Good day, TurboTax Community. I am a U.S. citizen residing in the U.S. My spouse is a foreign national remaining abroad pending immigration proceedings and has never stepped foot on U.S. soil.
We filed jointly in 2024 and will do so for 2025 (and beyond). My spouse received an ITIN in 2025 using a maiden name (updating my spouse's lawful IDs is a slow process abroad).
My spouse received new foreign national IDs with the married name in 2025. (Note: Our immigration application has also been updated using the married name.)
Legally, we must submit a new Form W-7 communicating my spouse's name change to the IRS, but like last year, this requires (1) receipt of an original foreign national ID, (2) being forced by the Acceptance Agent to complete our taxes manually for a fee and (3) manually mailing our 2025 taxes to the IRS ITIN Office. In short, we are penalized for doing the right thing.
I have created our taxes with TurboTax using my spouse's married name and maiden name ITIN. All income is 100% through my sacrifices (I financially support the wellbeing of my spouse).
Questions:
1. Is there any legal means to which I may file our 2025 taxes without (1) being held hostage by a for-profit Trusted Agent or (2) mailing my spouse's original foreign ID/passport to the IRS?
2. Is it reasonable to list my spouse's ITIN-assigned maiden name to submit our 2025 taxes electronically? If "Yes," whenever my spouse is authorized to immigrate to the U.S., we will immediately file the name change then, though my spouse will automatically receive a social security number using the married name shortly after physically arriving in the U.S.
Thank you for your interest, expertise, and perspective.
