bacyllo18[at]hotmail.com wrote:
- quote -

I have filed many MFS returns where the spouse was an NRA
without a TIN or the spouse was gone and the t/p did not
know the other spouse's SSN. The IRS has never questioned
it, as far as I know. I did enter the name of the spouse and
the words "Nonresident Alien." I suppose the reason they
never question it is that filing MFS almost always generates
a bigger tax bill than any other filing status.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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A.G. Kalman wrote:

- quote -

Thanks for responding. Do you have any pointers to IRS
publications that confirm this (that I only need an ITIN
or my wife if I am claiming an exemption for her)?

When I read the instructions for Form 1040, they appear to
require an ITIN or SSN for my spouse even if I am NOT
claiming the exemption, but maybe I am reading them wrong
or not seeing something.

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Looking at IRS Publication 17, p.15, it looks like you will
have to have an ITIN for your wife even if you file as
married filing separately. In that case, since the return
requires an ITIN for her (even though none of the income
being reported as hers) it would probably be a safe bet to
say that you should fill out a W-7 for her and attach your
return to the W-7 and file it with the office called for on
the W-7 return.

If you look at Form W-7 again, you will see a tick-box (box
e) under the heading "Reason you are submitting Form W-7"
indicating that the applicant is the spouse of a US
citizen/resident alien - that would be your wife, so you
would tick off that box. Second, on the instruction sheet
to the form, under "How to Apply," the instructions refer to
the tax return "for which the ITIN is needed" - which is
your return, regardless of the fact that your wife is not
joining in the return (and regardless that you will not be
claiming her as an exemption - the test is whether she is
the sort of person who, if the other requirements are met,
could be claimed as an exemption - e.g., if you otherwise
qualified for head of household status with respect to her).

So, parsing through the IRS' tortured,
one-size-fits-all-rules, it would appear that (a) you need
an ITIN for your wife even though you are filing separately,
and (b) to get that you would complete a W-7 for her, attach
it to your tax return, and send the whole mess off to the
appropriate offices.

Also, please, please keep in mind that this is exactly the
sort of time where you want to make extra copies of the
return, and send it via registered mail, return receipt
requested (make sure you write the registered mail item
number of the top of the cover letter before you seal up the
envelope and mail it off); your usual filing center will be
expecting a return from you, and you may get letters asking
where it is - you need to be prepared to prove that you sent
it to the other center.

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bacyllo18[at]hotmail.com wrote:

- quote -

You are married, so you would have to file as
married-separate. You only need the ITIN for your spouse if
you want to claim the personal exemption of $3100 for her.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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As I am preparing my tax return for 2004, I ran into a
tricky question, and I was wondering if anyone here has seen
a similar situation and can advise me where to look for an
answer.

I got married last year, but my wife is a nonresident alien
(I am a US citizen). She lives outside the US (waiting for
the US immigration paperwork), never lived in the US, and
does not have either SSN, or ITIN. No children.

Which filing status should I use on my tax return?
Single or head of household seem inapplicable
(I have no dependents). We definitely want to avoid
"Married filing jointly" - my wife's income last year,
all of it earned outside the US, significantly exceeded
the $80,000 foreign income exclusion, and paying US
taxes on it seems silly. For this reason, we do not
want to declare her a resident for tax purposes.
I do also do not plan to claim an exemption for her.

"Married filing separately" seems to be my only choice, but
the 1040 form appears to require an ITIN for my wife. She
does not have an ITIN and does not intend to file a US tax
return. Does this mean that I cannot file a tax return AT
ALL unless my wife somehow obtains an ITIN? IRS publication
519 does not answer this question, except advising that I
would be considered unmarried for the "head of household"
purposes, which does not apply, as I could not file as HH
even if I had been single.

Instructions on the W-7 form for ITIN are very confusing. In
particular, ITIN cannot be applied for without an
accompanying tax return, but they do not say whose return it
must be. Does this mean that instead of filing my tax
return normally, I must file it through the IRS Pittsburgh
office that processes ITIN applications, even though I am
NOT applying for ITIN?

I've been going crazy with this problem, and getting
contradictory advice from all corners. Any help is
appreciated. (But don't tell me to talk to an experienced
tax advisor - great advice, but if I knew such a person, I
would not be asking questions on the Internet, would I?

Thanks!

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