Joint tax-ITIN number

[Mara0899 80]

Hi everyone, I had sent my original passport to my USC wife to file "Marriage Joint" tax return. She gave to tax agency to file out any relevant forms. Agency guy made notarize copied my passport and submitted to IRS then my USC wife returned my original passport to me when she was here(Cambodia) in Apr to visit me. And now, IRS just mailed to her to ask for my original to make ITIN number (IRS is not accepted motorized anymore). So this I need to send again or go thru filing as "Joint" in the NVC stage while my ITIN number is still pending ? or I need to revert back to file " Marriage Separately" ? thanks for reply.  

[Rameda 81]

following...hmmm maybe certified birth certificate?  I just sent my hubby's copied passport page ....guess I am expecting a mail in a few week....I filed married but file separately.  This sucks.

 

Edited May 4, 2018 by Rameda

[yogik_yo 6]

Get certified copy of your passport and send it. IRS doesn’t accept notarized copies. Usually you can get the certified copies from ministry of foreign affairs or similar government agency in your country. I submitted certified copy of my wife passport and was able to get ITIN for her in 6 weeks. 

Again, research on getting certified and not notarized or attested. Usually you can stop by agency who issued your passport and ask about it. 

[shumway1756 304]

ITIN application instructions make it clear that notarized copies are not acceptable. It's disappointing that a tax agency did not know this. It must be a certified copy from the issuing agency. If they can not provide you with a certified copy (this is my case, the Romanian government's favorite phrase is "we don't do that"), check with the US embassy/consulate nearest you. Many embassies provide certified copies of foreign passports for ITIN purposes (through the American Citizen Services notarial services). Yes, it's a pain as most of us don't live within easy driving distance of the US embassy, but it can be easier than parting from the passport for 2 or 3 months and worry about the mail system delivering it back safely.

 

As another poster mentioned, you can also look at other acceptable documents for the ITIN application and see if the applicable issuing agencies can provide certified copies of those. A passport is definitely the best document, but you can combine some others to satisfy the ITIN application requirements.

 

Married/separately is an option. The USC can just put "NRA" for the spouse's SSN. However, no exemptions can be claimed. Additionally, depending on the USC's state, many states do not allow declaring "NRA" and require that an SSN or ITIN be provided. This is the case in my state. So if this is the case, you have to file for the ITIN anyways, just keep it joint if that makes the most financial sense for you.

Edited May 4, 2018 by shumway88

[Ryan H 3,795]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to Tax & Finances During US Immigration forum.

[Mara0899 80]

On 5/4/2018 at 9:45 AM, Rameda said:

following...hmmm maybe certified birth certificate?  I just sent my hubby's copied passport page ....guess I am expecting a mail in a few week....I filed married but file separately.  This sucks.

 

I'm going crazy by tax agency who got my original passport but filed to IRS with notarize copied, and now IRS needs original passport.   

[Mara0899 80]

On 5/4/2018 at 10:00 AM, yogik_yo said:

Get certified copy of your passport and send it. IRS doesn’t accept notarized copies. Usually you can get the certified copies from ministry of foreign affairs or similar government agency in your country. I submitted certified copy of my wife passport and was able to get ITIN for her in 6 weeks. 

Again, research on getting certified and not notarized or attested. Usually you can stop by agency who issued your passport and ask about it. 

Agency is crazy. told me wrong.  

[Mara0899 80]

14 hours ago, shumway88 said:

ITIN application instructions make it clear that notarized copies are not acceptable. It's disappointing that a tax agency did not know this. It must be a certified copy from the issuing agency. If they can not provide you with a certified copy (this is my case, the Romanian government's favorite phrase is "we don't do that"), check with the US embassy/consulate nearest you. Many embassies provide certified copies of foreign passports for ITIN purposes (through the American Citizen Services notarial services). Yes, it's a pain as most of us don't live within easy driving distance of the US embassy, but it can be easier than parting from the passport for 2 or 3 months and worry about the mail system delivering it back safely.

 

As another poster mentioned, you can also look at other acceptable documents for the ITIN application and see if the applicable issuing agencies can provide certified copies of those. A passport is definitely the best document, but you can combine some others to satisfy the ITIN application requirements.

 

Married/separately is an option. The USC can just put "NRA" for the spouse's SSN. However, no exemptions can be claimed. Additionally, depending on the USC's state, many states do not allow declaring "NRA" and require that an SSN or ITIN be provided. This is the case in my state. So if this is the case, you have to file for the ITIN anyways, just keep it joint if that makes the most financial sense for you.

thanks for your advise, agency already submitted to IRS and now IRS mailed to my USC wife for my original passport. for this, if I dont send mine or certified copy to IRS. can we file as "Joint" or come back and file "Separately" ? thanks 

[shumway1756 304]

2 hours ago, Mara0899 said:

thanks for your advise, agency already submitted to IRS and now IRS mailed to my USC wife for my original passport. for this, if I dont send mine or certified copy to IRS. can we file as "Joint" or come back and file "Separately" ? thanks 

You can't successfully file as jointly unless fulfilling their requirements for the ITIN. Honestly, since you've already submitted, I'm not familiar with what would be involved in changing the filing status. Given that it's the IRS I have a feeling that could be even more of a headache. If it's at all possible, I would send them either the passport or a certified copy. If you feel it's best to try and change status, maybe call them (good luck with that) or get in touch with a tax expert and see if they can advise you of options.

[Mara0899 80]

11 minutes ago, shumway88 said:

You can't successfully file as jointly unless fulfilling their requirements for the ITIN. Honestly, since you've already submitted, I'm not familiar with what would be involved in changing the filing status. Given that it's the IRS I have a feeling that could be even more of a headache. If it's at all possible, I would send them either the passport or a certified copy. If you feel it's best to try and change status, maybe call them (good luck with that) or get in touch with a tax expert and see if they can advise you of options.

thanks for this, i will let my USC wife fcall IRS about this first. possible i will send my passport thru her workmate who will fly back from here to the US on 7th-May. 

[Mara0899 80]

Hi All, thanks for feedback. I now got ITIN as jointly.