My spouse does not have a social security number.

[aldreteg]

My wife already applied for ITIN, but have we have not received yet.

A tax professional advised that you can input 9s as her ITIN on the tax return application.

Can someone please confirm if this is valid?

[JamesG1]

Random numbers that do not match IRS files would likely be rejected early in the e-filing process. 

In addition, random numbers may accidently claim another ITIN holder and interfere with another ITIN holder’s tax return.

The IRS states:

What is an ITIN used for?

IRS issues ITINs to help individuals comply with the U.S. tax laws, and to provide a means to efficiently process and account for tax returns and payments for those not eligible for Social Security numbers. They are issued regardless of immigration status, because both resident and nonresident aliens may have a U.S. filing or reporting requirement under the Internal Revenue Code.

You would need an ITIN if any of the following apply to you:

• You do not have an SSN and are not eligible to obtain one, and
• You have a requirement to furnish a federal tax identification number or file a federal tax return, and
• You are in one of the following categories:
  • Nonresident alien who is required to file a U.S. tax return.
  • U.S. resident alien who is (based on days present in the United States) filing a U.S. tax return.
  • Dependent or spouse of a U.S. citizen/resident alien.
  • Dependent or spouse of a nonresident alien visa holder.
  • Nonresident alien claiming a tax treaty benefit.
  • Nonresident alien student, professor or researcher filing a U.S. tax return or claiming an exception.

[Kiesha99s]

My husband is a F1 student and he was told to apply for ITIN. The problem is that because of high demand of requests at IRS, most likely he might receive it no sooner than 15 April. We are applying MFJ (married filling jointly). A tax consultant said that we have to send the W7 form (required for ITIN) and the identification documents required for this form attached with the tax return documents that we filled jointly to IRS. Eventually IRS will attach an ITIN number for my husband to our tax return case. I want to ask how legit is this information and if this is not true what should we do?

[DoninGA]

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@Kiesha99s wrote:

My husband is a F1 student and he was told to apply for ITIN. The problem is that because of high demand of requests at IRS, most likely he might receive it no sooner than 15 April. We are applying MFJ (married filling jointly). A tax consultant said that we have to send the W7 form (required for ITIN) and the identification documents required for this form attached with the tax return documents that we filled jointly to IRS. Eventually IRS will attach an ITIN number for my husband to our tax return case. I want to ask how legit is this information and if this is not true what should we do?

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If you are a US citizen or US resident and your spouse does not have a Social Security number or an ITIN and you are not applying for an ITIN with the tax return then you can only file your tax return as Married Filing Separately.  Where asked to enter the spouse's Social Security number enter 999-88-9999.  You can only print and mail your tax return, it cannot be e-filed.  When you print the tax return erase the Social Security number for your spouse and manually enter NRA for non-resident alien.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for the procedure to print and mail a tax return using the online editions - https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1944348-how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online

If you decide to file your tax return as Married Filing Jointly you must apply for an ITIN with the tax return and you would need to be providing a statement with your tax return that you want your Nonresident Alien Spouse Treated as a Resident.  See IRS Publication 54 Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad pages 7 and 8 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

Go to this IRS website for ITIN information - https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/general-itin-information

[Kiesha99s]

You didn’t get my point. My husband need an ITIN for sure. But if he applies for it now he won’t be able to get if before 15 April. And 15 April is the last day of filling up tax. In case he doesn’t receive it, what should he put at the ssn/Itin number. Am asking how should we proceed on filling up married jointly taxes? 

[DoninGA]

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@Kiesha99s wrote:

You didn’t get my point. My husband need an ITIN for sure. But if he applies for it now he won’t be able to get if before 15 April. And 15 April is the last day of filling up tax. In case he doesn’t receive it, what should he put at the ssn/Itin number. Am asking how should we proceed on filling up married jointly taxes? 

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If you file a tax return on or before April 15 with a Form W-7 then the federal tax return is timely filed and there is no issue with the IRS.

April 15 is the due date of the tax return if you have taxes owed.  If you are receiving a tax refund or there are no federal tax owed the tax return can be filed at any time up to three years from the due date for a tax refund.

Or you can file an extension request to file the tax return at any time on or before October 15, 2021 although any taxes owed must be paid on or before April 15, 2021.

IRS Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf

[Sabrina Brown]

This is quite the old forum, however I do see that there was never really an answer. If you are filing, or are filing with someone who does not have a SSN you will have to file with form w-7, and in order to bypass when it asks for a SSN you will need to change to file via mail rather than efile, because you cannot efile without this information, or with a w-7 either.

[ReneeM7122]

You are correct.  If your spouse doesn’t have a Social Security number or ITIN, you’ll need to apply for one when you mail in your return. To do this, follow steps 1–3 above and then do this:

1. Fill out Form W-7 and attach it to your return, as well as all necessary documentation.
2. Mail the return to the address specified in the Form W-7 instructions.

Here is a TurboTax article that discusses how to file if your spouse is a nonresident alien.

@Sabrina Brown