Married to a foreigner living overseas - how do I file my taxes correctly?
Title: Married to a foreigner living overseas - how do I file my taxes correctly? 1 I got married in November last year to my boyfriend of 4 years, but here's the thing - he's not a US citizen and lives in Portugal. Now I'm completely confused about how to handle my tax filing. I've tried using TurboTax but I'm hitting roadblocks. When I select "Married filing Jointly" or "Married filing Separately", it immediately asks for my husband's SSN, which he doesn't have since he's never lived in the US. I'm worried I can't file as "Single" anymore since I'm legally married now. Would "Head of Household" be the right option? I don't want to make a mistake and get in trouble with the IRS. Has anyone dealt with this situation before? I'm really not sure which filing status I should choose when my spouse is a foreigner living abroad with no SSN.
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Caleb Stone
5 This is actually a common situation! You have a few options but let's clarify them: Since your spouse is a nonresident alien (not a US citizen or resident), you generally can't file jointly UNLESS you make a special election to treat them as a resident for tax purposes. If you did that, your spouse would need an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) instead of an SSN. If you don't want to make that election, you would typically file as "Married Filing Separately." Your husband wouldn't need to file a US return if he has no US income. You can't file as Single since you're married. And Head of Household typically requires you to have a qualifying person (like a dependent child) living with you. The most common approach is Married Filing Separately, but the election to file jointly might be beneficial depending on your specific situation and income levels.
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Caleb Stone
•12 Thanks for the info! If I go with Married Filing Separately, do I still need to provide any information about my spouse on my tax return? Also, what's this ITIN thing - is it hard to get? My husband and I are planning for him to move here eventually, maybe next year, so would that change things?
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Caleb Stone
•5 For Married Filing Separately, you'll still need to provide your spouse's name on your return, but since he doesn't have an SSN or ITIN yet, you'd write "NRA" (Nonresident Alien) in the space for the SSN. An ITIN is an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number issued by the IRS to individuals who need a US taxpayer ID but aren't eligible for an SSN. The application process requires submitting Form W-7 along with documentation proving identity (usually a passport). It's not terribly difficult but can take 7-11 weeks to process. If your husband moves to the US next year, his tax status will likely change once he becomes a US resident. At that point, he would either need to get an SSN or continue using an ITIN if he's not eligible for an SSN yet.
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Caleb Stone
9 After going through the exact same situation last year with my wife (she's from Colombia), I discovered the lifesaver service https://taxr.ai - they specialize in complicated international tax situations like this. I was banging my head against the wall trying to figure out which status to use and what forms I needed. Their system analyzed my international marriage situation and walked me through the exact filing process - including the special election to treat my non-US spouse as a resident for tax purposes (which was actually beneficial in my case), and even helped with the ITIN application. They explained exactly when "Married Filing Separately" made more sense vs. making the election to file jointly.
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Caleb Stone
•17 Does taxr.ai actually help with the ITIN application process? My husband is from Thailand and we've been married for 2 years but I've been filing as "single" which I now realize might be incorrect. I'm worried about fixing this situation without triggering an audit.
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Caleb Stone
•21 I'm a bit skeptical about these tax services. How much did it end up costing? And did they actually get you a better refund than if you'd just done Married Filing Separately on your own? My husband is in Germany and we've been doing separate filings for years, but maybe I'm missing out on something better.
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Caleb Stone
•9 They absolutely help with the ITIN application! They have a whole guided process for Form W-7 and explained exactly what supporting documents were needed from my wife's country. They also showed me the right way to submit everything to avoid delays. Regarding the cost question - I can't speak to exact numbers, but what I can tell you is that by doing the election to file jointly, I was able to claim credits I couldn't get filing separately. The difference was significant enough that it more than covered using their service. They also explain clearly when filing separately might actually be better, because it really depends on your specific situation and income levels.
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Caleb Stone
17 Just wanted to follow up - I ended up using taxr.ai and wow, what a difference! They walked me through the whole ITIN application for my husband from Thailand AND helped me figure out whether it was better to file separately or make the election to treat him as a resident. Turns out in our case, making the election saved us over $3,000 because I qualified for credits I wouldn't have gotten otherwise! They even helped me amend my previous return since I had incorrectly filed as single. The whole process was way smoother than I expected, and they made sure all the special forms for international situations were completed correctly. Really glad I found this service through this thread!
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Caleb Stone
8 Has anyone here tried calling the IRS directly about international spouse issues? I tried SEVEN times and kept getting disconnected or stuck on hold for hours. Finally I found https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you when an agent is ready to talk. Got connected to an actual IRS person within 2 hours (after previously wasting literal days trying). The agent walked me through exactly how to handle my situation with my Japanese husband and confirmed that Married Filing Separately was right for us, plus explained how to note "NRA" for his missing SSN. Totally worth it for the peace of mind knowing I was doing it correctly.
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Caleb Stone
•11 Wait, so how does this Claimyr thing work? Do you have to keep your phone line open the whole time? I've been trying to reach the IRS about my Canadian wife's tax situation for weeks with no luck.
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Caleb Stone
•21 This sounds like a scam. Why would you pay someone else to call the IRS? I bet they're just keeping your personal info or charging ridiculous fees. The IRS has special international taxpayer hotlines anyway.
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Caleb Stone
•8 Nope, that's the beauty of it - you don't keep your line open. You enter your callback number, and their system waits in the queue for you. When they're about to reach an agent, they call you and connect you directly. Your phone is free the entire waiting time. Regarding it being a scam - I was skeptical too initially, but they don't actually ask for any tax information at all. They're just essentially holding your place in line. The international hotlines have the same horrible wait times in my experience - I tried those first. I spoke directly with the IRS agent, not with any third party about my actual tax questions.
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Caleb Stone
21 I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate to talk to the IRS about my German husband's tax situation. I got connected to an IRS rep in about 90 minutes after spending WEEKS trying on my own. The agent confirmed I'd been doing things wrong for years! Turns out in our specific situation, we should have been making the election to treat my husband as a US resident for tax purposes, which would have saved us thousands over the years because of my income level and certain tax credits. They also helped me understand the process for getting my husband an ITIN even though he's still in Germany. I'm now working with a tax professional to see if we can amend some previous returns. Can't believe I wasted so much money doing it wrong all these years.
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Caleb Stone
15 Has anyone used TurboTax for this international spouse situation? I'm wondering if it can handle the whole "married filing separately with NRA spouse" thing properly? My wife is Brazilian and still lives there, but we're planning to file US taxes next month.
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Caleb Stone
•7 I tried TurboTax last year with my Korean husband. It works but you have to know what you're doing. When it asks for your spouse's SSN, you can't just leave it blank - you have to type "NRA" and then it'll let you proceed. It also gets confused about the residency test questions so you might need to override some of their recommendations.
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Caleb Stone
•15 Thanks for the tip about typing "NRA" in the SSN field! I didn't know that was an option. Did you have any issues with state taxes as well, or just federal? I'm in California which seems to have its own complicated rules for everything. I'm a bit concerned because my wife might have some minimal US-source income from an investment account we opened together last year. Does that complicate things further?
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Caleb Stone
3 Just a warning to anyone in this situation - if you choose Married Filing Separately, you lose several tax benefits: - No student loan interest deduction - No education credits - Much lower IRA contribution limits - No earned income credit - No child and dependent care credit I discovered this the hard way with my Argentinian wife. We ended up getting her an ITIN and making the election to file jointly, because the benefits outweighed the hassle of extra paperwork.
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Caleb Stone
•18 Wait really? I didn't know about losing all those benefits! I've been filing separately from my Ukrainian husband for 3 years now and I claim both student loan interest AND education credits. Are you sure about this?
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