ITIN for spouse

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
October 20, 2019
1 reply
3 views

Hi all, I got married in July 1st 2019. My spouse is a Canadian citizen living with her parents in Canada. She has no income. I work full-time and I wish to file my taxes as married filing jointly. Will she be eligible to apply for an ITIN? What is the best way to approach this situation?

pk_

Level 15

Are you US citizen/Resident ? Are you working in Canada and living there or you work in the USA and your spouse intends to join you during 2019? Is she a Canadian citizen ? If you plan to live in Canada ( settle down there for the foreseeable future ) , then also say that.

If you are in the USA, a US citizen, it would be best for you to visit the nearest consulate to understand the ramifications and things that you have to do for a smooth married life ( as far as immigration is concerned ). For getting ITIN ( required for filing Married Filing Jointly ) , you need to download W-7 from the IRS site -- www.irs.gov -- it will provide all the information on the process.

Please answer my questions -- then perhaps I can provide more specific answers.

bbsd2Author

Level 2

I am a US Citizen and she will be moving here maybe in 2021. She is a Canadian Citizen.

pk_

Level 15

Assuming that you ( a US citizen) are residing in Canada, to be able to file US tax return as MFJ ( Married Filing Jointly), you can either (a) download form W-7 from the IRS, fill it out, attach all the documents asked for and mail this in to the IRS OR (b) do nothing now, when you file your 2019 return, file as MFJ, print , sign ( both you and your spouse), fill out form W-7 , include all the attachments required, add a note -- signed by both of you -- stating that you both would like to have your spouse treated as a tax resident of the USA AND send the whole shebang to the IRS by mail. The former would result in issuance of ITIN perhaps before the filing date ( ?? ) while the latter will generally result in issuance of an ITIN for your spouse retrospectively i.e. for the year 2019 tax year.

I still suggest that you try and visit the IRS section as also the consular section of the nearest US consulate --- perhaps they can certify the documents ( passports , marriage cert etc. ) needed for an ITIN for your spouse. They will definitely have the latest on the subject.

Good Luck