Could you please explain what I should do? I would like to learn how to do this on TurboTax if possible, so I can simulate my taxes. Can you please give me instructions so I can do a simulation of my 2017 taxes? I am not sure how much is deducted for each J2. Is it possible to do a 2017 simulation at this time? or do I have to do it as if it were 2016? I could not see on your website how to switch to 2017. Also, my source of income came from Europe, should I convert from euros to US dollars taking a yearly average for that year?
Thank you!!
