Tax Identification Number

[pushbrk 12,569]

You do not have to send the passport. Just get the passport and make a copy of it and have it notarized here in the states, then send the copy.

Right. The Catch 22 for obtaining an ITIN is that you must be present with passport in hand before a US Notary or IRS office. There are only three ways to do that.

1. Be in the US with the actual passport in hand.

2. The USC is present with foreign spouse's passport at a US Consulate

3. The actual passport is authenticated at an IRS office, in the US or abroad.

Mailing the passport is risky. Finding an IRS office abroad is difficult. The USC appearing with passport at a Consulate abroad is often not practical.

If you can manage one of the three above, by all means go for it. If not, well no ITIN until you can. Usually that means no ITIN until the foreign spouse arrives in the USA.

[Roserick 0]

Count me in guys..

I'm in the same situation.. My wife and daughter are in the Philippines right now and I want to include them on my 2007 filling..

What should I do? I know the passport thing has been discussed..

So I have a photocopy of her passport, I just have to get it notarized? To any Notary Public? Stating what?

I also want to include my daughter on the filling.. But she haven't been here and she's a USC.. Since she haven't been here so she doesn't have a SSN.

What should I do?

[Roserick 0]

Here is another thing that can effect an ITIN. I called IRS because we sent in DS-230 in Oct. '07 and checked the box that we wanted a SSN issued. Found out the IRS considers this a SSN applied for and aliens can not hve both SSN and ITIN applied for. Since we won't be coming through POE until late March, there will not be enough time to get SSN before filing deadline of April 15th. IRS specialist advised me to make sure enough tax had been paid in to avoid owing anything and just file for automatic extension, then file taxes when SSN arrives. He told me "applied for" is no longer accepted in the SSN/ITIN box.

You mean amend it?

[prpplague 0]

He told me "applied for" is no longer accepted in the SSN/ITIN box.

yea we were told the same thing, problem at H&R block along with all the other tax preparers i tried, their software packages will not allow them to complete the tax return without something in the space provided for a SSN or ITIN. what i did as a backup was made a photocopy of that page, used white out on the "applied for" and then made another photocopy of the page. i then took both the "applied for" marked paged and the blank page with me to the IRS office. i pointed out the "applied for" section to the IRS rep, she said the "official" policy was that it was not accepted but they do all the time. so she accepted the page with "applied for" on it.

[prpplague 0]

Here is another thing that can effect an ITIN. I called IRS because we sent in DS-230 in Oct. '07 and checked the box that we wanted a SSN issued. Found out the IRS considers this a SSN applied for and aliens can not hve both SSN and ITIN applied for. Since we won't be coming through POE until late March, there will not be enough time to get SSN before filing deadline of April 15th. IRS specialist advised me to make sure enough tax had been paid in to avoid owing anything and just file for automatic extension, then file taxes when SSN arrives. He told me "applied for" is no longer accepted in the SSN/ITIN box.

You mean amend it?

i assume he means get a standard extension until october 15th.

[prpplague 0]

Count me in guys..

I'm in the same situation.. My wife and daughter are in the Philippines right now and I want to include them on my 2007 filling..

What should I do? I know the passport thing has been discussed..

So I have a photocopy of her passport, I just have to get it notarized? To any Notary Public? Stating what?

I also want to include my daughter on the filling.. But she haven't been here and she's a USC.. Since she haven't been here so she doesn't have a SSN.

What should I do?

if it were me, i would also file for an extension to october 15th. then i'd go ahead an apply for a SSN for your daughter. in the mean time, have your wife visit the consulate/embassy and get a certified copy of her passport made. it will cost you to fedex/ups to the states but you'll have untill october to get it done.

[nova71 0]

we applied for a ITIN for my wife prior to her visa approval. here is a summary of what we learned 3 years ago, no idea if the rules have changed:

1. the return has to filed in paper format, it can not be electronically filed.

2. the section where your spouses SSN or ITIN is suppose to be filled in should be left blank or in the case of H&R block they had to put in "APPLIED" in the space provided so their software wouldn't complain.

3. the completed W-7 needs to be included and....

4. here is the kicker, you have to either include the passport with the application OR go to an IRS where they will photocopy the passport when accepting the tax return.

i went directly to the IRS office to file our return. the offices won't tell you but the office supervisor is authorized to make certified copies of foreign passports. i wait in line for about 30 minutes, the irs rep took the return, had the supervisor do the photocopy and said that was it. if you do go to the IRS office, make sure you record the date and time as well as the IRS rep's id number. there have been reports of "misplaced" returns with W-7's attached.

here is also a giant warning, after your spouse gets their SSN number you MUST, i repeat, MUST notify the IRS that the ITIN needs to be revoked in favor of the SSN. the IRS will not automatically void the ITIN after a SSN is assigned. i've been told that using the new SSN without voiding the ITIN will case a flag for getting audited.

Is the ITIN number only needed if filing jointly. What about if married, filing seperatley. I know on the 1040 it asks for spouse name and SS, but I would like to skip this dance if I do not have to ; but I still need to file since my wife is abroad and does not have her visa yet, and has her interview sometime this Spring. Thanks for the great info

Dave & Pricilla

[prpplague 0]

Is the ITIN number only needed if filing jointly. What about if married, filing seperatley. I know on the 1040 it asks for spouse name and SS, but I would like to skip this dance if I do not have to ; but I still need to file since my wife is abroad and does not have her visa yet, and has her interview sometime this Spring. Thanks for the great info

Dave & Pricilla

if you file seperately there is no need to get an ITIN. if your spouse has no income in another country you get a bigger standard deduction by filling jointly, therefor more money back. which is why most people go to the trouble of getting a ITIN prior to a SSN. (btw, my statements can not be considered tax advice)

[Imua 0]

Is the ITIN number only needed if filing jointly. What about if married, filing seperatley. I know on the 1040 it asks for spouse name and SS, but I would like to skip this dance if I do not have to ; but I still need to file since my wife is abroad and does not have her visa yet, and has her interview sometime this Spring. Thanks for the great info

Dave & Pricilla

if you file seperately there is no need to get an ITIN. if your spouse has no income in another country you get a bigger standard deduction by filling jointly, therefor more money back. which is why most people go to the trouble of getting a ITIN prior to a SSN. (btw, my statements can not be considered tax advice)

What if your spouse does have income in his/her country? I was thinking of applying for a ITIN for Govi in order to file jointly but I might as well just file separately since it sounds almost as complicated as applying for the visa. I do have a copy of his passport bio page but it sounds like that might not be good enough, even if I have it notarized here. Besides, I would rather not wait until October to file since I am counting on my refund to pay for my air ticket to Nepal and I can only go in the summer.

Life is complicated...

[rjp44 1]

Is the ITIN number only needed if filing jointly. What about if married, filing seperatley. I know on the 1040 it asks for spouse name and SS, but I would like to skip this dance if I do not have to ; but I still need to file since my wife is abroad and does not have her visa yet, and has her interview sometime this Spring. Thanks for the great info

Dave & Pricilla

if you file seperately there is no need to get an ITIN. if your spouse has no income in another country you get a bigger standard deduction by filling jointly, therefor more money back. which is why most people go to the trouble of getting a ITIN prior to a SSN. (btw, my statements can not be considered tax advice)

What if your spouse does have income in his/her country? I was thinking of applying for a ITIN for Govi in order to file jointly but I might as well just file separately since it sounds almost as complicated as applying for the visa. I do have a copy of his passport bio page but it sounds like that might not be good enough, even if I have it notarized here. Besides, I would rather not wait until October to file since I am counting on my refund to pay for my air ticket to Nepal and I can only go in the summer.

Life is complicated...

You could file your return now as single to get the refund you need for travel. Once your spouse is here and has the SSN, file an amended return (Form 1040X) as married and include the letter requesting the spouse be treated as a resident alien. There is a form for Foreign Earned Income to report the spouse's pay and there is no tax as long as it's less than $65,000.

[Imua 0]

Is the ITIN number only needed if filing jointly. What about if married, filing seperatley. I know on the 1040 it asks for spouse name and SS, but I would like to skip this dance if I do not have to ; but I still need to file since my wife is abroad and does not have her visa yet, and has her interview sometime this Spring. Thanks for the great info

Dave & Pricilla

if you file seperately there is no need to get an ITIN. if your spouse has no income in another country you get a bigger standard deduction by filling jointly, therefor more money back. which is why most people go to the trouble of getting a ITIN prior to a SSN. (btw, my statements can not be considered tax advice)

What if your spouse does have income in his/her country? I was thinking of applying for a ITIN for Govi in order to file jointly but I might as well just file separately since it sounds almost as complicated as applying for the visa. I do have a copy of his passport bio page but it sounds like that might not be good enough, even if I have it notarized here. Besides, I would rather not wait until October to file since I am counting on my refund to pay for my air ticket to Nepal and I can only go in the summer.

Life is complicated...

You could file your return now as single to get the refund you need for travel. Once your spouse is here and has the SSN, file an amended return (Form 1040X) as married and include the letter requesting the spouse be treated as a resident alien. There is a form for Foreign Earned Income to report the spouse's pay and there is no tax as long as it's less than $65,000.

If I file as single will that be a problem when I file the Affidavit of Support and they ask for my 1040 for 2007, seeing that I filed as single even though we were married?

[pushbrk 12,569]

Count me in guys..

I'm in the same situation.. My wife and daughter are in the Philippines right now and I want to include them on my 2007 filling..

What should I do? I know the passport thing has been discussed..

So I have a photocopy of her passport, I just have to get it notarized? To any Notary Public? Stating what?

I also want to include my daughter on the filling.. But she haven't been here and she's a USC.. Since she haven't been here so she doesn't have a SSN.

What should I do?

If all you have is a copy, no Notary is allowed to certify that copy is a true copy. You must have the passport copied at the notary's office so they can compare the certify they've seen the original.

[crys 1]

Count me in guys..

I'm in the same situation.. My wife and daughter are in the Philippines right now and I want to include them on my 2007 filling..

What should I do? I know the passport thing has been discussed..

So I have a photocopy of her passport, I just have to get it notarized? To any Notary Public? Stating what?

I also want to include my daughter on the filling.. But she haven't been here and she's a USC.. Since she haven't been here so she doesn't have a SSN.

What should I do?

If all you have is a copy, no Notary is allowed to certify that copy is a true copy. You must have the passport copied at the notary's office so they can compare the certify they've seen the original.

So we need to have the passport here and have it certify here??

[crys 1]

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96287,00.html

What documents are acceptable as proof of identity and foreign status?

IRS has streamlined the number of documents the agency will accept as proof of identity to obtain an ITIN. There are now 13 acceptable documents.

An original, or a certified or notarized copy, of an UNEXPIRED passport is the only document that is accepted for both identity and foreign status.

I recieved a letter from the IRS in Sept. 2007 that for a foriegn spouse I must submit a valid passport. Some of those acceptable ID's in the instructions do not apply for foreigners. They did reject a certified copy of her passport from DFW office in the Philippines. Here is the number for ITIN information 215-516-4846. I hope this will help.

I got same letter for rejection and called that # and was told to just send in copy of bio page notarized here in the states. My spouse now has ITIN and we did file joint tax return. Oh yeah, good luck in trying to cash check since your spouse has to sign the refund check also and has to be present when trying to cash or you just have a joint bank account to deposit it in.

So what did you do?

[Roserick 0]

You could file your return now as single to get the refund you need for travel. Once your spouse is here and has the SSN, file an amended return (Form 1040X) as married and include the letter requesting the spouse be treated as a resident alien. There is a form for Foreign Earned Income to report the spouse's pay and there is no tax as long as it's less than $65,000.

I think this what I am going to do.. Thanks rjp44!!

That process of my wife sending her passport to me this time around is kind of risky.. Since she is almost on her interview process..