Employee

Question

My spouse does not have a social security number.

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
May 31, 2019
8 replies
0 views

I got married in November of 2010, and have been living with my spouse in Spain ever since. Turbotax will not let me proceed without adding a social security number for my husband, but he does not have one, nor does he legally need one since he has never lived in the US. How do I proceed with filing my taxes?

TurboTax PLUS Online

D

daymondadcock

Employee

my problem is i dont have spouse's SS # cause we've been separted since June 2014. not sure if considered legally separated though.

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bwa

Employee

If you have to file married filing separately without a spouse's SSN you will need to print the return and file by mail. Include an explanation as to why you don't have it.

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romylu98

Employee

The software will not allow me to continue without this info. How do I overstep this?

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bwa

Employee

Yes, just leave the SSN blank. If you do, however, you will need to file on paper instead of e-filing your return, as it will reject if e-filed without an SSN.

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kim-greenhalgh9

Employee

Can this issue of no SSN be corrected for online submissions? I am an American married to an Englishman. For the last 6 years I've filled out my return online but have to print and send it because he has no SSN. Why does the online form not allow for 'NRA' as an answer? It would solve headaches for many of us.

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bwa

Employee

If you want to file a joint return and he doesn't have a social security number, he will need to apply for and receive a taxpayer identifying number.

You can file married filing jointly or married filing separately. If the latter and your spouse has no US source income, he/she would not be required to file.

The following is from the IRS regarding married filing jointly:

If, at the end of your tax year, you are married and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien and the other is a nonresident alien, you can choose to treat the nonresident as a U.S. resident. This includes situations in which one of you is a nonresident alien at the beginning of the tax year, but a resident alien at the end of the year, and the other is a nonresident alien at the end of the year.

If you make this choice, the following two rules apply:

--- You and your spouse are treated, for income tax purposes, as residents for all tax years that the choice is in effect
--- You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice

If you make this choice, you and your spouse are treated as residents for your entire tax year for the purpose of your federal individual income tax return, and for the purpose of withholding U.S. federal income tax from your wages.

Generally, neither you nor your spouse can claim tax treaty benefits as a resident of a foreign country for a tax year for which the choice is in effect and you are both taxed on worldwide income. However, the exception to the saving clause of a particular tax treaty might allow a resident alien to claim a tax treaty benefit on certain specified income. You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice, but you and your spouse can file joint or separate returns in later years.
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Making the Election

You make the choice by attaching a statement, signed by both spouses, to your joint return for the first tax year for which the choice applies. It should contain the following:

--- A declaration that one spouse was a nonresident alien and the other spouse a U.S. citizen or resident alien on the last day of your tax year, and that you choose to be treated as US residents for the entire tax year, and
--- The name, address, and social security number (or individual taxpayer identification number) of each spouse. (If one spouse died, include the name and address of the person making the choice for the deceased spouse.)
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SSN or ITIN

If your spouse is a nonresident alien and you file a joint, your spouse must have either a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). To get an SSN for your spouse, apply at a social security office or US consulate. You must complete Form SS-5. You must also provide original or certified copies of documents to verify your spouse's age, identity, and citizenship. If your spouse is not eligible to get an SSN, he or she can file Form W-7 with the IRS to apply for an ITIN. Refer to Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) for more information.

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rylimusicAuthor

Employee

My spouse does not make US income, so there is no need for him to file. However, in TurboTax, it seems to require my spouse's name and his SSN. If I'm filing "Married filing separately", can I just leave the SSN field blank?

Thanks for the quick response!

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bine22

Employee

if your husband is a non-resident alien with no US source income you can also take a personal exemption for him on your return even if you file married filing separately.

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salaimani

Employee

that means when she claims exemption she can claim one for herself and one for himself.Right? (if it is 3900 excemption, then it would be 7800)

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Kiesha99s

My husband is a F1 student and he was told to apply for ITIN. The problem is that because of high demand of requests at IRS, most likely he might receive it no sooner than 15 April. We are applying MFJ (married filling jointly). A tax consultant said that we have to send the W7 form (required for ITIN) and the identification documents required for this form attached with the tax return documents that we filled jointly to IRS. Eventually IRS will attach an ITIN number for my husband to our tax return case. I want to ask how legit is this information and if this is not true what should we do?

DoninGA

Employee

@Kiesha99s wrote:

My husband is a F1 student and he was told to apply for ITIN. The problem is that because of high demand of requests at IRS, most likely he might receive it no sooner than 15 April. We are applying MFJ (married filling jointly). A tax consultant said that we have to send the W7 form (required for ITIN) and the identification documents required for this form attached with the tax return documents that we filled jointly to IRS. Eventually IRS will attach an ITIN number for my husband to our tax return case. I want to ask how legit is this information and if this is not true what should we do?

If you are a US citizen or US resident 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 decide to file 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 7 and 8 - 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

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Kiesha99s

You didn’t get my point. My husband need an ITIN for sure. But if he applies for it now he won’t be able to get if before 15 April. And 15 April is the last day of filling up tax. In case he doesn’t receive it, what should he put at the ssn/Itin number. Am asking how should we proceed on filling up married jointly taxes?

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Sabrina Brown

This is quite the old forum, however I do see that there was never really an answer. If you are filing, or are filing with someone who does not have a SSN you will have to file with form w-7, and in order to bypass when it asks for a SSN you will need to change to file via mail rather than efile, because you cannot efile without this information, or with a w-7 either.

ReneeM7122

You are correct. If your spouse doesn’t have a Social Security number or ITIN, you’ll need to apply for one when you mail in your return. To do this, follow steps 1–3 above and then do this:

Fill out Form W-7 and attach it to your return, as well as all necessary documentation.
Mail the return to the address specified in the Form W-7 instructions.

Here is a TurboTax article that discusses how to file if your spouse is a nonresident alien.

@Sabrina Brown