Filing Taxes When Spouse Has No Social Security Number - YouTube

A very common question, one that we've been seeing a lot recently probably because everybody is  

filing their taxes is what to do when your spouse is a foreign national. They're an immigrant and  

they don't have a Social Security Number yet. What are you supposed to do when you're filing  

your taxes? A lot of individuals think that they are supposed to file single or   

they're stuck and they're not sure what to do. We want to let you know that a lot of you might  

use programs like H&R Block and TurboTax and things like that. Those are really very basic  

form-filling software that can't handle more complex and other unique situations like  

having a spouse who is a foreign national. For those of you who are married to individuals  

who live in another country and they haven't received their green card and don't have  

a Social Security Number yet and you're still going through the immigration process but  

you're legally married. You should really be filing taxes jointly because you are married.  

I want to preface this with: I'm not a tax expert, I am not going to give tax  

advice but I will give advice from an immigration standpoint and what I do  

know about taxes. We've seen a lot of individuals that say, "I was trying to file on  

TurboTax or H&R Block and it asks for my spouse's Social Security Number.  

He or she doesn't have one yet. Do I file single or  

what are my options here?" From an immigration standpoint, if you're married  

you want to show immigration that you have a real relationship. A lot of you are just starting  

out in your immigration journey or those who are in the middle of your journey know that one of  

the parts of your immigration case is showing immigration that you have a real relationship  

based on love. That you are joining your lives together so filing taxes single would be  

something that would hurt you because that's usually something that you can use for evidence  

that you file your taxes jointly like a married couple would. What a married couple does  

also from a tax standpoint, there are certain  things that you can't claim. There are  

certain instances when you can't file head of  household or you shouldn't legally file  

single. What we recommend is that you look for someone, a Certified Public Accountant.  

Someone who is more than just an H&R Block form filler. Not to bash on H&R Block, all of those  

programs are great for individuals. For whom those programs can work that have a more basic  

filing. But you really want to find someone who can help you prepare your taxes that understands  

that you're married to an individual who lives in another country and doesn't have a Social Security  

Number yet. There is something called an ITIN, an Individual Tax Identification Number that's  

typically used for individuals who are not yet lawful permanent residents or United States  

citizens. Finding someone who can give you expert advice in the realm of taxes and  

help you to properly prepare your taxes to be filed jointly is going to help you because  

you want to be in compliance with tax law in the United States and also because typically  

married couples get certain deductions that are beneficial. You also want to take advantage of  

that. So that's from a tax perspective and  then also from an immigration perspective  

filing your taxes jointly combining your lives,  having commingling, is what immigration calls it.  

Commingling of finances and showing you have a real relationship. It's definitely worth it  

to get that expert advice and have your taxes done properly. Hopefully that helps answer  

that common question we've been seeing in our Facebook group regarding filing taxes.