ITIN for 2006 Tax Return

[jacob88 0]

We are submitting a w-7 form to apply for a ITIN for my wife. This will be our first time filing taxes together and we must obtain a ITIN number for her because she is not yet eligible for a SSN.

I have two questions regarding this:

First, my wife does not yet have her name changed on any identification documents (her last name changed when we got married and it takes a while to get her name changed on her passport here in the Philippines) When filing the w-7 form and our 1040 tax return, does it matter if we use her new last name or old last name? Seeing how she does not yet have proper identification with her new name it seems like we will have to use her maiden name. Will this cause some sort of delay in the process and have any effect on our pending CR-1 visa, or during our interview?

Second, does anyone know if we have to submit a copy of our marriage certificate with our 1040 to prove we are married?

Any thoughts would be great! Thanks

Jacob

[de_sjiem 0]

you can use her married name on the form.. i did and my passport (and birth certificate of course) both had my maiden name last year when we filed for the ITIN.. (and also the form does ask for a maiden name..) you can take the marriage license with you just in case.. better be safe than sorry.. I filed mine at an IRS center, that way i knew right away that i had done everything correctly..

[Robor007 0]

You are going to need to have a certified copy of your wife's passport if you're going to submit it as identification for your W7 with your taxes. That said, why not just get a new passport in her married name at the same time? Your wife will need to do this at the DFA and yes it does take a few weeks. But it's got to be done so might as well do it now and kill 2 birds with one stone?

Congrats on the marriage! Welcome to VJ and good luck!

Edit: Just saw your 2nd question... Nope, you do not need to send a copy of your marriage certificate.

Edited February 21, 2007 by Robor007

[beameup 0]

I just finished submitting my 1040A and attached W-7. I am leaving all documents in my wife's MAIDEN NAME to be consistent. She already had a new passport anyway so best to leave things as-is to avoid confusion. The passport is

the only document necessary in order to submit the W-7. We just went to Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines and to

the office of the only agent certified by the IRS in the Philippines to complete the W-7 (as far as I know). The entire

tax package was then sent by the agent directly through the Embassy to the ITIN issuing office of the IRS in Austin, TX.

If the passport needs to be copied and the copy notarized and the copy then sent to the U.S., it can only be done by an Embassy Officer. Documents notarized by Philippine Attorneys are no longer accepted.

We are submitting a w-7 form to apply for a ITIN for my wife. This will be our first time filing taxes together and we must obtain a ITIN number for her because she is not yet eligible for a SSN.

I have two questions regarding this:

First, my wife does not yet have her name changed on any identification documents (her last name changed when we got married and it takes a while to get her name changed on her passport here in the Philippines) When filing the w-7 form and our 1040 tax return, does it matter if we use her new last name or old last name? Seeing how she does not yet have proper identification with her new name it seems like we will have to use her maiden name. Will this cause some sort of delay in the process and have any effect on our pending CR-1 visa, or during our interview?

Second, does anyone know if we have to submit a copy of our marriage certificate with our 1040 to prove we are married?

Any thoughts would be great! Thanks

Jacob

I just finished submitting my 1040A and attached W-7. I am leaving all documents in my wife's MAIDEN NAME to be consistent. She already had a new passport anyway so best to leave things as-is to avoid confusion. The passport is

the only document necessary in order to submit the W-7. We just went to Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines and to

the office of the only agent certified by the IRS in the Philippines to complete the W-7 (as far as I know). The entire

tax package was then sent by the agent directly through the Embassy to the ITIN issuing office of the IRS in Austin, TX.

If the passport needs to be copied and the copy notarized and the copy then sent to the U.S., it can only be done by an Embassy Officer. Documents notarized by Philippine Attorneys are no longer accepted. Oh, and in the space for her SSN

you write: ITIN Applied for

We are submitting a w-7 form to apply for a ITIN for my wife. This will be our first time filing taxes together and we must obtain a ITIN number for her because she is not yet eligible for a SSN.

I have two questions regarding this:

First, my wife does not yet have her name changed on any identification documents (her last name changed when we got married and it takes a while to get her name changed on her passport here in the Philippines) When filing the w-7 form and our 1040 tax return, does it matter if we use her new last name or old last name? Seeing how she does not yet have proper identification with her new name it seems like we will have to use her maiden name. Will this cause some sort of delay in the process and have any effect on our pending CR-1 visa, or during our interview?

Second, does anyone know if we have to submit a copy of our marriage certificate with our 1040 to prove we are married?

Any thoughts would be great! Thanks

Jacob

[Robor007 0]

I just finished submitting my 1040A and attached W-7. I am leaving all documents in my wife's MAIDEN NAME to be consistent. She already had a new passport anyway so best to leave things as-is to avoid confusion. The passport is the only document necessary in order to submit the W-7. We just went to Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines and to the office of the only agent certified by the IRS in the Philippines to complete the W-7 (as far as I know). The entire tax package was then sent by the agent directly through the Embassy to the ITIN issuing office of the IRS in Austin, TX.

If the passport needs to be copied and the copy notarized and the copy then sent to the U.S., it can only be done by an Embassy Officer. Documents notarized by Philippine Attorneys are no longer accepted. Oh, and in the space for her SSN

you write: ITIN Applied for

Thanks for the info on the SSN field for the spouse. Too late for me as I mailed mine yesterday but hopefully it will help those in the future. I did include a brief cover sheet explaining our situation though.

In the Philippines the DFA (Dept. of Foreign Affairs) can also certify copies of a Philippines passport as they are the issuing agency.

By the way, I called the IRS yesterday to confirm the address to send taxes including a W7. I went through the menus and wound up in a cycle of 'we're experiencing technical difficulties' resulting in transfers back to the main menu. No way to speak to a person. Nice!

Edited February 21, 2007 by Robor007

[jacob88 0]

Thanks for all the info. Looks like I will just go get a certified copy of my wifes passport from the DFA (although they say it is not a certified copy, but an actual letter saying they issued the passport). I'm in Cebu and the U.S. Consultant here will not do a public notary. This is what they suggested.

I will just use her maiden name for all the forms. I read that it could take 6 weeks to issue the ITIN, so we want to get this in the mail as soon as possible. If we wait for the amendment to her passport with her new name it could take a few more weeks. Also, we can not file for state taxes until we have her ITIN either.

Thanks again for all your help.

[nyseness 0]

Thanks for all the info. Looks like I will just go get a certified copy of my wifes passport from the DFA (although they say it is not a certified copy, but an actual letter saying they issued the passport). I'm in Cebu and the U.S. Consultant here will not do a public notary. This is what they suggested.

I will just use her maiden name for all the forms. I read that it could take 6 weeks to issue the ITIN, so we want to get this in the mail as soon as possible. If we wait for the amendment to her passport with her new name it could take a few more weeks. Also, we can not file for state taxes until we have her ITIN either.

Thanks again for all your help.

I'm in the process of completing my 1040 and will attach a copy of the W-7 app. I normally do my incomes taxes b/c I refuse to pay ppl when I can do them myself but since this year of course I'm doing a little differently. I'm a little worried and thinking of going to a tax accountant. What are the advantages? Yes he might be able to get me more money but right now the evidence for the I-130 is the main reason for me filing this way anyway. Because I usually file HOH the refund was only a few hundred more. Please advise.

Thanks

[Robor007 0]

Thanks for all the info. Looks like I will just go get a certified copy of my wifes passport from the DFA (although they say it is not a certified copy, but an actual letter saying they issued the passport). I'm in Cebu and the U.S. Consultant here will not do a public notary. This is what they suggested.

I will just use her maiden name for all the forms. I read that it could take 6 weeks to issue the ITIN, so we want to get this in the mail as soon as possible. If we wait for the amendment to her passport with her new name it could take a few more weeks. Also, we can not file for state taxes until we have her ITIN either.

Thanks again for all your help.

I'm in the process of completing my 1040 and will attach a copy of the W-7 app. I normally do my incomes taxes b/c I refuse to pay ppl when I can do them myself but since this year of course I'm doing a little differently. I'm a little worried and thinking of going to a tax accountant. What are the advantages? Yes he might be able to get me more money but right now the evidence for the I-130 is the main reason for me filing this way anyway. Because I usually file HOH the refund was only a few hundred more. Please advise.

Thanks

If you're going to use a W7 and plan to exclude your spouse's income see this thread: Foreign Earned Income Exclsuion for Tax Purposes

[nyseness 0]

Ok I read it but have no idea what it means. I'm not filing for any exclusions or anything like that. My husband is unemployed.