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May 26, 2020
Solved

The TurboTax system won't let me proceed to file because my wife does not have a social security number.

  • May 26, 2020
  • 1 reply
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My status is married and filing separately. I live and work abroad. My wife is not a U.S. citizen, doesn't have a social security number, and has no income in the U.S., so she will not file on her own. The Turbotax system won't let me proceed to file because I do not enter a social security number for her and leave the field blank. How can I proceed to solve this problem?
Best answer by Critter

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 you are 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

 

1 reply

Critter
CritterAnswer
Employee
May 26, 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 you are 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

 

May 4, 2022

TurboTax software gurus should simply update the program to allow users to enter NRA, since it's an accepted option per the IRS. Seems like a simple solution to me, and plenty of time before next year's tax season.

February 8, 2025

It's 2025 and I just ran into this same issue that could have been easily resolved long ago. Extra frustrating since there's so much uncertainty with what's going on in our government right now.