Can I fill out the file married jointly with out my spouse ssn and ITN number?

[niranjan-litu]

my wife is not present here

[Vanessa A]

Is your wife in another country?  Are you a US Citizen or Resident or are you a Non Resident Alien?

In order to include your wife on your return, she would have to agree to it.  She does not have to be physically present next to you while you fill out the return, however, you cannot include her on your return without her permission.

If she is living in another country and you are a US Citizen or Resident alien, and she agrees, then yes, you can include her on a joint return.  If you do this you will need to include her income from worldwide on your return.  You will need to print and mail your return along with the W-7 which is an application for an ITIN and any other required documents to the address in the instructions.  You will not be able to file electronically.

If you do not want to include her income on your return, and she is not a resident of the US, you can choose to file Married Filing Separate. To do this you would enter spouses name and DOB and then on the next screen you can select "xxx is a non resident alien or dual status spouse"  Make sure you put a check mark in the box that says My spouse is a Non-Resident alien in the My info section. When you get to the end and try to transmit the return, ignore the e-file errors regarding your NRA spouse and select transmit your return. If that does not work you will need to print and mail your return and write NRA (Non Resident Alien) in the space for her SSN. 

If you are a Non Resident Alien, then you would need to file a 1040 NR which TurboTax does not support, however, our partner Sprintax.com does. 

[pk]

@niranjan-litu , Namaste ji.

The answer is NO.  Unless you also  do the following ( to make it a YES )

(a) Request an ITIN for her ( assuming she is not eligible for SSN  -- being NRA )

(b) Request that both you and she agree  for her to be treated as a Resident for Tax Purposes  (and expose her world income to US taxes).

(c) AND of course you yourself must be a US Person ( citizen/GreenCard / Resident for tax purposes ).

Please tell me more about your situation ( either here or  by PM)

Namaste Niranjan ji

pk

[niranjan-litu]

Hi Team,

My wife is currently not in the USA, and there are no plans for her to come here anytime soon. Can I still file our taxes jointly if she gives her consent?

Considering this situation, could you please advise on the process for tax filing through your portal? Should I opt for the expert advice option or the standard filing?"

Thanks

Niranjan

[pk]

@niranjan-litu , 

considering that both of us   ( my response and that of my colleague @Vanessa A  ) essentially  have the same answer for you , I am at a loss to understand what more help do you need .

Whether you should do the return  ( MFJ )  through the use of TurboTax ( which is perfectly capable  for such situations ) or use the services of a Tax Professional, is really a choice that ONLY you can make.

As I indicated earlier,  your situation is not complicated  but at the end of the day, it is your return and no matter whom prepares  it for you, you are fully responsible  for the content.

Is there more I can do for you ?

[niranjan-litu]

hi, 

I would like to file through TurboTax, but I see there are two options: "TurboTax Premium" and "Live Assisted Premium." Could you please suggest which option would be more suitable for my case?

Here are my requirements:

1. I want to file as "Married Filing Jointly."
2. My wife does not reside in the USA and she does not have an SSN or ITIN.
3. She is willing to provide consent to file jointly.

Please review this scenario and guide me on how to start the filing process. I’m new to using TurboTax.

[pk]

@niranjan-litu , Namaste ji

 Making the following assumptions :

1. You a US person ( citizen/ GreenCard /  Resident for Tax purposes )

2. Your Tax home is US

3. Your spouse  lives abroad, has   identity documents ( Indian Passport etc. ) ,  within reasonable travel distance to US consulate or has access to a "verifying agent" ( explained later )

4. reference -- Nonresident spouse | Internal Revenue Service

Given the above to be true:

(a)  you prepare  your return, MFJ status, using a dummy SSN ( such as 123-54-6000, but not a duplicate of your own SSN ).    For income you include  your W-2 etc. and include  her  Indian income for the calendar year 2024 ( gross income before any deductions, TYDS etc. ).

(b) When all done ( for both federal and state and passed all TurboTax checks ) , choose "file by mail".  Print the return ( Federal and  State ).

(c) Correct the  printed return by  replacing her SSN entry with the words "  N  R  A".  Date , Sign -- NOTE : your wife also must wet sign and date these documents as  if she was here in the US.

(d) Go to IRS site , download  form W-7 and its instructions.  Have her fill out all the relevant information.

(e) Make a copy of all the required documents as described in the instructions for form W-7.

(f) Have her visit the US Consulate ( or "verifying agent") to certify the copies  as true.

(g)Prepare, sign, date a  note  signed by both of you that you want your wife to be treated as resident for tax purposes.

(f) Mail all of the above to the IRS.

This should result in  (A) exposing her  income to the US ( federal and State );  (B) Any Indian tax on the same income ( her year income for 2024/2025 allocated to US tax year 2024 ) would now be eligible for foreign tax credit ( per the US-India tax treaty ) and (C)  a retroactive issuance of  ITIN for your wife.

Note that once she has been included as a resident for tax purposes, it will continue  for all future years.

My preference for such scenarios is TurboTax Windows download of Home & Business version.

Does this help ?  Is there more I can do for you ?

Namaste ji

pk

[AmyC]

You can start the return as suggested online  and if you decide you would prefer for someone else to handle it, switch to letting the expert handle it. There is an upgrade button you can click anytime you decide you don't want to figure it out.

If you go with the download version, the expert help is not available.