ITIN/SSN dilemma while filing taxes

[random_name 0]

Hello VJ community, my wife and I got married a couple of months ago and now she is getting ready to file her tax return. She is citizen and I'm out of status since my student visa expired several years ago. I do not have neither SSN nor ITIN. As we are trying to save up for immigration forms for my AOS, we wonder if I could be claimed as dependent on her tax return so she could possibly get some amount of taxes back as she has been the only one with an income while we have been living together for over a year. So we believe that she should be able to claim me as dependent if we are not mistaken. As far as I could read on IRS website, I need SSN or ITIN to be claimed as dependent by my spouse. However, I ended up getting more confused after reading some info on their website so I wanted to ask how we are supposed to go about this, considering we will be dealing with USCIS once we are ready to start my AOS application so we don't want to make a mistake now that could affect us later.

So should I just apply for ITIN now and hope that I receive it before the deadline July 15th so my wife can add me as dependent and file her taxes OR do I just wait until I get SSN via AOS and then she could possibly amend her taxes back for the previous year once she can add me as dependent with my SSN ? We just want to make sure we do things accurately while satisfying both IRS and USCIS. I hope I didn't miss any essential info and thanks for your time! 

[Ayrton 965]

39 minutes ago, random_name said:

Hello VJ community, my wife and I got married a couple of months ago and now she is getting ready to file her tax return. She is citizen and I'm out of status since my student visa expired several years ago. I do not have neither SSN nor ITIN. As we are trying to save up for immigration forms for my AOS, we wonder if I could be claimed as dependent on her tax return so she could possibly get some amount of taxes back as she has been the only one with an income while we have been living together for over a year. So we believe that she should be able to claim me as dependent if we are not mistaken. As far as I could read on IRS website, I need SSN or ITIN to be claimed as dependent by my spouse. However, I ended up getting more confused after reading some info on their website so I wanted to ask how we are supposed to go about this, considering we will be dealing with USCIS once we are ready to start my AOS application so we don't want to make a mistake now that could affect us later.

So should I just apply for ITIN now and hope that I receive it before the deadline July 15th so my wife can add me as dependent and file her taxes OR do I just wait until I get SSN via AOS and then she could possibly amend her taxes back for the previous year once she can add me as dependent with my SSN ? We just want to make sure we do things accurately while satisfying both IRS and USCIS. I hope I didn't miss any essential info and thanks for your time! 

A spouse cannot be claimed as dependent. They can either file as MARRIED filing jointly or separately.

 

First, when did you get married? You said a couple months ago. If you got married in 2020, she will file 2019 taxes as SINGLE.

 

If you got married in 2019. She will file as MARRIED, either jointly or separately. If you decide to file jointly, you will attach a W7 to the paper return and send it to IRS. If she file separately, you don't need a SSN or ITIN. I believe you can just put NRA where it asks for SSN.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Ayrton

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

1 hour ago, random_name said:

Hello VJ community, my wife and I got married a couple of months ago and now she is getting ready to file her tax return. She is citizen and I'm out of status since my student visa expired several years ago. I do not have neither SSN nor ITIN. As we are trying to save up for immigration forms for my AOS, we wonder if I could be claimed as dependent on her tax return so she could possibly get some amount of taxes back as she has been the only one with an income while we have been living together for over a year. So we believe that she should be able to claim me as dependent if we are not mistaken. As far as I could read on IRS website, I need SSN or ITIN to be claimed as dependent by my spouse. However, I ended up getting more confused after reading some info on their website so I wanted to ask how we are supposed to go about this, considering we will be dealing with USCIS once we are ready to start my AOS application so we don't want to make a mistake now that could affect us later.

So should I just apply for ITIN now and hope that I receive it before the deadline July 15th so my wife can add me as dependent and file her taxes OR do I just wait until I get SSN via AOS and then she could possibly amend her taxes back for the previous year once she can add me as dependent with my SSN ? We just want to make sure we do things accurately while satisfying both IRS and USCIS. I hope I didn't miss any essential info and thanks for your time! 

Agree with above.  A spouse is not claimed as a dependent.  But I would worry more about immigration status than tax filing status.  You are subject to deportation until you file a proper I-485.

[random_name 0]

9 hours ago, Ayrton said:

A spouse cannot be claimed as dependent. They can either file as MARRIED filing jointly or separately.

 

First, when did you get married? You said a couple months ago. If you got married in 2020, she will file 2019 taxes as SINGLE.

 

If you got married in 2019. She will file as MARRIED, either jointly or separately. If you decide to file jointly, you will attach a W7 to the paper return and send it to IRS. If she file separately, you don't need a SSN or ITIN. I believe you can just put NRA where it asks for SSN.

We got married in 2020 so she will file 2019 taxes as single that's right. So am I not considered dependent for her 2019 taxes since we have lived together in same household during 2019 before we got married?  She has been the only one with income all this time so we hope that she can get some of her taxes back then hopefully we will have enough money to get started with AOS. 

[Just Paul 4,595]

41 minutes ago, random_name said:

So am I not considered dependent for her 2019 taxes since we have lived together in same household during 2019 before we got married?

Sorry, no. Cohabitation does not offer the same tax benefit as being married.

[random_name 0]

7 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

Sorry, no. Cohabitation does not offer the same tax benefit as being married.

Sure not the same tax benefit but is there no tax benefit at all for cohabitation if there is one person who could be dependent while the other person generating the only income in a household of 2? I tried the IRS website but I just can't find the related info. Thanks again! 

[Just Paul 4,595]

4 minutes ago, random_name said:

Sure not the same tax benefit but is there no tax benefit at all for cohabitation if there is one person who could be dependent while the other person generating the only income in a household of 2? I tried the IRS website but I just can't find the related info. Thanks again! 

You aren't a dependent as you aren't a child or qualified relative.   Here is a tutorial from 2014.  The deduction numbers have changed.  But the underlying law hasn't.

 

https://apps.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes/hows/tax_tutorials/mod04/tt_mod04_01.jsp

 

Since you have no legal status for the years between being a F1 and  before getting married there is no basis for you to be on her joint return.

 

If you had gotten married last year you could have filed "Married Filing Jointly" and gotten a nice $1,200 CARES check. 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

6 hours ago, random_name said:

Sure not the same tax benefit but is there no tax benefit at all for cohabitation if there is one person who could be dependent while the other person generating the only income in a household of 2? I tried the IRS website but I just can't find the related info. Thanks again! 

The IRS has a tax tool that will give a series of questions for her to answer to determine who qualifies as her dependent. For answering the IRS, you qualify as a resident alien based on the length of your physical presence in the US, despite the fact that you are undocumented/illegal in immigration terms to USCIS. Different rules. On the IRS tool, go by IRS rules.

 

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent

 

Did you not already get a SSN when you were a student? You won’t get a new number through AOS if you already have one assigned to you.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Wuozopo

[arken 4,197]

9 hours ago, random_name said:

Sure not the same tax benefit but is there no tax benefit at all for cohabitation if there is one person who could be dependent while the other person generating the only income in a household of 2? I tried the IRS website but I just can't find the related info. Thanks again! 

There is no terms as a spouse being dependent in the tax return. File the tax return jointly and you will see a significant tax benefits if only one spouse has income. That’s how it works. You apply for ITIN at the same time you file for tax return. 

[Ayrton 965]

5 minutes ago, arken said:

There is no terms as a spouse being dependent in the tax return. File the tax return jointly and you will see a significant tax benefits if only one spouse has income. That’s how it works. You apply for ITIN at the same time you file for tax return. 

OP wasn't married in 2019. So there's no way to file jointly. 

 

9 hours ago, random_name said:

Sure not the same tax benefit but is there no tax benefit at all for cohabitation if there is one person who could be dependent while the other person generating the only income in a household of 2? I tried the IRS website but I just can't find the related info. Thanks again! 

 

I was googling a little, and I did find that it's possible to claim a boyfriend as a dependent, but they need to qualify, like @Wuozopo said.

[LBee1592 17]

Hi everybody,  I was wondering, how are we supposed to file married filing jointly and apply for an ITIN at the same time if the IRS processing centers are closed? They recommend to do everything online but applying for an ITIN is not possible other than through mail. That means that my husband isn't able to file his taxes with a married status because either way (jointly or separately) would require sending the return through mail. Since I don't have a SSN or ITIN....Anyone has any other option? My husband really doesn't want to file single since we are married.

[Ayrton 965]

5 hours ago, LBee1592 said:

Hi everybody,  I was wondering, how are we supposed to file married filing jointly and apply for an ITIN at the same time if the IRS processing centers are closed? They recommend to do everything online but applying for an ITIN is not possible other than through mail. That means that my husband isn't able to file his taxes with a married status because either way (jointly or separately) would require sending the return through mail. Since I don't have a SSN or ITIN....Anyone has any other option? My husband really doesn't want to file single since we are married.

You can still mail the return. It's just gonna take longer for them to process.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

On 5/11/2020 at 5:15 PM, LBee1592 said:

Since I don't have a SSN or ITIN....Anyone has any other option? My husband really doesn't want to file single since we are married.

Just mail it. He can not file single If you married in 2019.