1040 Signature

[Eddy056]

1. Can the father sign as a TaxPreparer for my adult son’s return without his signature, although with his permission?
2. Is the TaxPayer required to sign the return if another signs the return (on their behalf)?
3. If another can sign in place of the TaxPayer, which sections of the 1040 return are signed and what additional notes are required to accompany the other’s signature?
4. What is the IRS source (e.g., Publication, Instruction, etc.) that supports the responses to these questions?

Situation:

• Son lives and works in China since 2018 (and won’t come home till 2023)
• In 2021 he married a Chinese citizen who has never been out of China (no SS# or ITIN).
• Obtaining an ITIN requires a trip to Hong Kong and a subsequent quarantine for 30 days total coming and going, hence obtaining an ITIN is not practical. Other ITIN options are not viable or acceptable either.
• He is filing Married Separately.
• TT will not allow e-File because TT requires a SS# or ITIN for Spouse.
• His paper return will be mailed from my house in the US, although we need to determine the best method of applying his signature.
• 1040 Instructions pg 63: “Requirements for a Paper Return: You must handwrite your signature on your return if you file it on paper. Digital, electronic, or typed-font signatures are not valid signatures for Form 1040 or 1040-SR filed on paper.”
• Asked Google: May a tax preparer sign return without taxpayer signature?
  • Google Replied: Who may sign a tax return?
    • You may be authorized to sign either as the taxpayer's representative or agent. Generally, a representative must be an individual eligible to practice before the IRS, such as an enrolled agent, attorney, or CPA; a family member (limited to spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister) may also act as your representative.
  • Unsure if Google has the correct answer.

Thanks for your interest and help in this issue – gotta love the effects of the COVID.

Regards, Helping Father

[Bsch4477]

Sounds complicated. Since he will file by mail why doesn’t he just sign his return and mail it himself?  He can complete the return on TurboTax by entering a fake tax ID for his wife to make the computer happy and then white out that number on the printed copy with the notation “Tax Id not issued “. 

[Critter-3]

If you are a US citizen or US resident and your spouse does not have a Social Security number or an ITIN and you are not applying for an ITIN with the tax return then you can only file your tax return as Married Filing Separately.  Where asked to enter the spouse's Social Security number enter 999-88-9999.  You can only print and mail your tax return, it cannot be e-filed.  When you print the tax return erase the Social Security number for your spouse and manually enter NRA for non-resident alien.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for the procedure to print and mail a tax return using the online editions - https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1944348-how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online

[Eddy056]

Thanks for your reply Bsch4477.

Do you have expertise to be able to address my questions 1-4?

Although I didn’t initially explain why the paper copy will be mailed from my US home, the simple reason is our experience with mail coming from China is that it is opened, copied, held, investigated – before it leaves China and typically not delivered.

The IRS does not accept “Tax Id not issued “, although the IRS accepts ‘NRA’. TT does have an algorithm to not accept incorrect SS# or ITIN, although TT does accept triple9, double 8, quad 9.

Which brings me back to the focus on the four questions – the questions are simple enough even though the situation may be complex for some.

[Eddy056]

Critter-3, thanks for your reply.

Do you have expertise to address my questions 1-4?

[Critter-3]

Can the father sign as a TaxPreparer for my adult son’s return without his signature, although with his permission?    No ... you cannot sign for the taxpayer unless you attach a POA to the return and unless you are a professional tax preparer with a PTIN number you cannot sign as the preparer.

Is the TaxPayer required to sign the return if another signs the return (on their behalf)?  Either the taxpayer signs their own return OR  the person with the POA signs the return.  

If another can sign in place of the TaxPayer, which sections of the 1040 return are signed and what additional notes are required to accompany the other’s signature?   Only the taxpayer signature line is used.  POA form 2848 is used :    https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-2848

What is the IRS source (e.g., Publication, Instruction, etc.) that supports the responses to these questions?

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf    on page 63