Arif,
please disregard the discussion in the other answer.
If you are married at the end of the year, your only options are married filing separately or married filing jointly (or if you have a qualifying child living with you as HoH).
Assuming you are a resident alien, US citizen or permanent resident, the information below applies to you. If you are neither of those or are not sure, please post back with your visa status and time in the US.
Filing a tax return with a non-resident alien spouse
If a person is not a US citizen, permanent resident or
resident alien, they are considered a non-resident alien.
There are several reasons why someone is a non-resident
alien.
•
They live abroad
•
They were in the US but
don’t meet the Substantial Presence Test
•
They are in the US but are
an exempt individual (J, Q, F, M, A, G visa holders meeting certain conditions,
see http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/The-Green-Card-Test-and-the-Substantial-Prese...)
Generally, a non-resident alien (NRA) cannot file a
joint return. That would mean that if you are married to a NRA, you would need
to file as married filing separately or HoH if you have a qualifying child and
meet the HoH requirements.
Filing married filing separately requires providing the
SSN/ITIN for your spouse. However, NRAs often do not have an ITIN/SSN. If they
are not required to get an ITIN (meaning they are not required to file a US tax
return), you can file without it and write “NRA” in the field for the ITIN/SSN.
Note however, that you wont be able to e-file doing this.
If the NRA spouse has no US source income, the other spouse
can also take an exemption for the NRA spouse on a married filing separately
return. In order to do this, the NRA spouse needs to apply for an ITIN if they
don’t have an SSN/ITIN.
Another option is to file married filing jointly. Since an
NRA can not do that, both spouses need to sign a statement that they both
choose to treat the NRA spouse as a resident alien for the entire year. This
allows them to file jointly. The choice is valid for any following year unless
suspended or revoked.
Treating the NRA spouse as resident alien means that they are
required to report worldwide income. If they have foreign earned income, they
might be able to use the foreign earned income exclusion on form 2555(if the
meet either the bona fide residency or physical presence test) and/or use the
foreign paid tax credit on form 1116.
Filing jointly will also require the NRA spouse treated as
resident alien for tax purposes to have an SSN or ITIN.
For more info read here:
Publication 519:
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Publication-519,-U.S.-Tax-Guide-for-Aliens-1
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/U.S.-Citizens-and-Resident-Aliens-Abroad---No...
ITIN
To get an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) you
will need to fill out form W7 and attach it to the front of your tax
return. You will also need to submit additional documentation to prove your
identity and status. A passport is the only stand alone document, otherwise you
need to submit two documents (see instructions). You can submit original
documents, however, it is safer to submit copies. These copies need to
certified by the issuing agency.
Send your return, form W7 and the supporting documents to the
address in the instructions (see link below).
You can also apply in person at an IRS office handling ITIN
applications (see link ITIN Acceptance Agents).
Turbotax does not support form W7, but you can download it
and fill it out manually (or using a pdf editor).
Form W7:
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf
Instructions for Form W7:
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf
ITIN Acceptance Agents (US and international)
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Acceptance-Agent-Program
To apply for an ITIN from abroad:
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Obtaining-an-ITIN-from-Abroad
Additional publications of interest:
http://www.irs.gov/file_source/pub/irs-pdf/p1915.pdf
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p
501
.pdf
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p
515
.pdf
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p
519
.pdf
