My wife enter US on January 2021 as H4, can she apply for ITIN when file tax return for 2020?

[yingwurenjian]

My wife entered US on January 2021 in H4 status. Now, if I am going to file tax return for 2020, can I file it jointly and apply for ITIN for her? my concern is that she was not in US during 2020.

[DJS]

Generally, you cannot file as married filing jointly if either spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year. However, if at the end of your tax year, one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien and the other is a nonresident alien, you can choose to treat the nonresident as a U.S. resident. You can file jointly with your wife to get maximum tax benefit. Here, each spouse must report his or her entire worldwide income on the joint income tax return. If you need to file a return, your spouse must have either a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).  If your spouse is not eligible to get an SSN, he or she can file Form W-7 with the IRS to apply for an ITIN.  You must also provide original or certified copies of documents to verify your spouse’s age, identity, and citizenship.

[yingwurenjian]

I have been a resident alien since Oct 2019, so technically my wife can also be counted as resident alien. But my concern is that, she was not in US for the whole 2020. She just entered US since Jan. 2021. In this case, do you think I can still file jointly and apply ITIN for her?

[DJS]

Yes, in as much as you were a resident alien at the end of the year.

"one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien"