@GreenMountain85 wrote:
I apologize if this is a silly question but- I am supporting my spouse as well as 3 children. Don't they (at least my children) count as a qualifying person? I have paid for 100% of my home's expenses. Doesn't that qualify me for HOH?
According to what I've read, I have no choice but to not treat my spouse as a resident because he does not have an ITIN. I cannot include him because he doesn't have a SSN or ITIN.
You have not provided sufficient information. Where do your children live? Do you live with your spouse?
You can't file as HOH unless you are living separately from your spouse. To file as HOH, you must provide care for a qualifying person who lives in your home more than half the year. So if the children don't live with you they aren't qualifying persons for HOH. Your spouse can never be a qualifying person for HOH because a spouse is never a dependent and because if you live with your spouse, you don't qualify for HOH to begin with.
Your other information is also incorrect. You can file a joint return if you apply for an ITIN at the same time.
If your spouse is a non-resident alien, I assume you are living overseas and are still required to file a US tax return. Here are your choices.
1. File married filing separately. List only your own income and deductions. To get Turbotax to complete the interview, you will need to provide your spouse's name and tax numbers, use a fake number such as 999-88-9999. Print your return, you can't e-file. Use white-out to cover the fake tax number and write "NRA" for your spouse's tax number. Sign and mail your return.
2. File as married filing jointly. If you make this election, you must report all your spouse's world-wide income as well as your own, even if your spouse is already taxed in another country. (There is a deduction or credit for foreign taxes paid.). Use the same SSN trick to pass the interview. Print your return and sign it. Also complete a print a form W-7, application for ITIN for your spouse. Mail the tax return, the W-7, and any proof required by the W-7, to the address used for processing W-7 applications. After the IRS issues the ITIN, they will process the tax return.
You may want to use an international mailing service with tracking and proof of delivery.
Your children can be your dependents if they are US citizens and have valid social security numbers. Your children are probably US citizens if they are your biological children even if they are born overseas, but you will have to apply for SSNs from the embassy or consulate. If your children are eligible for SSNs, don't file until you get them, even if you have to file late. Certain tax benefits are only allowed if your child has a valid SSN and the tax return is filed on time. (On time can be as late as October 15, but only if you request a 6 month extension before April 15.). If your children are not US citizens but are residents of Canada or Mexico, you can claim them as dependents but you need to apply for an ITIN for each of them as well.
Your children must also live with you more than half the year, and meet all the other tests to be a dependent.
If your spouse and children live overseas and you live in the US, you still have the choice of filing MFS or MFJ, but if you file MFS, you can't include your children as dependents because they don't live with you. You can include them if you file MFJ, because they live with your spouse, but again, only if they are US citizens or citizens of Mexico or Canada.
