W-7 tax form

[VandJ 0]

i'm not sure if this is the right forum for it, but i'll give it a shot. i'm in the process of filing my 1040ez and i've heard information from 2 schools of thought.

1. i need to file it with a w-7 since i'm filing married, but seperate returns, even though my wife has not worked, earned money in the US, nor am i dependent on any part of her personal income. the w-7 process is "kind of" a pain, but i'm willing to go through with it if that's what's needed (obviously).

2. file a paper return and simply omit my spouses SSN from the form and include a memo indicating that though i'm married, my wife is not a LPR and did not earn money in the US nor am i dependent on her income.

do any of you have experience with either?

[trailmix 77]

Hi V and J, i'm going to move this from the US Citizenship General Discussion forum as you will probably get more reponses in the Moving here area.

For us, I filed the 3 years I had to file as married filing separately (as in the 3 years required for the I-864). I put N/A in the spouse SSN area and didn't attach a note or anything.

So I think you can probably do it either way, however you may want to work both scenarios on your tax software and just choose whichever one seems more beneficial (are there any deductions you can get for instance).

Edited March 1, 2010 by trailmix

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

If you plan to file Married Filing Separately, you don't need a tax id or SSN for your wife. She wouldn't have to file anything, having no US income.

If you would like to file jointly, then you would need to fill in the W7 and mail it with the tax return to a special address in Austin, TX that processes W-7s filed with returns. You would have to include a statement you both sign indicating that you (both) are electing for her to be treated as a "resident alien for tax purposes. That is an option that she could choose because she is married to a US citizen, no matter if she has a green card or has lived here a certain number of days. And you would have to report her Canadian income, but would be eligible to exclude up to $91K (in US dollars). Tax is figured on the joint income, then tax is calculated on the foreign portion. They deduct the amount of tax on the foreign income to come up with your tax. It should be less than if you file Married Separately.

[VandJ 0]

thanks for the info. i ended up filing married seperately. i filled out the forms completely in TurboTax and just put N/A for my wife's SSN #. printed out the forms and mailed them away today.