Will applying for an ITIN for my wife to put on my taxes help at all with the NVC process in regards to the portion in which I have to provide the past 3 years of tax returns?

[J.. 2]

I'm having trouble figuring out if I should file "married and filing separate" or just "single". Initially I was filing married and separate but an error message showed that I need to input something on the SSN field for my wife. An expert from TurboTax recommends I apply for an ITIN for my wife so I could put that on my taxes under the SSN field but also mentions that its safe to file single because we were married officially in Japan, not in US.  An ITIN is going to take about 7 weeks according to irs.gov. We are in the phase where our NOA for I-130 "approval" should be sent soon. Not sure if its worth to apply for ITIN at this point. Also wondering if anyone has had experience with or without an ITIN on their tax returns in relation to the NVC phase.

[pushbrk 12,999]

6 minutes ago, Jered said:

I'm having trouble figuring out if I should file "married and filing separate" or just "single". Initially I was filing married and separate but an error message showed that I need to input something on the SSN field for my wife. An expert from TurboTax recommends I apply for an ITIN for my wife so I could put that on my taxes under the SSN field but also mentions that its safe to file single because we were married officially in Japan, not in US.  An ITIN is going to take about 7 weeks according to irs.gov. We are in the phase where our NOA for I-130 "approval" should be sent soon. Not sure if its worth to apply for ITIN at this point. Also wondering if anyone has had experience with or without an ITIN on their tax returns in relation to the NVC phase.

Sure.  Do it any of those ways, but you can file by mail and write NRA in the SS# field for your wife.  The Turbo Tax issue is in connection with filing online.

[J.. 2]

@pushbrk Thank you sir! Most likely I will just file single to make life simple. I'm assuming that means filing single will have no affect to the whole visa process. 

[pushbrk 12,999]

3 minutes ago, Jered said:

@pushbrk Thank you sir! Most likely I will just file single to make life simple. I'm assuming that means filing single will have no affect to the whole visa process. 

It won't.  But.....you'll get lots of responses telling you how improper it is.  It's what I and many others did. You can always amend your return later.

 

[Dan and Akari 44]

17 hours ago, Jered said:

@pushbrk Thank you sir! Most likely I will just file single to make life simple. I'm assuming that means filing single will have no affect to the whole visa process. 

I'm not going to tell you it is improper.  Nor will I try to predict the effect it will have on your immigration case.  Personally I would consider it odd that you are married but claim on your tax return that you are single when you are trying to prove to US immigration that your relationship is bona fide by co-mingling your financial affairs.  Nonetheless, that is my opinion and has no bearing on your decision or question.

 

Some things to consider.  

- Filing single is the least beneficial way to file. If you expect a tax liability, or want to maximize your refund, filing Married Separate allows you to claim your wife's standard deduction.  You simply need to write NRA in the SSN field as previously advised.

- Per the IRS instructions your filing status is based on your marital status as of December 31, 2023.  If you get married at 11:59 pm on December 31, 2023 you are married for the entire year of 2023.

- Doesn't matter where on Earth your wife physically resides while waiting to come to the US.  You are still married in the eyes of the IRS.

- First year filing with a NRA, you must file by mail so writing NRA on the return for her SSN is pretty quick and easy.

 

Ultimately it is your choice.  I wish you the best of luck.

[top_secret 2,458]

I would say you should run the numbers both ways and see what the financial difference in the return is.  It would vary depending on a number of factors.  It is not uncommon that a US spouse may have a high income and a foreign spouse may have much lower or no income and in those cases the potential difference between MFJ, MFS or Single in the tax return may be HUGE .  However, there are plenty of cases where the foreign spouse has substantial income or the US spouse has a lower income and the result may be different.  In our case we filed MFJ on paper (printed from TurboTax) along with a W7 and documents to apply for an ITIN for my wife.  It delayed our return for months exactly as our case was in the final stages but we successfully completed NVC and got the visa with just pdf copies of our entire 1040 and all schedules,W2s and 1099's.  Our return was over $10,000 greater than if I had file as single or MFS so it was definitely worth the effort.  Unless you run the numbers both ways it's hard to know how much effort you should put into the decision.

[pushbrk 12,999]

2 hours ago, Dan and Akari said:

I'm not going to tell you it is improper.  Nor will I try to predict the effect it will have on your immigration case.  Personally I would consider it odd that you are married but claim on your tax return that you are single when you are trying to prove to US immigration that your relationship is bona fide by co-mingling your financial affairs.  Nonetheless, that is my opinion and has no bearing on your decision or question.

 

Some things to consider.  

- Filing single is the least beneficial way to file. If you expect a tax liability, or want to maximize your refund, filing Married Separate allows you to claim your wife's standard deduction.  You simply need to write NRA in the SSN field as previously advised.

- Per the IRS instructions your filing status is based on your marital status as of December 31, 2023.  If you get married at 11:59 pm on December 31, 2023 you are married for the entire year of 2023.

- Doesn't matter where on Earth your wife physically resides while waiting to come to the US.  You are still married in the eyes of the IRS.

- First year filing with a NRA, you must file by mail so writing NRA on the return for her SSN is pretty quick and easy.

 

Ultimately it is your choice.  I wish you the best of luck.

Experiences prove over and over again that filing as single has NO IMPACT on the spouse immigration process.  This is because Consular Officers understand why people do this.

[SansTortoise 27]

Hire a real CPA for your taxes that has experience with foreign income.

 

It’ll save you thousands of dollars. You’ll likely also get a refund this year in either of the married statuses, so if MFJ is most advantageous the CPA can help you file for an extension on your tax return.

 

If you go the file single and amend route I would even more suggest a CPA. Yes, you can self-file for any U.S. tax situation, but typically it’s advisable to hire a CPA when you’re dealing with income from two different U.S. states. Two different countries even more so.

[bondy88 6]

Easy solution is to file Single and then amend later. You have three years to amend your taxes. Getting an ITIN is very tedious and time consuming for a foreign spouse even if you paper file your return. You would need to submit the original foreign spouse's passport (risk of losing it in mail) or a certified copy from the passport issuing agency to the IRS or use one of their CAA's if they are available in the spouse's country.  Even if you get an ITIN, you likely would miss on tax credits that are only available to people with an SSN such an EITC. So filing an MFJ return with ITIN instead of amending with an SSN later is not beneficial.

[SansTortoise 27]

14 minutes ago, bondy88 said:

Easy solution is to file Single and then amend later. You have three years to amend your taxes. Getting an ITIN is very tedious and time consuming for a foreign spouse even if you paper file your return. You would need to submit the original foreign spouse's passport (risk of losing it in mail) or a certified copy from the passport issuing agency to the IRS or use one of their CAA's if they are available in the spouse's country.  Even if you get an ITIN, you likely would miss on tax credits that are only available to people with an SSN such an EITC. So filing an MFJ return with ITIN instead of amending with an SSN later is not beneficial.

Most people sponsoring spouses to come to the U.S. don’t qualify for the EITC, so that’s unlikely to be applicable in many circumstances.

 

Everyone has a unique tax situation and when it involves foreign income it’s complex enough to hire a professional and not TurboTax it.

This is a DIY forum for how to fill out immigration paperwork — the answer OP’s been given for immigration purposes is correct — it doesn’t matter.
 

Multi jurisdictional tax issues are much more complex than the I-130, though and consulting a qualified CPA who has experience dealing with international tax in individual returns would give a definitive answer and would likely save OP significant money now rather than in 2-3 years.

 

I am a CPA but I wouldn’t consider figuring it out on my own because the situation is abnormal enough that TurboTaxing it or asking on a forum is unlikely to get you to the best answer from an income tax perspective.

Edited February 10 by SansTortoise

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

****Topic moved to Tax and Finances During US Immigration***

***Several derailing comments removed***