I am Indian citizen on H1-B. Came to US in May 2024. My spouse lives in India and has never been to US. While filing the returns, what should i specify for my spouse SSN?

[pk]

@Kamalalochana-Subbaiah , so you are resident for tax purposes for the  tax year 2024.  Generally and easiest , especially if your wife  has income in India, to file as Married Filing Separate ( MFS ).  This will keep her income out of US taxes. And because you have a short tax year, you have to use itemized deduction anyways, so there is no benefit by filing MFJ  ( Married Filing Joint).

TurboTax will expect a TIN  ( Tax ID -- SSN or ITIN ) for your spouse.  So

You prepare the return using a dummy SSN  ( like 520-34-2000 ), tell TurboTax that you want to file by mail.  Once finished, print out the filing copy, replace the "dummy" SSN with "N  R  A ", sign, date  and mail the return.

Is there more I can do for you ?    If you need more help,  you can , if need be, PM me.

Namaste ji

pk

[AmeliesUncle]

It sounds like you are a Dual Status Alien for 2024.  Unless something has changed, I don't think TurboTax is set up for Dual Status tax returns, in which case I recommend you go to a tax professional that is experienced with Nonresident Alien tax returns.

[JotikaT2]

Please see this link regarding dual-status for more details as it relates to using TurboTax.  

@Kamalalochana-Subbaiah 

[pk]

@Kamalalochana-Subbaiah  agreeing with the comments of my colleagues @AmeliesUncle  and @JotikaT2 , and  just adding

(a)  your residency start date  is the first day of legal presence --- Residency starting and ending dates | Internal Revenue Service

(b) because you have short year ( i.e.  NRA for the period before you entered USA ), you would need to file a form 1040-NR  ( as mentioned by both of my colleagues ), even if it is just zeroes , because you had  no US sourced income for the NRA period.  This is for completeness because  US generally wants the full calendar year  covered / recognized.  In the case where there was no US sourced income for  the NRA period, you can download , fill-out ( it is a fillable .pdf) with pertinent details,  print /sign/date and mail-in.

(c) you have to file by mail anyways because  you are filing MFS ( Married Filing Separate ) with a spouse with nil TIN  ( SSN / ITIN).

Does all this make sense ?   Is there more one of us can do for you ?

Namaste ji

pk