How to file last year's taxes when my immigrant wife has a new SSN as of this year?

[Walter_94]

I got legally married to a foreign spouse in 2021. I filed as "married filing separately" for years 2021 and 2022. She never got an ITIN, so I put "nonresident alien" in her SSN# box. Starting in 2023, I began taking the "married filing jointly" tax deduction in anticipation of her arrival. I have not filed my 2023 taxes yet but I did file an extension. She will likely arrive around May this year, and as soon as she arrives she will receive an SSN#. She still has no ITIN.

Two questions:

-Can I file my 2023 taxes as "married filing jointly" when she gets her new SSN, even though that number didn't exist until 2024?

-Are there any special forms I need to send to the IRS to notify them of the new SSN? I have heard that new SSN#'s take a few months to be fully recognized by the system

[DaveF1006]

Yes, you may file jointly now if you wish. Here is the procedure for filing.

1. Prepare your return in Turbo Tax and choose Married Filing Jointly as your filing status. Leave your spouses SSN number blank when it asks for it.
2. When you get to the Let’s get ready to e-file screen, select File by Mail.
3. Attach a statement to your return, signed by each of you that states that one of you is a U.S. citizen and the other is a nonresident alien and that you’re electing to both be treated as U.S. residents for tax purposes. 
4. Include the full name, address and Social Security number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) of each spouse. Since you wife does not have a Social Security Number, indicate in the statement you have applied for one for your spouse. in fact, once your return is printed, you may write in "applied for" in her Social Security Field in the return. This won’t affect the immigration status of the nonresident alien.
5. Mail the return to the address on the instruction sheet that prints with the return.

I believe i answered your questions but reach out if you have additional questions.