Hi,
My wife is a Non Resident Alien and we file as Married Filing Separately per IRS instruction since 2018. I cannot move forward with 2020 eFile because the Turbotax 2020 Software requires that I put in a Social Security number or TIN, of numeric value, for her before eFiling. Since my wife is not a citizen, she does not have a SS or TIN. I have tried entering all zeros and all eights in the field without success. Is there something else I can enter into the SS/TIN field to complete efile or do I need to mail in my return?
Thanks,
Alan
If you are a US citizen or US resident and your spouse does not have a Social Security number or an ITIN and you are not applying for an ITIN with the tax return then you can only file your tax return as Married Filing Separately. Where asked to enter the spouse's Social Security number enter 999-88-9999. You can only print and mail your tax return, it cannot be e-filed. When you print the tax return erase the Social Security number for your spouse and manually enter NRA for non-resident alien.
See this TurboTax support FAQ for the procedure to print and mail a tax return using the online editions - https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1944348-how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online
If you decide to file your tax return as Married Filing Jointly you must apply for an ITIN with the tax return and you would need to be providing a statement with your tax return that you want your Nonresident Alien Spouse Treated as a Resident. See IRS Publication 54 Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad pages 6 and 7 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf
Go to this IRS website for ITIN information - https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/general-itin-information
Thanks very much! Your advice, except for entering specific numbers for SS number, was consistent to what I did for last year. Looking forward to when I can possibly eFile in the future.
As a result I wasn't able to eFile my CA State. Is there a way to apply for a refund?
Continued Success,
@Alanvac wrote:
Thanks very much! Your advice, except for entering specific numbers for SS number, was consistent to what I did for last year. Looking forward to when I can possibly eFile in the future.
As a result I wasn't able to eFile my CA State. Is there a way to apply for a refund?
Continued Success,
You will need to contact TurboTax support for any type of Billing Issue, such as a refund of e-file fees for the state tax return.
Use this website to contact TurboTax support during business hours - https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/