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March 9, 2020
Question

how to file tax [2020] when spouse lives in foreign country?

  • March 9, 2020
  • 1 reply
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I am a US citizen and I got married last year 2019 in foreign country. In this case, how can I file my tax return for 2020? There seems to be confusing information. It seems like I cant file as married and filing together. When I tried to file married filing separately, it is still asking SSN of spouse. My spouse doesnt have SSN and she lives in foreign country.

1 reply

DoninGA
Employee
March 9, 2020

If you are a US citizen and your spouse does not have a Social Security number or an ITIN and you are not applying for an ITIN with the tax return then you can only file your tax return as Married Filing Separately.  Where asked to enter the spouse's Social Security number enter 999-88-9999.  You can only print and mail your tax return, it cannot be e-filed.  When you print the tax return erase the Social Security number for your spouse and manually enter NRA for non-resident alien.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for the procedure to print and mail a tax return using the online editions - https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1944348-how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online

 

If you are filing your tax return as Married Filing Jointly you must apply for an ITIN with the tax return and you would need to be providing a statement with your tax return that you want your Nonresident Alien Spouse Treated as a Resident.  See IRS Publication 54 Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad pages 6 and 7 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf

Go to this IRS website for ITIN information - https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/general-itin-information