USA tax advice 2022

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Filing "Married filing seperately" tax return. Spouse in Nepal; spouse never been to US.

Which tax software allows e-filing without spouse's SSN? TurboTax won't let me file without it.

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ujl

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Have you tried 1040.com? They might have some option but I am not sure.

tutepani

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Get ITIN for your spouse. I did once long time ago.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc857

Euta_nepali

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Can one get ITIN without being in the USA?
Can you file Married File Separately when your spouse has never been to the USA?

chicagoan

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Aren’t you late?

Hariman

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@tutepani: Can I file for ITIN for spouse? She's never been to US.

@Euta_nepali: It looks like once married, you can only file as Married Filing Seperately or Married Filling Jointly.

@chicagon: I filled for an extension :(

logan

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As Tiutepani suggested you have to request for ITIN number. Your spouse has to fill in and send it to IRS even though she has not entered USA.
Either case you can not file MFS or MFJ without social security or ITIN of your spouse.
I knew a guy fileed married filing jointly after getting his spouse ITIN number and his spouse was never been to US.

We file taxes to know if we have overpaid or underpaid to Government. IRS do not care if you have overpaid but in underpaid case it will charge interest on the amount owed.

You have 3 years to file back taxes.
You do not owe then no need to worry about it, once you get ITIN number you can file MFJ.
Or you can file single now and amend after receiving ITIN. To amend you have to do filing jointly and fill the difference numbers in 1040X columns

Bennedict

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Logan may be right. I am not that sure but if your get the ITIN number for your wife who is not in USA, then isn't it that you have to provide all her income details in Nepal to IRS, as they all have to come under the scrutiny of IRS by rule, right?

I have a relative who filed the tax as MFS as his wife is in Nepal currently. He did not use any SSN or ITIN number or nor applied for it either. He used taxact.com and the system let him fill in the details with no SSN of his wife, but then he had to file by mail and not e-file. When the tax papers were printed, in place of wife's SSN, it came out printed as "NRA" for non-resident alien. We are hearing rumors that the tax credit money that my relative might have received for saying married on taxes, maybe IRS will ask that money back later when the wife arrives and applies for real SSN. I heard somebody went through this as his wife and kids were in Nepal and he was filing taxes as MFS for a couple of years. Later IRS asked all the money back with interest that were sent to him as tax credit for being a married man with kids.

Hariman

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Appreciate the responses @logan, @Bennedict and all

logan

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You cannot file married filing separately until you get your spouse ITIN number.
To show proof to IRS you may have to file married jointly or separate.
I am not sure IRS will provide earned income credit with ITIN numbers to children. It's will be chunk of money from earned income credit,

Bennedict

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Logan,

Well, a lot of people whose wives are there in Nepal, they did not file for ITIN numbers for their non-resident wives, it is some hassle you have to go through right? You can file for ITIN numbers like you said you know somebody who applied for that number while wife being in Nepal itself. A lot of people never even think about applying for ITIN for their spouses in Nepal.

To IRS, if you are married, you cannot file as single person, that may be like you are lying to them to evade taxes in their eyes. But with wives abroad and not making any money in Nepal (for some), we may think why to say we are married in first place. IRS does not think in that way.

You have to file as married, but with your wives not in USA, MFS is the only option. But since not many people have ITIN numbers and SSN either, they can leave that space blank in some online applications like taxact.com and still fill in other details. Many other applications like turbotax or others won't even let you move at all if you do not have those numbers. So yes you can file taxes without wives' SSN and ITIN too.

The only issue here is you have to print out and file by mail. Some tax preparing agencies have their own enterprise applications that they can let you go without SSN or ITIN for wife abroad, I believe.

The tax credits may vary if you are filing single person or married with kids and your dependents not working, as we all know. Single person will be paying more and getting less returns than the married with kids. My only concern and I am not sure is that if you say wife and kids are in Nepal and then you include them in your taxes with their ITINs, then IRS will likely want to know about their income later on, even if they may not be working. Like for wife in Nepal, IRS may ask about her income in Nepal. For kids, yes, it is understandable they may not be working until they are over the age.

People, if you think this is a wrong understanding, please let me know as I am not aware of other things in process as well.

logan

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One person who got married in Nepal, filed married filing jointly after getting ITIN.
Be clear on income , spouse do not need to earned income. Whether s/he is in us or Nepal.
If someone is getting earned income credit there are few things must meet and those children never been to USA got earned income credit mean the tax filer has lied. After 2005 or 2006 irs has changed the rules who can claim the children as they're dependent and other benefits .I have seen people sharing children and able to file as head of household and earned income credit.
I am wondering how some one got earned income credit while their children has not stepped and lived on US soil. I can not comment on it.
If someone want to follow the IRS rule, student has to use 1040 NR, most of us has and had used 1040.

IRS rule says earned income tax credit is NOT allowed to ITIN holders.

Now I am curious about the person who got EITC while hi/her child was never been to us.

Last edited: 20-Apr-23 01:27 PM

Last edited: 21-Apr-23 06:51 AM

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