ITN for Spouse

[mujtabakhan89]

Hi,

I have a question regarding the eligibility of getting an ITN for a non-resident alien. I got married this year and would like to file as married filing jointly but while going through the IRS website, I found the following: 

"Spouses can be claimed as exemptions only for tax years prior to 2018. The deduction for personal exemptions was suspended for tax years 2018 through 2025. For tax years beginning after 2017, spouses or dependents residing outside of the United States aren’t eligible for an ITIN, unless they qualify for an allowable tax benefit"

Does this mean non-resident spouses aren't eligible for ITN? Thank you for all the help.

[DoninGA]

If you are making the choice to file as Married Filing Jointly with a nonresident alien spouse, then the spouse must have either a Social Security number or an ITIN issued by the IRS.  You and your spouse receive a tax benefit by filing jointly, so he or she is able to request an ITIN from the IRS.

Go to IRS Publication 54 Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad starting on page 6 and read the section Nonresident Alien Spouse Treated as a Resident - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

[mujtabakhan89]

Thanks but do you know anything about the suspension? 

[DoninGA]

The IRS says you can as shown in Publication 54.  The suspension does not apply when choosing to file as Married Filing Jointly.

[JWBarbian]

Ok, so more or less the same question.  I have a non-resident alien spouse.  The instructions for form W7 say that "For tax years beginning after 2017, spouses or dependents residing outside of the United States aren’t eligible for an ITIN, unless they qualify for an allowable tax benefit."

So, it appears she does not qualify for one, nor is one needed.  But....

I am filing as married filing separately.  But, TT is looking for an SSN or TIN for my wife.  Will I be able to file on line, or will I need to print out the TT return and file by mail?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer.  

[DeanM15]

You will need to mail in your return. If you are filing Married Filing Separately and your spouse has no ITIN or SS number, it is not possible to e-file.

If you are unable to get a Social Security number or ITIN for your spouse, you will need to enter a fake number in the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) box and then print out and mail the return. You will need to whiteout the fake number you entered, replacing that with the letters NRA in the TIN box.

You can elect to file Married Filing Jointly if you wish. Your spouse's worldwide income would be subject to US taxation.  

There is an excellent page of information from the IRS here. There is more information about Taxpayer Identification Numbers (like SS and ITIN numbers) here.