No, for a couple of reasons.
1) If you are married, your only filing options are Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately. In both situations, your spouses SSN must be included on the return in order to e-file.
If they do not have an SSN and you choose to file Married Filing Separate , you will need to still enter their information and then choose that your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the year.
If you file as Married Filing Separate, then you would only include your income.
If your spouse chooses to be treated as an US Citizen for tax purposes, and you want to file as Married Filing Joint, you would need to include their income on your return as well (even if it is under the table) and they would be taxed on it. If you choose filing jointly, you will need to print and mail your return along with the W-7 and any other required documents to
IRS
ITIN Operation
P.O. Box 149342
Austin, TX 78714-9342
Filing jointly does allow you to claim certain tax credits, like the EITC and education credits, that you cannot claim if you file separate.
2) If someone has taxable income, even if it is "under the table" it must be accounted for on any federal return they are on even if the employer does not account for it. Say this was your child that was 25 years old that you wanted to claim for the Other Dependent Credit, and they were paid $5,000 under the table, you technically cannot claim them on your return as that would be tax fraud since they earned more than $4,700. Basically, if income is earned, it does need to be considered for anyone who is on your tax return.
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
