Filing income taxes a nightmare

[Mythical85 0]

Okay guys, just wondering if anyone can help me out here. My wife came into the country last August and we got married in October 2012. After we got married, my wife attempted to get a social security number at the SSA BEFORE the I-94 was expired, the SSA gave us a run around and kept referring us to the USCIS. We kept advising that as long as the I94 is not expired that my wife should be able to get one and they continued to state her visa was expired, I continued to attempt to explain that it is not about the visa being expired but the I94, anyways fast forward...

January, I get my W2 from work, I go to file taxes at jackson & hewitt and was told that I must file married and I can choose to file separately or jointly but I still need to put married. I was a bit confused how to file since my wife was undergoing a adjustment of status (she has not received her authorization to work or travel yet, it's still being processed and we just finished a biometrics meeting). I was told based on tax purposes to have her file as a non resident alien and that she would put in her alien number from the passport. The IRS rejected it immediately.

I went back and was told that we would then need to file for a ITIN number, we filled out the W7 at the office and included a black & white copy of the passport (apparently this will get it rejected), we received another notification from the IRS that it was not valid and sent us a list of valid items to submit, we were told we can include a certified copy from the issuing agency or the original passport and other documents. This is absolutely not an option for several reasons, first, the closest embassy to us is 6 hours away in Atlanta, second, my wife is not comfortable sending her original passport, her only identification and being without it for up to 60 days while it's sent to the IRS, and I don't blame her, if I was in another country, I wouldn't want to send my passport either because you never know if it would end up lost, etc.

After looking through some forums, some members had suggested that they had send colored photocopies of their passport certified from a notary public and it was accepted, apparently these regulations from what I have researched appear to have changed and it must be from the certifying agency who actually issued the passport. I don't know if this is still worth attempting, apparently some are saying there are exceptions for non resident aliens for application of a ITIN.

The final option which we tried today is that in the instructions, we were advised we could go to a taxpayer assistance center and go in person if we cannot be without the document for 60 days. They are apparently supposed to verify the documents, my wife and I waited for 2 hours and she finally spoke to someone but I had to go to work, she kept stating that she needed to verify her documents there but apparently the IRS was close to lunch hour and had printed a form of instructions, basically the same thing I had just read which we feel like we had wasted a lot of time trying to get this done.

The other documents are that we can submit national ID, the problem is Colombia doesn't have a expiration date on their national ID's, birth certificate but the IRS I believes requires it in English, and for the other document, we cannot send the 2 qualifying documents other than medical records but apparently this is only for a dependent under the age of 6.

At this point, I don't know what else to do, we've called around and have done everything possible that I can think of, does anyone else here have any suggestions? Is it best to just try to send the notarized copy of the color passport?

[Calicolom 266]

We applied and received my wife’s ss number under her maiden name 2 weeks after she arrived, with no problem. When we went back to get the name change on her card to her married name, all the person would say we need something from USCIS to change her name. We just left, there was no point in arguing with a minimum wage government employee. We will have her name changed to her married name when we get her work authorization. This all happen within the timeframe of the I-94. When my accountant filled our taxes for 2013 the taxes were filed jointly with her social security number under her maiden name and with her maiden name on our joint tax return. I think you med to argue with social security to get her social security number while the I-94 is still good.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

At this point, I don't know what else to do, we've called around and have done everything possible that I can think of, does anyone else here have any suggestions? Is it best to just try to send the notarized copy of the color passport?

You are correct, the rules have gotten stricter on the passport submission and getting an itin.

I would suggest you file "married filing separately" by April 15. You do have to list the name and SSN of your spouse. Put NRA (non-resident alien) in the box for SSN. E-filing might reject that, so print it out, sign it, staple the W-2 filing copy to the front page and drop it off at the post office. The old fashion way still works. Your wife has to file nothing because she hasn't earned income in the US.

Once your wife gets her EAD card, go back and get her SSN. Then file a 1040X (amended return). This way you skip the itin nightmare. You may file jointly with her only if you write a statement where you both elect for her to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes. She was not a resident alien in 2012. A non-resident can not file a joint return with a resident. BUT because she married a USC in 2012, the IRS gives you a special perk of the option to choose for her to be treated as a resident for tax filing. It does not change her true immigration status.

The catch to doing this option is that worldwide income must be reported. That means anything she earned in her country in 2012 will also be reported as joint income. It is self-reported (meaning no w-2 like form for her is submitted), and her income is converted to US dollars. Before you panic over her income, she will qualify for the Foreign Income Exclusion Form 2555. I promise you your taxes will be better that way than married filing separately. Here is a thread on how to do it using TurboTax that might help you learn the foreign exclusion concept, even though you don't do you own taxes. You want to make sure Jackson Hewitt actually knows this is the correct procedure for your situation. The thread also has a sample statement to make the election for her to be treated as a resident for all of 2012. You can also read about it on page 9 of IRS publication 519.

The thread http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/412125-turbotax-help-for-joint-filing-2012/

Jackson-Hewitt sounds a little shakey to me. Ask for a supervisor if you go back.

Your only options are:

1. Married filing separately. Wife does not file anything.
   
2. Married filing Jointly. Must write the statement. Must report worldwide income.
   

#2 will be the better deal. You will just have to do it amended because of your social security office not being informed and screwing you around.

[Darnell 8,479]

Drats, I was studying your profile over at http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=106839 in some hope to see any movement on the EAD.

Once there's an EAD, you can go chase a SSN.

here's the thing about taxes, that you should remember..

IF, when filing as 'married filing jointly' you will receive a refund, you have 3 years in which to file without penalty or fees incurred.

So if it makes sense to wait and NOT file, don't file till she has a SSN.

Good Luck !