Spouse without SSN/ITIN

[sachin-yelapure]

Hello,

I got married after I moved to my home country. So I never brought my wife to US, but as of Dec 31 2016 I'm married. So I'm filing returns as a married person, and have included my wife's details.
Now as we didn't return to US after marriage, she never got a SSN/ITIN. And this is stopping me from completing my return process. Please advise what should be done is such a case.

[RamonT]

Hello,  If your spouse doesn't have and isn't required to have an SSN or ITIN (she is not required to file a U.S. tax return), enter “NRA” in the space for your spouse's SSN.   Of course, you would have to print, manually write in the 'NRA' and mail your tax return.

[sachin-yelapure]

I have never done the latter part mentioned in your response - 'Of course, you would have to print, manually write in the 'NRA' and mail your tax return.'

If I'm to do all this stuff, then do I need to use TurboTax at all for tax filing? Do I have to do this for both federal and state taxes? Where should these be sent to?

[RamonT]

Yes you would still need turbo tax if you want a complete set of your taxes ready to file. Yes you would need to do this for both and also when you print. You should get an instruction page on where to send it.

[sachin-yelapure]

Well I'm unable to enter NRA in spouse's SSN field on the website. And without this I'm stuck Federal taxes -> Health Insurance section. Here it instructs me

Just a sec, we found a few things to fix before we can start
Let's go to Personal Info and fix:
Missing birthdate(s)
Missing Social Security numbers
Two people having the same Social Security number
Once that's done, we'll be ready to give Health Insurance another start (no rush).

And just two option one is back and the other continue. With continue I again go back, but can't mention Spouse's SSN

[RamonT]

Just put in any number then whiten it out when you print it and put NRA in the box.

[sachin-yelapure]

Okay

Well, it seems I can't e-fill OH tax returns as my spouse is a non-resident. So I'll have to mail that.

So essentially, I've to take a printout and mail for both fed and state. On the 'File' section, I still see fees for 'TurboTax Deluxe' and 'Ohio tax return'. What is the point in paying these fees if I have to manually file them? Can you tell me how to print the returns so that I can mail them manually instead of e-filling? Or mail me a service code to remove this fees.

[RamonT]

These fees are for preparing your taxes for you also here is a link to switch from e filing to mail <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/4170366">https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/4170366</a>

[sachin-yelapure]

I'm following the instructions from the link you sent. I don't yet see an option to change the file method. Is that because I'm still on step 1 of the 'File' section, can you confirm?

Also, I've been regularly using TurboTax for past few years and I haven't been charged this high fees of $95. In the past I have e-files with just $40. This time around the e-file isn't applicable, but still I'm being charged more than twice the amount. Please provide a service code, or directly reduce the total fees, so that I can go ahead and complete step 1, 2, 3 and file my taxes manually.

Ideally, I'd like have a call to discuss this, but I do not have a US number right now. If you could give me a call on my India number or give me a US number where I can call, that will be great.

[RamonT]

have you tried this <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3300041">https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3300041</a>?

[sachin-yelapure]

Yeah I have tried that. Can you call me on my India number?

Else please help me with my previous query. I need to file this urgently.

[sachin-yelapure]

Can I get an answer on this real quick? Time is running out. Given that today is the last day, please help in filing my taxes.

[RamonT]

I'll have someone above me look at this to better assist you

[bine22]

If there is still an open post office in India, I would suggest, you file for an extension (it must be postmarked on the 18 of April(

[bine22]

First, make sure your filing status is married filing separately, as nonresident aliens cannot file a joint return. enter a dummy number for your spouse in the form of an ITIN, like 99-99-9999. That will let you print the return. White that out and write NRA instead. Do the same for your Ohio return which must be married filing separately as well. If you don't owe anything, it's not that crucial to file on time or file for an extension, but if you do owe taxes, you should file ASAP, if you can't file for an extension on time.