Deductions & credits

Bea · ‎May 31, 2019

HI

You have several options. The easiest would indeed be to not apply for an ITIN and write NRA in the box, but it might not be the most beneficial financially.

Filing a tax return with a non-resident alien spouse

If a person is not a US citizen, permanent resident or resident alien, they are considered a non-resident alien.

There are several reasons why someone is a non-resident alien.

They live abroad
They were in the US but don’t meet the Substantial Presence Test
They are in the US but are an exempt individual (J, Q, F, M, A, G visa holders meeting certain conditions, see http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/The-Green-Card-Test-and-the-Substantial-Prese...)

Generally, a non-resident alien (NRA) cannot file a joint return. That would mean that if you are married to a NRA, you would need to file as married filing separately or HoH if you have a qualifying child and meet the HoH requirements.

Filing married filing separately requires providing the SSN/ITIN for your spouse. However, NRAs often do not have an ITIN/SSN. If they are not required to get an ITIN (meaning they are not required to file a US tax return), you can file without it and write “NRA” in the field for the ITIN/SSN. Note however, that you wont be able to e-file doing this.

If the NRA spouse has no US source income, the other spouse can also take an exemption for the NRA spouse on a married filing separately return. In order to do this, the NRA spouse needs to apply for an ITIN if they don’t have an SSN/ITIN.

Another option is to file married filing jointly. Since an NRA can not do that, both spouses need to sign a statement that they both choose to treat the NRA spouse as a resident alien for the entire year. This allows them to file jointly. The choice is valid for any following year unless suspended or revoked.

Treating the NRA spouse as resident alien means that they are required to report worldwide income. If they have foreign earned income, they might be able to use the foreign earned income exclusion on form 2555(if the meet either the bona fide residency or physical presence test) and/or use the foreign paid tax credit on form 1116.

Filing jointly will also require the NRA spouse treated as resident alien for tax purposes to have an SSN or ITIN.

For more info read here:

Publication 519:

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Publication-519,-U.S.-Tax-Guide-for-Aliens-1

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/U.S.-Citizens-and-Resident-Aliens-Abroad---No...

ITIN

To get an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) you will need to fill out form W7 and attach it to the front of your tax return. You will also need to submit additional documentation to prove your identity and status. A passport is the only stand alone document, otherwise you need to submit two documents (see instructions). You can submit original documents, however, it is safer to submit copies. These copies need to certified by the issuing agency.

Send your return, form W7 and the supporting documents to the address in the instructions (see link below).

You can also apply in person at an IRS office handling ITIN applications (see link ITIN Acceptance Agents).

Turbotax does not support form W7, but you can download it and fill it out manually (or using a pdf editor).

Form W7:

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf

Instructions for Form W7:

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf

ITIN Acceptance Agents (US and international)

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Acceptance-Agent-Program

To apply for an ITIN from abroad:

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Obtaining-an-ITIN-from-Abroad

Additional publications of interest: