Filing Jointly For Tax Purposes With Non-Resident Alien

[brianfouts]

Can I use Turbo Tax to file jointly with my wife who is a Canadian resident. She has an ITIN and we have filed jointly and electronically this way already, but we are trying to eliminate the extraordinary fees we have been paying to a tax accountant each year. My wife uses Turbo Tax to do her Canadian return and we send it to the accountant to eliminate some of the costs, but we are seeking another solution. I spoke with H&R block by phone today and they are claiming their software does it, but I prefer, as does my wife, to use Turbo Tax. Planning ahead...

Brian

[rjs]

Yes, you can use TurboTax to file your U.S. tax return jointly with your nonresident alien wife who has an ITIN, as you have done in the past.

I assume that you are a U.S. citizen. If not, the answer might be different, depending on your status.

[rjs]

@brianfouts  I have updated my original answer to your question with important additional details. Please return to the online forum to read the updated answer. Do not rely on the answer that you received in an email.

[brianfouts]

Thank you for your prompt response to my inquiry. 

You wrote: "Yes, you can use TurboTax to file your U.S. tax return jointly with your nonresident alien wife who has an ITIN, as you have done in the past."

I just want to clarify that the highlighted portion of your response is not suggesting that I used Turbo Tax to do my "Filing Jointly For Tax Purposes With Non-Resident Alien" in the past.

I used Turbo Tax for years until I married a Canadian, and I found out through my Turbo Tax inquiries that Turbo Tax software was not equipped to do such joint filing.

You are correct: I am a citizen of the USA, and my wife is a Canada citizen. And, neither of us has joint ownership in anything tying us financially to the other's country of citizenship.      

[rjs · Accepted solution]

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@brianfouts wrote:

I just want to clarify that the highlighted portion of your response is not suggesting that I used Turbo Tax . . .

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Yes, I understood that you did not use TurboTax. I meant that you can file jointly with your spouse, as you have in the past. You can use TurboTax to file the same type of tax return that the accountant prepared for you in the past.

In order to file jointly with a nonresident alien spouse, you and your spouse made an election to treat the nonresident alien spouse as a resident for tax purposes. I assume that you discussed the implications of that election with the accountant the first year that you filed jointly, and that you are comfortable continuing on that path.

[brianfouts]

Yes indeed we did discuss this in detail, and happy to continue along this path. Thank you for your time and verification's.