2021 TAX RETURN- Married with waiting AOS and no SSI

[petridza 4]

Hello, 

I am getting ready to file taxes and I have a question. 
My husband came on K1 visa and we got married. 
He is currently waiting on AOS without Social Security(they wouldn't give him one, and told him to wait until he gets EAD). We applied for SSI on his AOS.

He is not working and doesn't have no income. 

I was told that I(U.S citizen) have 2 options: 
To file for ITIN for my husband, so we can file our taxes. This option is, of course, a waiting game as well, like everything right now. 

Or, 

my second option is to file an extension for filing taxes. 

Is anyone here in a similar/same situation? 

My thought is to file for extension, and by October 15,2022 he should receive his EAD/Social Security and we can file like a married couple. But then again, who knows? 
Or should we apply for his ITIN regardless? 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

You can also file married filing separately....then amend to jointly later.

[petridza 4]

Even If you file Married filling Separately, you still need the Spouse's Social Security, which he doesn't have yet.

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

An ITIN is a 9-digit number issued by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to individuals who are required for U.S. federal tax purposes to have a U.S. taxpayer identification number but who do not have and are not eligible to get a social security number (SSN).

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-7

 

u r eligible for the SSN and waiting for it to come with EAD so u can not get an ITIN

husband was also eligible with I 94 within a timeframe when he entered 

so the above 2 things leave him off getting a ITIN

 

 

[arken 4,197]

24 minutes ago, petridza said:

Even If you file Married filling Separately, you still need the Spouse's Social Security, which he doesn't have yet.

SSN is not needed for MFS. Type/write NRA where it asks for your spouse's SSN and mail. No efiling.

Edited February 2, 2022 by arken

[Wuozopo 4,293]

1 hour ago, petridza said:

My thought is to file for extension, and by October 15,2022 he should receive his EAD/Social Security and we can file like a married couple. But then again, who knows? 
Or should we apply for his ITIN regardless? 

If you file for the extension, then you have until October to wait on his EAD and SSN.  If he gets the SSN, he will also be eligible to receive the recovery rebate credit ($1400) that you probably got last March. He wouldn’t be eligible for that if he filed with an ITIN. 

 

You can also file your taxes Married Filing Separately and for his SSN write in NRA (Non Resident Alien) by hand on a printed out return. You would get rejected by efile with nothing in that SSN space so you would have mail the return printout you hand wrote on. He would not have to file at all since he has earned no income since his arrival. You can’t write NRA for a joint return.
 

Filing jointly usually gives you a better deal because you get an extra standard deduction for him. But if your income is less than $25,100. It’s probably not really going to benefit you to file jointly. Those that get a big tax break from the extra standard deduction often just amend their return later to pick up their extra refund. He will not qualify for the recovery rebate credit on an amended return unless he had his SSN before the filing deadline in April (or Oct if you apply for an extension.)
 

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by Wuozopo

[petridza 4]

3 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

If you file for the extension, then you have until October to wait on his EAD and SSN.  If he gets the SSN, he will also be eligible to receive the recovery rebate credit ($1400) that you probably got last March. He wouldn’t be eligible for that if he filed with an ITIN. 

 

You can also file your taxes Married Filing Separately and for his SSN write in NRA (Non Resident Alien) by hand on a printed out return. You would get rejected by efile with nothing in that SSN space so you would have mail the return printout you hand wrote on. He would not have to file at all since he has earned no income since his arrival. You can’t write NRA for a joint return.
 

Filing jointly usually gives you a better deal because you get an extra standard deduction for him. But if your income is less than $25,100. It’s probably not really going to benefit you to file jointly. Those that get a big tax break from the extra standard deduction often just amend their return later to pick up their extra refund. He will not qualify for the recovery rebate credit on an amended return unless he had his SSN before the filing deadline in April (or Oct if you apply for an extension.)
 

 

Thank you! 
I guess I'll just wait and hope it he gets EAD and SSI by October, so we can file Jointly. 

 

And if he doesn't get it by October, I'll file it separately and write NRA. 

 

 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

19 hours ago, petridza said:

Thank you! 
I guess I'll just wait and hope it he gets EAD and SSI by October, so we can file Jointly. 

 

And if he doesn't get it by October, I'll file it separately and write NRA. 

 

 

 

Financially,  this makes sense if you know that you are not going to get a refund as MFS.  If you will get a refund as MFS, I would suggest filing as MFS now and then file an amended return after your husband gets his SSN.

[PD & AS 0]

What is you need the 2021 return in order to get the EAD.  I got a request for evidence saying my i864 wasn't valid without the 2021 return.  I thought sending in my tax extension notice would have been accepted, but not the case...