Why can't I file electronically with a spouse who is a non-resident alien and I am filing married separate.

[DaveF1006]

You should be able to print and mail your return.  Here are the steps in Turbo Tax Online.

1. Sign in to TurboTax.
2. To open your return, select Continue or Pick up where you left off.
3. Select File in the menu.
4. You'll see 3 steps. Complete Steps 1 and 2 if you haven’t already, then select Start or Revisit next to Step 3.
5. On the We've determined the easiest way to file your taxes screen, select Change next to the return you want to file by mail, and select File by mail on the next screen. Be sure to Save.
   • If the File by mail option isn’t available, you probably previously selected to pay your TurboTax fees through your tax refund. To file by mail, you’ll need to instead pay with a credit or debit card. Here’s how to change your payment method from pay by refund, to pay by credit or debit card. Once you change your payment method, you'll see the File by mail option as described above. Select this and continue to the next step.
   • Note: You’ll need to pay any tax balance due by check when you file by mail.
6. Update the payment method for your TurboTax fees for all of the tax returns you wish to file by mail.
7. Follow the instructions to print your return(s). If you haven't already paid any outstanding TurboTax fees, you'll be prompted to do so before you can print.

For Turbo Tax Desktoip.

1. With your return open in TurboTax, select the File tab, then select Continue.
2. On the next screen, E-file Your Federal Return for FREE, select File by mail and Continue.
3. Continue through the screens until you get to the Print Tax Return for Mailing screen. Select Continue.
4. Windows users: On the next screen, select Print Returns to Mail, then select Preview Print Copy. Once the preview has opened, select the printer icon..
5. Mac users: After the printing graphic finishes loading, select Print.
6. When finished, select Continue in TurboTax and follow any additional onscreen instructions.

Once you print your returns, there should be instructions on how to file and where to mail your returns.

@drewg2009 

[Eliut]

If your spouse is neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. resident within the meaning of IRC section 7701(b)(1)(A) and you file a joint or separate return, your spouse must have either a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). To get an SSN for your spouse, apply at a social security office or U.S. consulate. You must complete Form SS-5. You must also provide original or certified copies of documents to verify your spouse's age, identity, and citizenship. If your spouse is not eligible to get an SSN, they can file Form W-7 with the IRS to apply for an ITIN. Refer to Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) for more information. The instructions are in the irs.gov website here NON RESIDENT SPOUSE 

You can also find instruction on TIN applicatrions on TurboTax iwebsite here: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/who-needs-an-itin-or-individual-tax-identificati...

TurboTax Tip:

You can apply for an ITIN either before your income tax return is due or at the time of filing.

[drewg2009]

Will my spouse have to file a US and Canadian tax return every year now that they will have an ITIN?

[DawnC]

If you make this choice (election to treat your nonresident spouse as a US resident for tax purposes), the following rules apply:

• You and your spouse are treated, for federal income tax purposes, as U.S residents for all tax years that the choice is in effect. However, for Social Security and Medicare tax withholding purposes, the nonresident spouse may still be treated as a nonresident. Refer to Individuals Employed in the U.S. – Social Security Taxes .
• You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice (but you and your spouse can file joint or separate returns in later years).
• Each spouse must report their entire worldwide income for the year you make the choice and for all later years unless the choice is ended or suspended.
• Generally, neither you nor your spouse can claim tax treaty benefits as a resident of a foreign country for a tax year for which the choice is in effect. However, the exception to the saving clause of a tax treaty might allow a tax treaty benefit on certain specified income.

See Nonresident Spouse   @drewg2009 

[drewg2009]

The IRS requires me to put my spouses' information down on my return even though I'm filing as single-married status, she doesn't live in the US (we live in Canada full time), and she has no job or income from the US. 

So why would my spouse be required to pay tax every single year just because I have to put them down once for my filing? That doesn't make any sense. That means my spouses' tax costs just doubled each year because they have to file for 2 countries even though they only work and live in one

[DoninGA]

@drewg2009 When you file as Married Fling Separately that filing does not in anyway require your spouse to file a US tax return.

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

See this TurboTax support FAQ - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/file-taxes-spouse...

[drewg2009]

I did file as Married Fling Separately. I put all 9's for the social security number when filling it out online. 

However when it asks me to print I cannot erase that. Even if I had a PDF editor, it can't erase that because it wasn't entered that way. I could black it out or something if that's allowed and then put NRA. But is there an easier way to do this?

The link shared is broken, does not load for me.

[DoninGA]

@drewg2009 Yes you can use white-out or some other procedure to blank out the SSN that you entered and then write in NRA.

This is the valid link for printing and mailing a tax return - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/printers-printing/print-mail-return-turb...

Also see this TurboTax Support FAQ when filing a spouse who is a nonresident alein - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/file-taxes-spouse...

[SusanY1]

There is a checkbox in TurboTax where you can indicate that your spouse is a Nonresident Alien.  When it asks if you want to treat her as a resident for tax purposes say NO.  Then ignore the warnings about the missing Tax ID, and file your return electronically.  If it rejects you will have to mail it, but you should not have any issues as long as you have checked the nonresident alien box for your spouse in My Info.

[JJ2295]

Even selecting nonresident alien for your spouse, when yo get to the end, "let's make sure everything is accurate" comes with two options: File by mail or Fix Federal Return. When selecting Fix Federal Return, you're stuck in a loop trying to enter a SSN for your NRA spouse. 

Had no choice but to file by mail. 

TurboTax needs to fix this for people filing MFS