Level 2

Question

ITIN application for foreign spouse

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
May 31, 2019
21 replies
220 views

I got married early last year to a citizen of the Philippines. She has never been to the US and has no income in the Philippines. I work part-time and attend school here in the US. Do I need to file for an ITIN or can I just file as married filing separately and avoid the ITIN altogether? What are my options for this? Thanks!

TurboTax Free Edition Online

E

erbirneyAuthor

Level 2

Yes sorry, I am a US citizen and was born in the US.

B

bine22

Level 8

are you a US citizen or what is your visa status and how long have you been in the US?

A

Anonymous

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-Presence-Test)

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---Nonresident-Alien-Spouse

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:

http://www.irs.gov/file_source/pub/irs-pdf/p1915.pdf

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p 501 .pdf

www.i rs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p 515 .pdf

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p 519 .pdf

E

erbirneyAuthor

Level 2

What would happen if I filed separately and wrote "N.R.A." for her SSN number? Would that cause issues?
And if I go ahead and apply for the ITIN, do I apply first, then send a copy with my tax forms? Or do I apply by attaching the W-7 to the tax form? I found conflicting answers in my searches for this.
Thanks!

O

onlyconnect04

Level 2

I am also applying for an ITIN for my NRA spouse from Taiwan. My only question is, do I still list her as a dependent on my tax return or leave that section blank? Thank you!

B

bine22

Level 8

a spouse is never a dependent. You would list her as a spouse

B

bine22

Level 8

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-Presence-Test)

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---Nonresident-Alien-Spouse

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:

http://www.irs.gov/file_source/pub/irs-pdf/p1915.pdf

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p 501 .pdf

www.i rs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p 515 .pdf

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p 519 .pdf

E

erbirneyAuthor

Level 2

So either way I file, whether I apply for an ITIN or not, I can't use the Turbotax software and need to mail in my taxes?
Will filing for an ITIN affect the amount of time it takes to get a refund?

C

cubbie2015

Level 2

Your spouse would have to be listed on your tax return either as your spouse for married filing jointly or as a dependent

or no ITIN will be assigned if spouse is not on return. Make sure your supporting documents are all original or certified by the issuing agency (country) the office that issued the document say passport you would go to the passport office