ITIN question - letter from IRS

Forum|Forum|7 months ago
October 12, 2025
1 reply
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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_

Level 15

@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 ?

user17597544422Author

Level 2

@pk12_2

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