How to Get an ITIN for a Nonresident Spouse (and File Jointly)

If your spouse doesn't have — and can't get — a Social Security number, here's the short version: you apply for their ITIN by attaching Form W-7, a signed joint-filing election, and certified identity documents to the front of your paper tax return, all mailed together. There is no way to get a spouse ITIN "in advance," and that single misunderstanding causes most rejections.

Here's the whole process, in order.

First decide: joint return, or separate with "NRA"?

A nonresident spouse doesn't automatically appear on your U.S. return — you choose the filing shape, and the ITIN only matters for some of them:

• Married Filing Jointly (the 6013(g) election). You and your spouse elect in writing to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident for tax purposes. You get the full joint standard deduction and joint brackets — usually the winning math when your spouse has little or no income. The cost: your spouse's worldwide income becomes reportable on the U.S. return (foreign tax credits and the foreign earned income exclusion can offset much of it). This path requires an ITIN.
• Married Filing Separately. Your spouse stays off the return entirely — where the software asks for their SSN, the entry is "NRA." No ITIN needed, no worldwide-income exposure, but MFS brackets and limits are the least favorable in the code.
• Head of Household. If you have a qualifying child or relative (your nonresident spouse doesn't count as one for this), you can sometimes claim HoH while married to a nonresident — better rates than MFS with no election required.

Run the numbers both ways before touching the paperwork — the joint election often saves thousands, but not always. Our ITIN application service includes exactly that comparison.

Step 1: The election statement

The joint election is a plain-language statement, signed by both spouses, attached to the return. It should say you're electing to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident for the tax year, and list each spouse's name, address, and identification number (the spouse's will read "ITIN applied for"). Once made, the election stays in effect for future years until it's suspended or ended — and here's the catch most articles skip: each couple gets this election only once in a lifetime. If you end it, neither of you can make it again.

Step 2: Form W-7, done the spouse way

On Form W-7, the details that matter for this situation:

• Reason box (e) — "Spouse of U.S. citizen/resident alien" — with your name and SSN written in.
• Legal name exactly matching the passport, foreign address, birth details, and passport number.
• The spouse signs their own W-7 (or a delegate does, with documentation).

Step 3: Prove identity and foreign status — the certified-copy trap

The IRS wants original documents or copies certified by the agency that issued them. A notarized photocopy is not accepted — this rejection catches more spouse applications than any other paperwork issue.

A valid passport is the only standalone document (it proves identity and foreign status at once). Without one, you need two documents from the approved list (national ID card, birth certificate, foreign driver's license, etc.).

Three ways to avoid mailing a passport across the world:

1. Certifying Acceptance Agent (CAA). Verifies the passport in person or by video where permitted, returns it immediately, and certifies the W-7 package. CAAs also catch application errors before the IRS sees them.
2. IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center. Free, by appointment, at certain IRS offices — they verify the documents and send the W-7 on.
3. Issuing-agency certified copy. Many countries' passport offices or their U.S. embassies will issue a certified copy you can safely mail.

Step 4: Assemble and mail one package

Order matters. On top of your paper Form 1040: the W-7, then the identity documents or certified copies, then the signed election statement attached to the return. The whole package goes to the IRS ITIN Operation in Austin, Texas (the address is in the W-7 instructions — it is not your normal filing address). The return cannot be e-filed this first year; from the next year on, e-file works normally.

If you're inside the April deadline but the ITIN won't arrive in time — that's fine. Mailing the package by the deadline counts as filing on time. You can also file an extension, but remember an extension extends the filing deadline, not the payment deadline.

Step 5: What happens next

The IRS assigns the ITIN (about 7 weeks, or 9–11 weeks in peak season or from abroad), sends a CP565 assignment letter, and then processes the return using the new number. Refunds follow the normal timeline after that. Two housekeeping notes for later years: an ITIN not used on a return for three consecutive years expires and needs renewal, and if your spouse later gets an SSN, the ITIN retires — notify the IRS so the earnings histories merge.

The mistakes that cause rejections

• Sending the W-7 without the tax return (or the return without the W-7).
• Notarized passport copies instead of certified ones.
• Name on the W-7 not matching the passport exactly.
• Missing the election statement, or only one spouse signing it.
• E-filing the return separately while mailing the W-7 — the IRS sees a return with a missing spouse ID and a W-7 with no return.

A rejected application (CP567 notice) isn't fatal — you fix and resubmit — but it can add months to a refund.

The bottom line

A spouse ITIN is a one-package job: W-7 + certified documents + signed election + paper return, mailed together to Austin. Decide joint-versus-separate with real numbers first, use a CAA or IRS office so the passport never leaves your spouse's hands, and get the names and signatures exact. If you'd rather have someone assemble it — and run the MFJ/MFS math for your situation — we prepare spouse ITIN packages and review your case for free first.