topic Re: Wife is a non-resident alien. We permanently live abroad. Software will not let me file, as she has no US SS# or ITIN# What to do now? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Wife is a non-resident alien. We permanently live abroad. Software will not let me file, as she has no US SS# or ITIN# What to do now?

jdphx64 — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 22:21:45 GMT

Re: Wife is a non-resident alien. We permanently live abroad. Software will not let me file, as she has no US SS# or ITIN# What to do now?

pk — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 05:09:15 GMT

@jdphx64 , are you US citizen/Resident ( Green Card ) ? Spouse is citizen of which country? Your tax home is in which country? Is this your first year abroad or have you been abroad for at least one or more years ? Does your wife have foreign / local income ? Do you have children?

Please answer and I will come back

Re: Wife is a non-resident alien. We permanently live abroad. Software will not let me file, as she has no US SS# or ITIN# What to do now?

jdphx64 — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 07:34:07 GMT

are you US citizen/Resident ( Green Card ) ?

US Citizen

Spouse is citizen of which country?

Ukraine

Your tax home is in which country?

US?

Is this your first year abroad or have you been abroad for at least one or more years ?

Full time abroad for last 3 years

Does your wife have foreign / local income ?

Do you have children?

Yes

Thanks for any future replies!!

Re: Wife is a non-resident alien. We permanently live abroad. Software will not let me file, as she has no US SS# or ITIN# What to do now?

pk — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 17:24:34 GMT

@jdphx64 , thank you for your replies.

Since your wife has no income to be taxed by the USA ( no world income ), the easiest path forward is as follows:

1. Prepare your return using TubroTax , filing status Married Filing Joint ( MFJ), use a dummy SSN for your wife ( such as 527-88-9999), reporting your joint world income, using foreign earned income exclusion ( if you have foreign source income, esp. if being taxed by Ukraine ).

2. Print the income ( tell TurboTax you are filing by Mail ), snopake out the dummy SSN of your wife and write in NRA in the space, sign ( both ), date.

3. Download form W-7 from www.irs.gov, fill out the form ( for your wife ), include all the documents required ( note that you also could visit local US consulate and get them to certify your wife's documents -- you then do not need to send the originals, just copies would work )

4. Send the whole package ( return plus the W-7 and attachments) to the IRS by mail. This will result in issuance of ITIN retroactively for the year 2019 and valid for three years.

Does this help ?

Re: Wife is a non-resident alien. We permanently live abroad. Software will not let me file, as she has no US SS# or ITIN# What to do now?

jdphx64 — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 17:32:07 GMT

Yes...

But then have I not hung "an anchor" around her neck of mandatory US IRS tax

reporting requirements? Not like even most US citizens can keep up with, or fully

understand US tax code.

Re: Wife is a non-resident alien. We permanently live abroad. Software will not let me file, as she has no US SS# or ITIN# What to do now?

pk — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 17:43:49 GMT

well, yes and no. As long as uses the MFJ she comes under the US taxes on world income. If one year you choose to file as Married Filing Sep , there is no requirement to bring her world earnings under US taxes and no credit for taxes paid to Ukraine on her earnings. It is not permanent ( unlike citizenship / Resident( Green Card ).

Rest Easy and enjoy the country & its people