I am a US Citizen living abroad (Germany) with my non resident alien wife and our 3 kids. I would like to file as Head of Household - how to do this?

[190dj8a4p]

It is my understanding from e.g. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad-head-... that I can file as Head of Household if my wife is a NRA and I do have a child living in my home (regardless of US citizenship) and pay more than half the costs. This applies to me, however in TurboTax it will tell me that the children do not qualify - is this correct even for a household abroad? Is there a way to achieve this in TurboTax?

[KarenJ]

Do your children have social security numbers?

[190dj8a4p]

No. They were born abroad and have no SSN, ITIN or US-citizenship.

[LinaJ2018]

Please see the answer below.

[LinaJ2018 · Accepted solution]

Per IRS, a child born overseas to U.S. citizen parents is considered a U.S. citizen for tax purposes.  TurboTax tells you that your child does not qualify maybe because you did not select the correct option.  Based on their rules,  your child passes the Citizenship test as a qualifying child for Head of Household.  You will be able to treat him as a qualifying child or relative and file as HOH if you meet all other tests.  See Credit for Other Dependents and HOH.  Please also see the attached screenshot.

In the program, under the "Dependent" section, make sure select your child is a U.S. citizen or legal resident.

In addition, you also need to apply for an ITIN for your child.  Without an SSN or ITIN, you cannot e-file your return.  Instead, you have to paper-file.  You are basically filing your taxes and applying for the ITIN together.  Here are the steps:

• In the program,  leave the SSN space blank
• After completing the return, print out the forms. Write APPLIED in the dependent's SSN space.
• As TurboTax does not support the Form W-7, fill out the forms by following  W-7 instructions and attach other required documentation
• Submit all tax forms and documents including your Form 1040 to the IRS Austin location in Texas.  (see Form W-7 instructions)