Wife is a non-resident alien. We permanently live abroad. Software will not let me file, as she has no US SS# or ITIN# What to do now?

[pk]

@jdphx64 , are you US citizen/Resident ( Green Card ) ?  Spouse is citizen of which country?  Your tax home is in which country?  Is this  your first year abroad or have you been  abroad for  at least one or more years ?  Does your wife have  foreign  / local income ?  Do you have children?

Please answer and I will come back

[jdphx64]

are you US citizen/Resident ( Green Card ) ?  

              US Citizen

Spouse is citizen of which country?  

              Ukraine

Your tax home is in which country?  

              US?

Is this  your first year abroad or have you been  abroad for  at least one or more years ?  

             Full time abroad for last 3 years

Does your wife have  foreign  / local income ?  

             No 

Do you have children?

            Yes

Thanks for any future replies!!

[pk]

@jdphx64 , thank you for your replies.

Since your wife has no income  to be taxed by the USA ( no world income ), the easiest  path forward is as follows:

1. Prepare your return using TubroTax , filing status  Married Filing Joint ( MFJ), use  a dummy SSN for your wife  ( such as 527-88-9999), reporting your joint world income,  using foreign earned income exclusion  ( if you have foreign source income, esp. if being taxed by Ukraine ).

2. Print the income ( tell TurboTax you are filing by Mail ), snopake out the  dummy SSN of your wife and write in NRA in the space, sign ( both ), date.

3. Download form W-7 from www.irs.gov, fill out the form ( for your wife ), include all the documents required  ( note that you also could visit local  US consulate  and get them to certify  your wife's documents -- you then do not need to send the originals, just copies would work )

4. Send the whole package ( return plus the W-7 and attachments) to the IRS by mail.  This will result in issuance of ITIN retroactively for the year 2019 and valid for three years.

Does this help ?

[jdphx64]

Yes...

But then have I not hung "an anchor" around her neck of mandatory US IRS tax

reporting requirements? Not like even most US citizens can keep up with, or fully

understand US tax code.

[pk]

well, yes and no.  As long as uses the MFJ she comes under the US taxes on world income.  If one year you choose to file as Married Filing Sep , there is no requirement to bring her world  earnings under US taxes and no credit for taxes paid to Ukraine on her earnings.  It is not permanent ( unlike citizenship / Resident( Green Card ).

Rest Easy and enjoy the country & its people