I married a Canadian and moved to Canada from the US in 2017 (I am a US citizen). I have no Canadian income that year, and a very simple US income situation. However, I have no idea how to even refer to my wife in my taxes, as she does not have a SSN or ITIN, and I don't think I should even need one, but all electronic filing services ask for a tax identification number of some kind even when I'm filing as married, filing separately.
It seems like this should be a common enough situation where there would be something to explain it, but I've read a lot on this and I'm still confused. Should I just file as Single? Should I apply for an ITIN for my wife?
How to refer to my Canadian wife in my 2017 US taxes
Moderator: Mark T Serbinski CA CPA
Re: How to refer to my Canadian wife in my 2017 US taxes
The 1040 instructions are quite straightforward:
"If your spouse is a nonresident alien, he or she must have either an SSN or an ITIN if:
You file a joint return,
You file a separate return and claim an exemption for your spouse, or
Your spouse is filing a separate return."
Since you are not filing a joint return, and your wife is not filing a US return, she would need an ITIN only if you wish to claim her as an exemption. You may wish to do this to lower your taxes.
If not, and if you can't find an electronic filing service that will let you omit a SSN or ITIN for your wife, you can always go old school. If your US tax situation is really simple, just download and fill out a 1040 form from the IRS website, and mail in a paper copy. For spouse's name, enter "Wife's name (NRA)", and leave the space for spouse's SSN blank.
"If your spouse is a nonresident alien, he or she must have either an SSN or an ITIN if:
You file a joint return,
You file a separate return and claim an exemption for your spouse, or
Your spouse is filing a separate return."
Since you are not filing a joint return, and your wife is not filing a US return, she would need an ITIN only if you wish to claim her as an exemption. You may wish to do this to lower your taxes.
If not, and if you can't find an electronic filing service that will let you omit a SSN or ITIN for your wife, you can always go old school. If your US tax situation is really simple, just download and fill out a 1040 form from the IRS website, and mail in a paper copy. For spouse's name, enter "Wife's name (NRA)", and leave the space for spouse's SSN blank.
Re: How to refer to my Canadian wife in my 2017 US taxes
Thanks! I guess it has been the electronic filing services that have confused me, because of the 5 I've tried, they've all had mandatory fields for my wife's TIN.
I'll give the old-school way a go.
I'll give the old-school way a go.