ITIN and W7 documentation and filing questions

[CrimsonKing 0]

I got married this past November. My wife lives in England and I will be filing Married Filing Jointly, treating my nonresident alien wife as a resident alien according to IRS rules.

We will need to submit a W7 to obtain an ITIN. I understand that I will need to paper file my 1040 and attach the W7 ITIN application to the tax return, and also include a letter signed by the both of us declaring that she is a nonresident alien choosing to be treated as a resident. Is that correct? I include all three of these (tax return, W7, and signed letter) in the same package?

I also have a question about supporting documentation for the W7. It sounds like notarized copies of documents are not acceptable. Does this mean we would need to send, for example, her actual passport (which counts as two documents) or her actual original driver's license plus birth certificate? Is there such a thing as a certified copy of a driver's license? It seems onerous to require her to mail her passport or driver's license to the IRS. What do other people do?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

If she is in the UK, she can get a certified copy of her passport to send. Usually this is done by the issuing agency.

[CrimsonKing 0]

Thanks. Do you have any more info about that? The W7 instructions say the certified copy must be issued by the original agency. Does the UK passport agency issue certified copies?

[Thozelle 16]

We just sent original drivers license and birth certificate. Got them back in about a month. So not an option for everyone to be without their license.

[MariaR323 199]

I got married this past November. My wife lives in England and I will be filing Married Filing Jointly, treating my nonresident alien wife as a resident alien according to IRS rules.

We will need to submit a W7 to obtain an ITIN. I understand that I will need to paper file my 1040 and attach the W7 ITIN application to the tax return, and also include a letter signed by the both of us declaring that she is a nonresident alien choosing to be treated as a resident. Is that correct? I include all three of these (tax return, W7, and signed letter) in the same package?

I also have a question about supporting documentation for the W7. It sounds like notarized copies of documents are not acceptable. Does this mean we would need to send, for example, her actual passport (which counts as two documents) or her actual original driver's license plus birth certificate? Is there such a thing as a certified copy of a driver's license? It seems onerous to require her to mail her passport or driver's license to the IRS. What do other people do?

I believe she can try going to the embassy in the UK and get a certified/notarized copy of the passport.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I got married this past November. My wife lives in England and I will be filing Married Filing Jointly, treating my nonresident alien wife as a resident alien according to IRS rules.

We will need to submit a W7 to obtain an ITIN. I understand that I will need to paper file my 1040 and attach the W7 ITIN application to the tax return, and also include a letter signed by the both of us declaring that she is a nonresident alien choosing to be treated as a resident. Is that correct? I include all three of these (tax return, W7, and signed letter) in the same package?

I also have a question about supporting documentation for the W7. It sounds like notarized copies of documents are not acceptable. Does this mean we would need to send, for example, her actual passport (which counts as two documents) or her actual original driver's license plus birth certificate? Is there such a thing as a certified copy of a driver's license? It seems onerous to require her to mail her passport or driver's license to the IRS. What do other people do?

Yes it seems onerous to mail her passport to you so you can mail it with all you mentioned to Austin, TX. That's why it isn't that simple to get an ITIN for a foreigner. I do personally know of one Brit who did it like that with no problem because I did his tax return for him.

Alternatively, she can present her passport to a certified acceptance agent who can certify a photocopy for you to submit. This is the IRS list for the UK https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Acceptance-Agents--United-Kingdom

I don't know anybody who has used any of these, but you can call and ask what they charge.

I vaguely recall that the Embassy in London does not, as some people from other countries will say that's what they did. And trying to get anything from the UK passport office didn't seem to work out. It's been a long time and I can't remember details now.

Also the big accounting firms with international offices are acceptance agents. List on this page. https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Acceptance-Agent-Program