Married to NRA with no ITIN and living abroad

[friend13]

Hello tax experts,

I got married in 10/2022, my wife is NRA, she’s never been to the US but she’ll join me next year. She has no taxable income for 2022 and she has no ITIN. I’m a resident  for tax purposes. I’ve three questions:

1- Am I able to file as Married filing jointly for 2022?

2- What’re the documents and steps required for me to send to IRS and can I file with e-file?

3- Should my wife send a tax return? If yes, what’re the documents and steps required?

Thanks 

[Anonymous_]

@pk ?

[TomD8]

This TurboTax article explains your options:

How should I file my taxes if my spouse is a nonresident alien? (intuit.com)

[friend13]

Hello @TomD8 ,

Thanks for replying. The shared article has some information however, it’s not answering what documents to be sent and steps to be taken by my wife regarding her tax return if she has to file one given that she’s no income for 2022. Do you have answer for this?

Best

[TomD8]

If you elect to file a joint return, there is no separate return for your wife to file.  Both of your information would go on the joint return.

If you elect to file as Married Filing Separately, your wife has nothing to file.

In either case, the instructions are detailed in the reference I previously cited.