Tax question about ITIN and nonresident spouse

[scy 0]

My spouse is a nonresident and do not have a SSN or ITIN. For year 2005, I'm filing as married filing separately. I do not claim my spouse as an exemption. My spouse does not have any taxable US income.

So my question is. Does my spouse have to file for an Individual Tax Identification Number? It is exceedingly difficult to file for an ITIN as the IRS requires identifying documents to be certified by the issuing agency or official custodian of original records. My spouse lives in a highly bureaucratic country where getting anything done officially is very difficult.

The IRS requires my spouse name and a SSN or ITIN on the 1040 even though i'm filing married filing separately.

[gimygirl 0]

why are you filing separately?? especially since she has no income! you should file jointly for a bigger break and most probably a bigger return (if you are due one).

for her to receive an ITIN, you will need to file a W-7 along with your tax return.

[morocco4ever 63]

If I remember right you will need the marriage license and translation, and her passport and translation. Its been a year since I did it, so I don't remember exactly, but I know the passport and translation for sure.

As far as filing married but separate, I'm not sure...I would bet that you need the marriage license at least.

[gimygirl 0]

i'm sure you wife has the required documentation to submit the W-7 with your ITR, since you have an interview coming up in two weeks. i'm assuming BC and passport.

You can submit copies of original documents if the copies are: Certified by the issuing agency or official custodian of the original record, or

a. National identification card (must show photo, name, current

address, date of birth, and expiration date).

b. U.S. driver’s license.

c. Civil birth certificate.

d. Foreign driver’s license.

e. U.S. state identification card.

f. Foreign voter’s registration card.

g. U.S. military identification card.

h. Foreign military identification card.

i. U.S. visa issued by the U.S. Department of State.

j. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) photo

identification.

k. Medical records (dependents only).

l. School records (dependents and/or students only).

Notarized by a U.S. notary public legally authorized within his or

her local jurisdiction to certify that the document is a true copy of

the original. To do this, the notary must see the valid, unaltered

original document and verify that the copy conforms to the original.

U.S. notaries public are available at U.S. embassies and consulates

worldwide. Foreign notaries are acceptable as outlined by the Hague

Convention.

[scy 0]

My spouse's filing status or exemption will not change the amount of my refund. I have her notarized birth certificate. But to obtain certification of the other documents like passport and national identification card is next to impossible. In Vietnam, they are highly bureaucratic. To get any certification done you need to get serial certifications from the commune, ward, township, city and provincial levels. To say it's difficult is to put it mildly.

My question for the tax expert out there is that since my wife will have nothing to do with my taxes, i.e., she is filing taxes separately and isn't claimed as an exemption by me, do I really need an ITIN for her? What will the IRS do if I leave her SSN line empty? Will they reject my tax return?

[the big dog 0]

Hi Everyone,

I am in the same situation now. If I file married/joint on my 2005 taxes the amount of my refund almost more than doubles but my dilema is how do I file my taxes if my wife is not here yet and does not have a ITIN. She is not expected to be here until the end of March. (The documents arrived in Bogota Jan 27th)

Should I just wait till she arrives and then file my taxes being that I am due a refund do I still have to file an extension? If I file an extension it assumes that I will be paying taxes rather than getting a refund. (Who would file an extension if they are getting money back ) I have read about this W-7 form but I don't understand all of it. Which way is better for me to proceed? When she does get here how long do I have to wait until I can apply for a SSN or do I just apply for the ITIN for her? She will be eligible for a SSN (she will have a CR1 visa) but I don't know how long she needs to wait to apply for one. I can do my taxes now and file single or wait and file married and get a much bigger refund. Is she considered a immigrant alien or a non-immigrant alien?

I am so confused...

I know I might be repeating myself and I apologize for this but I want to make sure I understand all this stuff!

Help me all you tax professionals out there

thanks for all your help

Greg

BTW what does this mean: Certified by the issuing agency or official custodian of the original record...and how do I obtain documents with these certificates?

[the big dog 0]

I forgot to add something to my above post. If I do the W-7 form for the ITIN and she gets a number will that mess things up later when she does apply for a SSN?

[allynella 0]

I forgot to add something to my above post. If I do the W-7 form for the ITIN and she gets a number will that mess things up later when she does apply for a SSN?

No.

[Married_my_love 0]

It's supposedly an easy transition from ITIN to SSN

[alana33 0]

to the big dog,

Your taxes don't need to filed until April 15th. If your wife is coming in March I would just wait for her to get here and file then once she has an SSN.

Unless of course, she doesn't have an SSN by April 15th. But when I spoke to the IRS they told me if my spouse was getting an SSN I may as well wait and do that.

But apparently its an easy transfer from ITIN to SSN, so if you are in a hurry do it now with the ITIN.

Good luck to you! Taxes are a pain.

[Married_my_love 0]

to the big dog,

Your taxes don't need to filed until April 15th. If your wife is coming in March I would just wait for her to get here and file then once she has an SSN.

Unless of course, she doesn't have an SSN by April 15th. But when I spoke to the IRS they told me if my spouse was getting an SSN I may as well wait and do that.

But apparently its an easy transfer from ITIN to SSN, so if you are in a hurry do it now with the ITIN.

Good luck to you! Taxes are a pain.

You could also get an extension and push it until later -

[Mohan bahadur 3]

This is done easy. you should not sweat so much whether it is vietnam or china or macao or laos. The US rules are same despite the location you come from.

IRS tax laws allows you to treat your non working and non resident spouse as a resident for the federal tax purpose. What you need to do has been suggested to you from the top down below all over.

I went the same rout, and now every year i fild married jointly with her itin and she is not here but still back home.

If you need help i can explain. :)