Stimulus payment eligibility for resident alien for tax purposes

[joe_bear]

Here's the relevant background info before I get to my question: My now-husband arrived in the U.S. on a K1 fiance visa in August 2021, and we got married that same month. We've applied for his green card, but it has yet to be granted, so currently, he is a nonresident alien *for immigration purposes*. Because I am a U.S. citizen and we are filing jointly, however, he is considered a resident alien for tax purposes. (Not sure if it's relevant, but my husband does not yet have an SSN. We are going to applying for an ITIN for him at an IRS office on February 1, when we will also submit our tax return.)

My question is: TurboTax says that together, we are eligible for $2800 total from the third stimulus payments from early 2021. I received $1400 as an individual at the time the payments were first disbursed. But TurboTax indicates that because we are married filing jointly, we are now eligible $2800, and so we will get a $1400 tax credit. If this is accurate, I will be very happy. But given that my husband is still a nonresident for immigration purposes (and that he wasn't even in the country when the payments were first sent out), I just want to make sure that he/we are truly eligible for the $1400. I wondered if we have a relatively unusual circumstance that TurboTax doesn't account for (e.g., him being newly arrived to the U.S., being a nonresident based on immigration but considered a resident for tax purposes).

If someone could give any input on whether TurboTax seems to be correct on this matter,  I would greatly appreciate it. Alternatively, if my husband is actually not eligible, is there a way to remove the credit from our return? TurboTax doesn't allow a way to skip it; it seems I would have to just (incorrectly) enter that we received $2800, so that the return wouldn't give us the $1400 credit.

[Critter-3 · Accepted solution]

What did you enter for his SS# when asked ?    Since you are applying for an ITIN use 999- 88 -9999 and then review the return again ... you should not get the $1400 for him since he doesn't have a SS#  UNLESS you are active duty military. 

If he can get a SS# then you should get that instead of the ITIN  and file an extension until you get the SS#. 

[joe_bear]

We have not entered an SSN for him at all. We tried applying for an SSN while his K1 visa active, but the Social Security Administration failed to process his application in time (despite numerous calls to them over the course of many weeks), so he is not eligible for an SSN until he either receives his interim work authorization or his green card.

[Critter-3]

Ok ... then use the fake ITIN in the program to populate the return and then when you print the return you will mail in attached to the W-7 form  simply white or black out the fake number.  

[joe_bear]

We actually have an appointment to file the return and W7 in person at an IRS office on February 1. Because my husband has to provide his passport when submitting the W7, we didn't want to mail it in.

However, to one of the points in your first post, it might actually be worth filing for an extension, because I think he should likely receive his work authorization well before October 15, which means he could get an SSN and in turn be eligible for the $1400.

Thank you for your responses!