Phillipino wife

[oceanlovin'ea]

One of my clients came in today and told me that he got married in October. She is in the Phillipines. He met her on the internet and went over to see her and they got married. Now he is trying to get her into the country. But in the meantime I need to do his tax return.

Someone please tell me if I am doing this right and if there is anythng else to do.
I prepared the tax return as MFJ. I am filling out a W-7 for an ITIN. The instructions say to mail the W-7, the completed tax return and the proper documentation to Texas, I think.

Is this the correct procedure? Am I missing anything?

This is a first in over 20 years. You just never know what lovely packages your clients will drop in your lap, do you?

Thanks Linda F

[erchess]

Unless the law has changed since I did one

many years ago then you have it right. I was relatively new in the business and ITINs were new but the process worked smoothly enough. When I had a similar situation my second year in the business the wife had to go to a US Consulate some distance away and apply for a Social Security Card. In both cases I was guided by a colleague. Now I no longer have colleagues but we have each other on this board.

[travis bickle]

you are correct

One of my clients came in today and told me that he got married in October. She is in the Phillipines. He met her on the internet and went over to see her and they got married. Now he is trying to get her into the country. But in the meantime I need to do his tax return.

Someone please tell me if I am doing this right and if there is anythng else to do.
I prepared the tax return as MFJ. I am filling out a W-7 for an ITIN. The instructions say to mail the W-7, the completed tax return and the proper documentation to Texas, I think.

Is this the correct procedure? Am I missing anything?

This is a first in over 20 years. You just never know what lovely packages your clients will drop in your lap, do you?

Thanks Linda F

you mail the tax form, form w7, certified/notarized copy of passport, etc, to:
Internal Revenue Service
ITIN Operation
P.O. Box 149342
Austin, TX 78714-9342

the irs assigns the itin and then processes the tax return.
i hope you client can cash a refund check made out to the both of them.

[gkaiseril]

Philipina Wife

One of my clients came in today and told me that he got married in October. She is in the Phillipines. He met her on the internet and went over to see her and they got married. Now he is trying to get her into the country. But in the meantime I need to do his tax return.

Someone please tell me if I am doing this right and if there is anythng else to do.
I prepared the tax return as MFJ. I am filling out a W-7 for an ITIN. The instructions say to mail the W-7, the completed tax return and the proper documentation to Texas, I think.

Is this the correct procedure? Am I missing anything?

This is a first in over 20 years. You just never know what lovely packages your clients will drop in your lap, do you?

Thanks Linda F

For a non-resident spouse, you would need an election from the non resident spouse to be taxed as a U.S. citizen and have that spouse's world wide income included on the return as MFJ. See page 10 of IRS Pub 519. The statement will be for an Election to Treat Nonresident Alien spouse as Resident Alien under §6013(g).

Another option is to file MFS and claim wife as a dependent not recognizing non-US income earned in the Philippines.

In either case you will need to file a W-7 for a TIN.

Address for submission changed this year. Also unless your are an acceptance agent, all supporting documents will need to be notorized.

[oceanlovin'ea]

Am a notary

I am a notary. What is an acceptance agent? Can I copy and notarize the original documents he brings to me?

She is young, 21. She was living wtih parents, but he bought her a little house while he was there to live in. But she doesn't work. I'm not sure if she worked before they got married or not. If she had no income, would she still have to sign the election form?

Linda F

[gkaiseril]

Philipina Wife

From the IRS TIN page:

"Acceptance Agents are entities (colleges, financial institutions, accounting firms, etc.) who are authorized by the IRS to assist applicants in obtaining ITINs. They review the applicant's documentation and forward the completed Form W-7 to IRS for processing."

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96696,00.html

Domestic and/or International Taxpayer - How to Become an Acceptance Agent for IRS ITIN Numbers http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/...=96671,00.html

[erchess]

Linda I don't believe you can

Notarize anything relevant to a tax return or representation that you do. What you could do is partner with another tax firm that has a notary and notarize each other's stuff, each being careful to legally verify the identity of each client whose papers you notarized.

[oceanlovin'ea]

You are right

Erchess. I knew that but I guess I wasn't thinking it all out. I looked on IRS website and found a list of Acceptance Agents. I'll call one of them tomorrow and see if they will do the notarizing of the documents.

I will be sure to ask him if she worked before they got married to see if she had income. Do I need her to sign the election if she hasn't worked.

Thanks a lot. Linda F

[veritas]

My relative might be a good source

He's on his second one from the Phillipines. He prefers to travel over there and shop around rather than using the internet.