Form 8332 - Efile.

[johnmarkplusplus]

My wife is currently in her home country, and our son (a U.S. citizen) is with her.  She has spent more time with our son in 2024. Long story short, I will be filing as Married Filing Separately (MFS). My wife will not be filing her 2024 taxes. My questions is, how do I E-file my taxes with Form 8332? How does my wife sign Form 8332 if she isn't filing taxes?

[rjs]

Your wife does not file Form 8332 with the IRS. She has to sign it and give the signed copy to you. If you e-file your tax return, you fill out Form 8453, attach the signed Form 8332 to Form 8453, and mail it to the IRS. Keep a copy of the signed Form 8332 for your records.

[Bsch4477]

You could make the case that you don’t need that form since she is not giving up any rights to the dependency because she is not filing a return. But to avoid any complications she can send you the signed form. 

 As the non-custodial parent filing your return electronically, you must file Form 8332 with Form 8453, (U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal) for an IRS e-file Return. See Form 8453 and its instructions for more details. This must be done within 3 days of your e-filed return being accepted by the IRS.