Question

I recently married an undocumented person. I would like to file married jointly this year. Can we file her W-7 application now before I do my 2021 taxes?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
October 25, 2021
1 reply
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TurboTax Premier Online

Employee

The applicant must have a financial connection to the United States. Usually this is established by filing a joint tax return, and in most cases, the IRS will not process a W-7 from someone that is filed separately from a tax return. I am not familiar with the exceptions to this rule, and I think you will need to read the W-7 instructions carefully to see if there are any exceptions that apply to your situation.

M

Mike9241

without an ITIN (or SSN) a joint return is not possible.

see the instructions for the W-7 as to when it can be filed and the documents that must be submitted

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf

O

Opus 17

Employee

@Mike9241

The typical procedure is to prepare a joint return with a blank tax ID number for the spouse, and mail it to the IRS along with the W-7 and required proofs of identity. After the IRS issues the ITIN, they process the joint tax return. You have to use a fake SSN to get TurboTax to print the return and you cover it with whiteout.

The taxpayer here is asking if they can apply for the ITIN without the W-7 being attached to next years tax return. This is usually not allowed and the IRS will return the W-7 unprocessed, unless the taxpayer qualifies for one of the special circumstances listed in the instructions.