ITIN question - letter from IRS

[user17597544422]

Hi,

I received a letter from the IRS regarding my spouse’s ITIN application. I filed a married filing joint return, and my spouse was a nonresident who came to the U.S. in October 2024. I’m a resident alien. The CAA already submitted the W-7 along with wifes passport and i94 and tax return with the application.

• To respond to this notice, should I just check box E and have my spouse sign before sending it back? Should I also attach a copy of the original W-7 and Form 1040 again? 

. 

[pk]

@user17597544422 , 

(a) Since you have answer by mail anyways, I would sign the applicable box -- i.e. I am a resident alien, and have to file a return.

(b) While I don't know the term  "CAA",  I am assuming that what you have done is  to attach the W-7, the required  document copies ( certified by an agent or at an IRS office  in the USA )  to your  2024 return  with MFJ  filing status  and mailed the whole  thing to the IRS.   If you  sent the W-7 with docs and not the 1040 along with it then  perhaps it would be good idea to also attach ( to the reply ) a copy of  your 1040.   What they are looking for is that you are asking for an ITIN for your spouse for purposes of filing a joint return. 

They will not issue ITIN for any other reason -- it is only for purposes of filing a return ( whether NRA is resident in the USA or not ).

Also note that if your spouse is on a dependent visa, and despite her having ITIN, for tax purposes her tax status would be the same as yours.

Which country are you from ?  Is your spouse from the same country ?

Does this make sense ?

Is there more I can do for you ?

[user17597544422]

@pk 

The CAA (Certified Acceptance Agent) already submitted my spouse’s W-7, supporting identity documents, and our 2024 Form 1040 (MFJ) to the IRS.

The letter is addressed to my wife, so shouldn’t she check Box E — “I am the spouse of a resident alien not eligible to file a return but can be claimed as an exemption on a U.S. tax return” — and then sign and return it without resending the Form 1040 or identity documents since they already should have that?

We didn’t include the election statement electing to be treated as a resident for tax purposes, so I was thinking of attaching that letter with the response as well.

For context, my spouse is Canadian, and I’m from the Middle East, in the U.S. on a work visa and considered a resident alien for tax purposes. My spouse is on a dependent visa and she came to the US only in October of 2024 so doesn’t meet the substantial presence test but we want to file mfj 

[user17597544422]

The CAA (Certified Acceptance Agent) already submitted my spouse’s W-7, supporting identity documents, and our 2024 Form 1040 (MFJ) to the IRS.

The letter is addressed to my wife, so shouldn’t she check Box E — “I am the spouse of a resident alien not eligible to file a return but can be claimed as an exemption on a U.S. tax return” — and then sign and return it without resending the Form 1040 or identity documents since they already should have that?

We didn’t include the election statement electing to be treated as a resident for tax purposes, so I was thinking of attaching that letter with the response as well.

For context, my spouse is Canadian, and I’m from the Middle East, in the U.S. on a work visa and considered a resident alien for tax purposes. My spouse is on a dependent visa and she came to the US only in October of 2024 so doesn’t meet the substantial presence test but we want to file mfj 

[pk]

@user17597544422  thank you for your reply. I suspected  that ( i.e. CAA ).  Now I understand  why she received the letter from the  ITIN processing center.  So yes send in the response.  However, I would not  ask for her to be treated as a resident because this may expose her  world income to  US taxation.  Part of the issue is that generally a dependent visa confers the same tax status to the holder as that of the primary visa holder-- the question being what is her start date ?   Is it the date of admission of the dependent or  that of the primary visa holder ?   By asking her to be treated as a resident for the entire year, you would be taking a stand that her world income for the entire calendar year -- the benefit being the ability to use standard deduction.  But as you said you have already filed the return MFJ -- so this whole thing may be moot.

Is there more I can do for you ?

[user17597544422]

Yes, that makes sense regarding the election and potential exposure of her worldwide income. My spouse entered the U.S. in October 2024, so she was a nonresident for most of the year. We chose to file married filing jointly to claim the standard deduction, even though it means including her 2024 foreign income. But she paid taxes in other country so we can take credit overall we we will be getting a refund

Since the return was already submitted through the CAA, I’ll go ahead and have her check Box E where it says (spouse of a resident aliens) sign the letter and send the response letter unless you disagree she should check a different box

 Do you know if I can paper file ny since I don’t have itin yet for my spouse? Ny says you can’t write anything on the return. The deadline is Oct 15 but we don’t owe anything, we should be getting refund

[pk]

@user17597544422 , I think you path is correct to proceed.

As far as NY state goes -- you can paper-file  with notation that you have filed for  ITIN  ( despite their  "No writing" dictate )   OR  just file after receiving the ITIN  ( because any penalties etc. is generally based on amount owed).  My personal pref. would be to paper-file and update later if needed.  You can also call NYS  tax office  for suggestions  explaining your situation.

Good Luck