Mfs & Stimulus

[Black Bart]

Can a married person file "Married filing separately" for the stimulus payment? IRS examples mention someone with a spouse who doesn't have an SSN, but in this instance both of them have SSNs -- wife simply wants to file by herself and he by himself (guess they're worried about who gets to the mailbox first).

[Koss]

MFS and Stimulus

I see nothing in the text of the law, or in the IRS guidance, that prohibits a person from getting the stimulus payment by filing MFS. If they meet all the criteria, then they are an eligible taxpayer. MFS does not appear to exclude the taxpayer.

In fact, the IRS has gone on record as saying that if you are eligible for the payment, all you have to do to get the payment is "file a tax return." By filing MFS, the person is filing a tax return. If the return shows enough qualifying income or tax liability, they should get the rebate.

For someone married to a spouse with an ITIN, the guidance is special because of a procedural issue. As you know, a taxpayer with an ITIN doesn't qualify. I think the IRS has at least temporarily programmed its systems to exclude from the rebate any tax return that has an ITIN on it for the taxpayer OR the spouse. So obviously they can't file a join return. The problem is that when you file MFS, you still have to provide the SSN or TIN of the spouse--and it goes in the same field. So if a person files MFS and puts in the spouse's ITIN, they probably won't get the payment.

[Black Bart]

Thanx

..................