IRS Publication 1915 provides the following:
Should spouses and dependents outside of the U.S apply for ITINs?
For tax years 2018 through 2025, spouses and dependents who re-side outside of the U.S. should not ap-ply for an ITIN unless they qualify for an allowable tax benefit, such as dependent parents who qualify the primary taxpayer to claim head of household (HOH) filing status, or if they file their own tax return. The individual must be listed on an attached U.S. individual federal tax return with the schedule or form that applies to the allowable tax benefit.
Despite this, TurboTax continues to assert that an ITIN is necessary do to a change in the law. If you try to apply for an ITIN as asserted by TurboTax and follow the instructions on Form W-7 the result is they reject the application indicating that no ITIN is necessary but they do not return the US citizen spouses return which is to accompany the Form W-7 leaving the US spouse in limbo or having to manually file another return. All of this impacts the US citizens showing eligibility for the stimulus. Bad direction by TurboTax causung users great inconvenience and delay or loss of financial benefits.
