If you missed your US 1040 tax return filing by April 15th or June 15th the next extended deadline date is the 15th of October
If you are a US Citizen and you are in the process of applying for ITIN for your foreign spouse who is not residing or working with you in the USA and you are confused about whether should you apply for ITIN first and then e-file tax return and really don’t know where to start with the ITIN application process for your spouse this blog would helpful to you.
Important Note: When you have an ITIN application in process for your foreign spouse you cannot E-file the tax return for the first year of the ITIN application the reason being your 1040 Federal tax return with MARRIED FILING JOINTLY FILING STATUS needs to be sent to ITIN office along with ITIN application this is mandatory.
ITIN Application for Spouse of US Citizen – 5 STEPS
STEP 1
To have the 1040 Federal tax return prepared with Married Filing Jointly filing status and having your spouse’s name on the 1040 Federal tax return as prepared by the CPA or if self-prepared from your US tax software like TurboTax.
STEP 2
General 1040 Federal tax return PDF with your US tax software, some software allows the box to check “ITIN Applied For” spouse SSN or ITIN details some software may require you to input the random number 999-99-9999 just to generate the 1040 PDF printed.
STEP 3
Unless you are not sending your spouse’s passport to the IRS office and if you are taking the service from the IRS Approved Certified Acceptance Agent this agent can complete the ITIN application and passport certification and mail the ITIN application along with the 1040 Federal tax return on your behalf and take complete responsibility for ITIN work.
STEP 4
Once the ITIN is approved the ITIN office will mail one copy of the ITIN approval letter to acceptance agents and one copy to the applicant mailing address. Please note the ITIN processing time would be around 10-12 weeks.
STEP 5
On approval of the ITIN, the ITIN office will pass the 1040 Federal tax return for processing to the Austin or Charlotte office, and Federal tax processing can take between 3 to 6 months from the approval of ITIN. Note: If you have any state tax return filing then on approval of the ITIN you can e-file or update the ITIN number manually hand write on the state tax return next to the spouse’s name send the state tax return by post to the relevant state tax authorities
For more FAQs and blogs about the spouse of US Citizens please referer to our blog as listed below.
The FAQ on the spouse of US Citizen ITIN application.
You cannot file as Married filing Separately until the 2025 tax year, your tax return filing status when the ITIN application is in process should be Married filing jointly, Please find below the blog post for more details.
As an experienced IRS, Approved Certified Acceptance Agent (C.A.A.) for over 10 years now, and as US Personal tax preparers/Consultants handling our global 1040 Personal tax compliance service, we often come across the above questions and we have had a 100% success rate with the ITIN application process handled with professional service.
Our team specializes in international expatriate U.S. personal tax return services. If you need assistance with ITIN Renewal/US 1040 filing for refund claim/FATCA Compliance work/FBAR FINCEN114 Filing, ITIN/ Form W7 Application/E.I.N./Form W8BENE or Certified Acceptance Agents [C.A.A.] services/1040NR U.S. tax filing for refund claim of excess 1042S / 8288A/ 8805/ W2/ 1099. We are happy to assist our clients in a timely, efficient, and cost-effective way.
