Well, I made my little visit to the IRS office today over in Grosvenor Square. What a shocker...a visit to the Embassy that didn't involve me getting p*ssed off at some wanker who works there, a first! I'll give a brief run-down for those of you with outstanding tax returns still to file.
Got to the Embassy around 2pm, looking in an absolute state from running around a
very muddy Hyde Park in the morning with my husband and the nine dogs he walks as one of his umpteen jobs -- I was covered in muddy paw prints and and slobber! There was the usual incredibly long queue for visas, but I was directed to jump the first queue and join one of the shorter ones, mine was for USCs only. I waited about 15 minutes, having to listen to possibly the most banal conversation EVER between the two dual national Dutch-Americans (I think) behind me about the black cabs that went by us, and how some of them had "Dial-A-Cab" written on them, and what number would you call if you needed one, and if the houses in Grosvenor Square were all single-family...AAAAGHHH!!! If that was you behind me, I apolgise, but truly you are boring.
Anyway, I was called in the security portakabin by a VERY surly young British man, dumped my BlackBerry for safekeeping and did the whole security check thing. After that, I just bounded up the stairs and into the embassy, and went downstairs to the IRS. I was prepared for a long wait, with a book, my knitting and the new issue of Heat, but I was the only person there besides the staff. Spooky! I was helped by a middle-aged African-American man, who was genuinely helpful and funny. I told him I had two issues -- first off, I haven't filed for the 11 years I've lived in the UK (oops!). He said to his colleague, "Okay Phil, get the cuffs!!!" He explained I only had to file for 2004-2006, and he spent some time explaining to me that I needed to complete forms 1040 and 2555-EZ, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion form, which he gave me for all three years.
I then explained that I was in a bit of a weird situation, in that I have been married for all three of those years, but two of them I was married to one UK citizen and one of them to a second one. (Clearly I have some sort of British man fetish!
) I asked if this was going to be a problem because I understood I needed to have ITINs for the non-resident alien spouse if I was filing married but separately, and my ex was refusing to disclose any info to the IRS so I didn't see how I could get him one. The Taxman cut me off and told me the following (this is the important bit): I not only did NOT have to have an ITIN for my ex if I was married filing separately, but I also didn't need one for Bruce, the current (and final!) husband even though we were also going through the DCF process right now. He said that as Bruce would be getting a Social Security number later this year, there was no need to get an ITIN for him. I would only need to get ITINs if I was looking to use either of the husbands as a deduction and I was married filing jointly. I said, eh, not worth it to get the deduction. So one less bit of paper to deal with...result!!! The Taxman said to write "NRA" for Non-Resident Alien (I said, "ooh, like National Rifle Association?" I am such a dork.
) in the boxes for the SSN.
He also told me that when I had them complete, I should come back to the IRS office and file them there so they could make official copies of the returns for use with our CR-1 application. I thanked him profusely for all his help, and I was in and out in 15 minutes (most of that taken up with him trying to track down a copy of the 1040 instructions for 2005, which were AWOL). Totally amazing!
