What if my wife lives in a different country?

[Vanessa]

Generally, a U.S. citizen or resident alien who is married to a nonresident alien uses the married filing separately filing status.  This is probably the simplest but may not result in the best tax benefits.

You do have 3 possible options

1.  You can make an election to file a joint return (she will need an ITIN)or;
2.  File as Head of Household IF you are maintaining a home for certain dependents or relatives other than your wife
3.  Married Filing Separately (if your spouse does not have an ITIN you will need to paper file your return and write NRA in the space for your spouses SSN)

To make the Election to File a Joint Return:

• You and your spouse are treated, for federal income tax purposes, as residents for all tax years that the choice is in effect. However, for Social Security and Medicare tax withholding purposes, the nonresident alien may still be treated as a nonresident alien. 
• You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice (but you and your spouse can file joint or separate returns in later years).
• Each spouse must report his or her entire worldwide income for the year you make the choice and for all later years unless the choice is ended or suspended.
• Generally, neither you nor your spouse can claim tax treaty benefits as a resident of a foreign country for a tax year for which the choice is in effect. 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

Filing As Head of Household Qualifications

Although your nonresident alien spouse cannot qualify you as a head of household, you can qualify if (1) or (2) applies:

1.   You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was the principal home for the whole year for your mother or father for whom you can claim an exemption (your parent does not have to have lived with you), or
2.   You paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home in which you lived and in which one of the following also lived for more than half the year:

• Your unmarried child, grandchild, stepchild, foster child, or adopted child. A foster child will qualify you for this status only if you can claim an exemption for the child
•  Your married child, grandchild, stepchild, or adopted child for whom you can claim an exemption, or for whom you could claim an exemption except that you signed a statement allowing the noncustodial parent to claim the exemption or the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 support and claims the exemption under a pre-1985 agreement
•  Any relative listed below for whom you can claim an exemption: (please click on link to see list of relatives)

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad-head-...

Married Filing Separate

You may (BUT DO NOT HAVE TO) still be able to claim an exemption for your spouse if the following apply:

• ·        Must have no gross income for U.S. tax purposes,
• ·        Must not be filing a return,
• ·        Must not be the dependent of another taxpayer.
• ·        Has an ITIN

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf  (page 26)

For instructions on applying for an ITIN, click here https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-i-apply-for-an-itin

[gmn19811]

This sounds logic, however, when you want to file "Married filing separately", you need to indicate your wife's name as well as her social security number, and provided your wife does not have a social security number, then you need and TIN number for her. what you do if the taxpayer who was married last day of the year is now divorced and his ex wife is not welling to work with him? (this is a real case that i enountered)Thanks!

[DoninGA]

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@gmn19811 wrote:

This sounds logic, however, when you want to file "Married filing separately", you need to indicate your wife's name as well as her social security number, and provided your wife does not have a social security number, then you need and TIN number for her. what you do if the taxpayer who was married last day of the year is now divorced and his ex wife is not welling to work with him? (this is a real case that i enountered)Thanks!

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If you are a US citizen or US resident and your spouse does not have a Social Security number or an ITIN and you are not applying for an ITIN with the tax return then you can only file your tax return as Married Filing Separately.  Where asked to enter the spouse's Social Security number enter 999-88-9999.  You can only print and mail your tax return, it cannot be e-filed.  When you print the tax return erase the Social Security number for your spouse and manually enter NRA for non-resident alien.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for the procedure to print and mail a tax return using the online editions - https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1944348-how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online

[SpiroCA]

How to file for state tax (in my case CA) when spouse lives in a different country?

[LeonardS]

If you are filing your federal tax return as married filing jointly then your wife will automatically be included on your state tax return.  Where your wife is living does not affect your tax return.  However, your wife will need either a social security number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for you to be able to include her on your tax return.

[sanjo1984]

Instead of having to do a print out and not being able to e-file due to not having a SSN or ITIN for your currently out of country spouse, can Turbo Tax just add the ability to add NRA in the spouse's SSN column so people in this situation can e-file?

It defeats the purpose of e-filing when you have to print out and mail your return due to this single reason.

I hope TurboTax can work this out moving forward. I have been a TurboTax customer for some years now but now I'm thinking I may have to switch due to this single situation. 

[DawnC]

The Individual Tax Identification Number, or ITIN, allows taxpayers who don't have a Social Security Number (SSN) to file income tax returns. Unlike other forms of ID, ITINs only have one purpose—tax filing and reporting.   It is not TurboTax who requires the number.  The IRS will not accept a tax return via e-file without one of those two identification numbers.  @sanjo1984

[LaurelW]

I am a US citizen and my husband is a foreign national, but for 2016-2018 he was in the US on a student visa (technically a non resident) but he got an ITIN to work at the college and we filed jointly treating him as a resident for those tax years. In December of 2018 he took a job in Belgium and lived there for the entire 2019 year. I worked in the US until July and then I relocated to Belgium in November of 2019. I'm having trouble figuring out the best way to file for us now as it seems that if I file jointly it will take his income into account but not give him the exemption or credit for taxes paid, so I owe quite a bit. If I decide to file separately, I owe less but then can no longer contribute to an IRA, and would I still need to file for him so that he does not lose the resident for tax purposes status? The IRS has a lot of scary language about only being able to make that election once. None of the tax prep software seems to recognize people filing joint but being resident in other countries, but I'm not sure that matters anyway as he otherwise has no legal status in the US. I'm overwhelmed to say the least...

[KarenJ2]

You husband is only considered a US resident for US tax purpose if you file jointly.  It has nothing to do with immigration (just want to make sure you understand that).  If you want to keep filing jointly, he would declare his worldwide income but he can use foreign tax credit to help offset any double taxation.  Belgium has high taxes so most of his income tax should be offset.  I am not sure which election you both made.

The election under IRC § 6013(h) affords a nonresident alien who is married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and who becomes a U.S. resident by the end of the tax year, the ability to be treated as a U.S. resident.

If the election is made, neither of the two individuals making the election can make the election for any subsequent taxable year. Thus, neither spouse may, upon remarriage, ever make an IRC § 6013(h) election with a new spouse.

:A nonresident alien who does not become a U.S. resident during the year in question and is married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of the taxable year, may elect with his or her spouse to file a joint Form 1040 and be treated as a U.S. resident for income tax purposes for that year under IRC § 6013(g).

Once made, the election is in effect for all subsequent years except for years for which the election is suspended or terminated.  The election is suspended for a taxable year if during that taxable year neither spouse is a U.S. citizen or resident. The election can be terminated at the earliest of either of the following:  Revocation made by either spouse by filing a statement of revocation on or before the last day on which the return for that year is due,  The death of either spouse, (such termination would only affect tax years after the year in which the spouse died),  Legal separation under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance (as of the beginning of the taxable year in which the divorce or separation occurs.

[Sreeni]

I am a resident alien and on work permit. My wife however is in my home country last year. Can I mention the name and put NRA in social security column as she does not have SSN and ITIN ? 

Will IRS accept this for filing ?

[question20]

My wife has SSN, living in different country. My issue is NJ has healthcare penalty. so can I file federal married Joint and NJ State as HOH( our child is living with me) because when spouse visiting USA he was not in NJ where I reside... 

please advise?

[agentsully]

I qualify to file as Head of Household. I pay to keep up a home and pay more than half the cost for my parents (who are my dependents).

My question is, do I include my spouse's name in the return?

[xmasbaby0]

@agentsully 

You have added on to a thread that is old.  We do not have context for your question.  You want to know if you can file as HOH and whether you need to put your spouse on your return.  You have not mentioned if your spouse lives with you or whether your spouse has a SSN or ITIN.  Nor have you mentioned what income--if any--your parents have.  Provide more details so someone can help.

[agentsully]

My spouse lives in another country. She doesn't have a SSN or ITIN. My parents live with me and they have no income. I always claim them as a dependent on my tax return.