Filing status question - married to European who lives overseas, no SSN - Single or Married Filing Separately?

I recently got married (August) to a citizen of Germany who lives and works there full-time. We're planning to keep our current living arrangement for the next several years where I'm in the US and they're in Europe. My spouse doesn't have an SSN, doesn't earn any US income, and typically visits me in the States for around 40 days total throughout the year (usually 1-2 weeks at a time). When I used the IRS website tool to figure out my filing status, it recommended Married Filing Separately. The problem is, I think this requires entering an SSN for my spouse, which they don't have and we're not planning to get anytime soon. I'm trying to figure out what the correct filing status would be in this situation. Should I still file as Single? Or is there a way to file Married Filing Separately without my spouse having an SSN? For additional context: I'm a US resident, self-employed, own my home, and I also spend about 4-5 weeks a year visiting my spouse in Europe. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks to all you tax experts during this busy season!

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18 comments

Harper Collins

•8M

You have a few options here! When you're married to a non-resident alien (NRA) spouse without an SSN, you can either file as Married Filing Separately or you might qualify to file as Head of Household if you have dependents. For Married Filing Separately, your spouse would need an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) rather than an SSN. This is specifically for tax reporting purposes for people who can't get an SSN. You'd file Form W-7 to apply for the ITIN for your spouse. Alternatively, there's a special election under Section 6013(g) that allows you to treat your non-resident alien spouse as a US resident for tax purposes, which would let you file jointly - but this subjects ALL of your spouse's worldwide income to US taxation, so it's rarely beneficial. The Single status isn't correct once you're legally married, regardless of where your spouse lives.

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Dylan Fisher

•8M

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Dylan Fisher

•8M

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Gianna Scott

•8M

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Alfredo Lugo

•8M

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Kaitlyn Jenkins

•8M

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Caleb Bell

•8M

Just to add another perspective - I've been married to a Canadian citizen for 3 years who lives across the border. We initially got her an ITIN so I could file Married Filing Separately, but we discovered it was actually beneficial for us to make the election to treat her as a US resident (Form 8833) so we could file jointly. This works for us because Canada's tax treaty with the US prevents double taxation, and her Canadian income was already being taxed at a higher rate. Plus, filing jointly gave us better tax brackets and we could claim certain credits that aren't available when filing separately. Definitely worth having a tax professional review your specific situation to see which filing status is most beneficial. Each international marriage has its own unique considerations!

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Caleb Bell

•8M

Yes, making the election meant we had to report her foreign accounts on FBAR if they exceeded $10,000 combined at any point during the year. We also had to file Form 8938 for foreign financial assets. The additional reporting requirements added some complexity, but for us, the tax savings from filing jointly outweighed the extra paperwork. The key was documenting everything meticulously and using the foreign tax credits correctly to avoid double taxation. Make sure you consider these reporting requirements if you're thinking about making the election.

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