Greetings,
My aging mom moved over to live with us here in US in April 2022 and has her Green Card in progress. Until the green card arrives, she cannot receive a SSN. Can i still claim her as dependant on my taxes? She is staying full time with us, is handicapped and has substantial medical and elder care expenses.
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Sorry, no you cannot claim her as a dependent on your tax return if she does not have a Social Security number or an ITIN issued by the IRS.
Thanks. Will i be able to find an amended returns once her SSN arrives? What is the deadline to file the amended return?
I am having a hard time getting a TIN number for her. I took an appointment and went with her to the IRS office, but the person at the counter kept refusing to accept her application providing weird reasons. Several phone calls to IRS with a request to call back from Supervisors haven't gone anywhere and the initial call agent fail to provide us with appropriate information on what is needed to get her an ITIN.
You should wait for the SS# or ITIN before you file ... go on extension and wait for it.
@taxsavvy Amended tax returns can be filed at any time. However, if the amended return has a tax refund it must be filed within 3 years from the due date of the original tax return.
You should contact a TAC office in your area for assistance with the ITIN.
Go to this IRS website for TAC locations - https://www.irs.gov/help/tac-locations-where-in-person-document-verification-is-provided
Thanks DoninGA. I did visit the local TAC office initially to file for my Mother's ITIN Number. They took me in after an hour of delay from the appointment time. It was about 10 minutes before the office was supposed to close. The person who interacted with me was in a hurry and initially suggested i reschedule the appointment. When i insisted that my mother's health does not permit venturing out, he punched in some answers in his computer and generated a report that he interpreted as the my mother cannot apply for an ITIN.
Are there any escalation paths for within IRS for such situations. I simply want to make sure that someone can confirm over the phone or otherwise that my mom is eligible for applying for an ITIN so that she is not turned away again.
You are now getting a little beyond my knowledge concerning an ITIN.
There are Certified Acceptance Agents who may be able to assist you with the ITIN.
Go to this IRS website for a list of authorized agents by state, scroll down and the states will be listed - https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/acceptance-agent-program
I will also page one of our experts when it concerns foreign individuals and the IRS.
@pk Can you give any assistance here?
@taxsavvy , having gone over the above interactions with my colleagues @DoninGA and @Critter-3 , what I am missing are the following :
(a) your own immigration status -- ( US citizen / GreenCard / work visa);
(b) entry visa of your mother ( non-working ? ) and the sponsor of your mother's GreenCard application
(c) if you or your spouse is not a citizen of USA, then citizen of which country? Is your mother citizen of the same country?
(d) does your mother have any US sourced income and/or foreign income ( and if foreign then from which country? Pension ? ) ?
I ask these , rather intrusive questions because I don't understand why the IRS TAC person told you , your mother is not eligible for ITIN ( unless she is saying that it is because she will shortly be eligible for SSN )
Please could you answer my questions and I will circle back thereafter -- yes ?
Sure,
(a) your own immigration status -- ( US citizen / GreenCard / work visa);
(a) U.S. Citizen
(b) entry visa of your mother ( non-working ? ) and the sponsor of your mother's GreenCard application
(b) Mother entered on B1/B2 Visa. I am the green card sponsor.
(c) if you or your spouse is not a citizen of USA, then citizen of which country? Is your mother citizen of the same country?
(c) Mother is citizen of India.
(d) does your mother have any US sourced income and/or foreign income ( and if foreign then from which country? Pension ? ) ?
(d) Mother has limited overseas income from her investments in native country.
I ask these , rather intrusive questions because I don't understand why the IRS TAC person told you , your mother is not eligible for ITIN ( unless she is saying that it is because she will shortly be eligible for SSN )
-- Yes, I am perplexed as well on why he would not accept her application for ITIN. Would appreciate your response.
Pk, could you please advise. Thanks!
@taxsavvy , Namaste. Please forgive my delayed response.
In order to facilitate and track tax collection, IRS uses TIN ( Taxpayer Identification Number ). Thus you have SSN, ITIN, ATIN, EIN etc. )
To be eligible for ITIN , one must have a need for filing a return :
1. beneficiary / taxpayer for US sourced income while still a Non-Resident Alien on work visa ;
2. beneficiary / taxpayer of US sourced investment income/ business with no work visa or even visitor visa
3. partake in the filing of a return ( Non-Resident Alien Spouse for joint filing with )
4. a minor dependent of a work visa Non-Resident / Resident Alien
Your mother's case creates an unique situation, in that she has no need to file a US return till she becomes a US person ( citizen / GreenCard). She has no US income, she is not an investor and even though she can be dependent -- there is no tax benefit i.e. personal exemption is no longer available , nor is there any tax credits to be availed. Under the current circumstances as described in your note , absent her investing in a US business, there is no need for her to file as a taxpayer.
See the instructions for form W-7--> https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf
I think that is why she is not eligible for ITIN.
Does this answer your query? Is there more I can do for you ?
Namaste ji
pk
Many Thanks pk and Namaste :-)!! I looked at the ITIN form W-7. Page 2 of the form outlines the following :
Allowable tax benefit. For tax years after December 31, 2017, spouses and dependents are NOT eligible for an ITIN or to renew an ITIN unless they are claimed for an allowable tax benefit or they file their own tax return. Spouses and dependents must be listed on an attached U.S. federal tax return and include the schedule or form that applies to the allowable tax benefit. An allowable tax benefit includes a spouse filing a joint return, head of household (HOH), American opportunity tax credit (AOTC), premium tax credit (PTC), child and dependent care credit (CDCC), or credit for other dependents (ODC).
I am claiming my mother for Depandant care credit (CDCC) and hence she should be eligible for an ITIN. Apparently this requires form 2441 to be filled out as a part of tax return and then submitted to IRS. Is this something i can do within Turbotax without mother's SSN or TIN? It's a very unique situation, I hope it can be handled within Turbotax.
@taxsavvy , I think I understand what you are trying to achieve. However , I am not quite sanguine about being able to do this. Here is a link you may want to familiarize yourself with -- > https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p503.pdf.
However, if you do decide to proceed with this ---
(a) Prepare your return including form 2441, claiming your mother as a dependent, fill out the details like name address etc. etc. In place of TIN, enter a dummy SSN, like your own SSN and changing the last four to 5000 for example -- I am assuming you are using the downloaded version ( because I am not familiar with the checks the on-line version does.
(b) Once you are done tell TurboTax , you are going to file by mail. Print forms required for filing
(c) Now go back and replace the dummy SSN for your mother with " N R A "
(d) Now Prepare a form W-7 including all the documents asked for ( copies of passport pages etc. etc. ).
(e) Sign and date everything as required and then file by mail ( please use tracking so you know it has been delivered ).
This would result in the return being directed to the ITIN unit ( I think it is in Austin TX ) and when approved the return will be processed ---- it will take quite a bit of time for your refund. In this case and if the ITIN is approved , it is approved retroactively for the tax year 2022.
The other option is to wait and file as and when her GreenCard application is approved ( but not after October 16th of 2023 ) and she has an SSN.
Note that , because she cam in on B-2 visitor visa her stay can only be extended to one year total and this may or may not be enough for the situation to settle down.
Good Luck on this effort ( at least Green Card )
Namaste ji
pk
Many Thanks PJ and right on with the 'Ji' :-).
I will go ahead with filing as you suggested. The TIN number helps with tax deduction not just for dependent care expenses. Since mother has been dependent upon me in 2022 and stayed with us, I should be able to claim her as a dependent, even if there were no dependent care expenses. I believe the suggestion for writing a dummy TIN Number would apply to this situation as well. The tax would then filed in paper along with W-7 request for TIN. Right?
Currently I have taxes due. Will turbotax allow me to pay the taxes electronically before the deadline of April 18th and file a paper return? I just don't want to be late in payment and incur penalties.
@taxsavvy , yes --- file the W-7 and the return together.
Since you owe to the IRS and State(?), it is a good idea to pay in by the deadline. Then the only issue would be if IRS disallows the ITIN and therefore your Child & Dependent Care Credit, you may a little bot more and that is a risk worth taking , esp. since by that time hopefully your mother has had the GreenCard. IRS is quite backlogged and the ITIN issuance may be as much as a year away.
Note that for paying your dues , TurboTax will only calculate the amount but has nothing to do with the payment thereof. You can either write a check and send to the IRS along with the payment stub produced by TurboTax OR go to the IRS site and there are options for payments -- credit card or direct debit from your bank etc. --- EFTPS. This would be better than writing a check. See here -->>
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/how-to-pay-your-taxes
Namaste ji
pk
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