What should I do with a foreign spouse who lives overseas without a SSN ?

[trapezewdc]

I got married "overseas" in 2024 and my spouse is a foreign national and does not have a SSN. My foreign spouse lives overseas and is not a green card holder or US citizen and does not have any financial ties to the US: No incomes, no debts, no assets, no liabilities, nothing in the US.

For my tax filing for 2024 :

1. Should I file as "single" or "married filing separately" ?

2. In general, what's the difference between filing as "single" or "married filing separately", such as deductions, credits, and other critical important details ?

3. Can I wait until my foreign spouse moves to the US permanently before filing as "married filing separately" or "married filing jointly" ? My foreign spouse may not move to the US permanently in 2024 or even 2025.

Thanks !

[TomD8]

TurboTax has a help article on this topic:

How should I file my taxes if my spouse is a nonresident alien? (intuit.com)

[trapezewdc]

Thanks!

Regarding filing as "Head of Household", I found the below link referred to by TurboTax and saw the following details :

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-residents-abroad-head-of-hou...

Although your nonresident spouse cannot qualify you as a head of household, you can qualify if 1 or 2 applies:

1. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was the principal home for the whole year for your mother or father whom you can claim as a dependent (your parent does not have to have lived with you), or

I do support my parents and the principal home they live in. Even though I "can" claim them as dependents, can I choose not to do so and still qualify for "Head of Household" status ?

[DoninGA]

@trapezewdc To be eligible for Head of Household filing status you must have a qualifying person as a dependent on your tax return.  Without a qualify person as a dependent you cannot have HOH status.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for a qualifying person - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-filing-status/qualifying-person-head...

[pk]

@trapezewdc , generally agreeing with my colleagues @TomD8  and @DoninGA , I would  just to add the following:

(a) As a married person you cannot file as Single on form 1040 --- that would be viewed as perjury.  However, from a tax liability standpoint the implication is the same i.e. MFS ( Married Filing Separate ) would have the same tax liability as  a single  filer.

(b) An NRA spouse   living abroad ( except for  those in Canada, Mexico and in some case in India ) cannot be claimed  for exemption or filing as married filing jointly. This is true unless  the spouse  and you both agree to be taxed  on world income  ( seeks to be treated as a resident ) and has a Tax ID ( SSN or ITIN ).

(c) On Head of Household ( HoH ), generally  the qualifying  person must live in USA and also have income below a threshold.  Also some states have specific requirements  for HoH filing status.

(d) We are assuming that you are a US person  ( Citizen/ GreenCard/ Resident for Tax purposes ).

Is there more one of us volunteers can do for you ?

[trapezewdc]

@pk @DoninGA @TomD8 @Anonymous_  Thanks all.

I saw below details about "Married Filing Jointly with a nonresident alien spouse" :

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/file-taxes-spouse...

If this is the first year that you’ll file jointly with your spouse, you’ll need to tell the IRS that you’re electing to both be treated as U.S. residents for tax purposes. This election is permanent unless it’s suspended or revoked. Once revoked, the nonresident alien can’t elect to be treated as a resident in the future, even if married to someone else.

A quick question about the bold sentence above. What happens when a nonresident alien later becomes a US national(Citizen/GreenCard) either thru the current US spouse or another marriage with someone else, does it mean this US person will be treated as a nonresident alien for tax purposes for the rest of their life ? 

[TomD8]

"does it mean this US person will be treated as a nonresident alien for tax purposes for the rest of their life?"

No.  Once the individual becomes a U.S. citizen, the rules regarding non-resident aliens no longer apply.

[pk]

@trapezewdc , Agreeing with my colleague @TomD8  on  revocation of the choice ( treating an NRA spouse as a Resident for tax purposes  ), here is  more details from the IRS-->

Nonresident spouse | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)

Note that absent a change in Immigration Status of the NRA spouse, it is Once-in-Lifetime choice for each  spouse .