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!
are you a US citizen or what is your visa status and how long have you been in the US?
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
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
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!
"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."
Simple question: This is the simplest option for me. Does the statement have to be notarized or anything, or do I just include it with my taxes?
It doesn't have to be notarized. See here for details:
<a href="http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Nonresident-Spouse-Treated-as-a-Resident" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Nonresident-Spouse-Treated-as-a-Resident</a>
How to Make the Choice
Attach a statement, signed by both spouses, to your joint return for the first tax year for which the choice applies. It should contain the following information:
A declaration that one spouse was a nonresident alien and the other spouse a U.S. citizen or resident alien on the last day of your tax year, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year
The name, address, and identification number of each spouse. (If one spouse died, include the name and address of the person making the choice for the deceased spouse.)
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!
a spouse is never a dependent. You would list her as a spouse
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
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
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?
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
A spouse CAN be listed as a dependent The IRS has special rules for this.
sorry, never as a dependent. You can only list a spouse as a spouse and get a personal exemption (and in some cases even on a MFS return)
No that is not correct. If you do not understand that call the IRS. I have friends that claim spouses as dependents and have been doing so for over 20 years
I understand pretty well. Just read publication 17 for starters.
a spouse is never a dependent. You would list her as a spouse
Jazak Allah Khair! (May God bless you for this good deed.) Thank you so much for posting this informative response. You have helped me big time!
You can still use TurboTax to prepare your return. If you are choosing to file married filing separately or married filing jointly, you will need to enter a dummy SSN for your spouse in TurboTax before the software will allow you to print the return.
When asked to enter your spouse's Social Security number in TurboTax, enter a dummy SSN such as 305-44-0001. Then after you print the return, you need to white out the dummy SSN and leave blank if attaching a W-7 application for married filing jointly or if married filing separately enter NRA on the space for the number.