ITIN for a foreign spouse — filing jointly without an SSN

If you are a US citizen or resident alien married to someone who has no Social Security number and no US tax status, you can still file a joint return — but it takes two coordinated documents: an election under Internal Revenue Code section 6013(g) to treat your spouse as a US resident for tax purposes, and a Form W-7 ITIN application for that spouse, submitted together with the joint return itself. The package goes to the IRS ITIN Operation in Austin as one mailing. Done correctly, you get the married-filing-jointly standard deduction ($31,500 for 2025) and joint tax brackets. The trade-off is real: your spouse’s worldwide income becomes taxable in the US for that year and every year after, until the election ends — and it can only ever be made once in a lifetime.

How the section 6013(g) election works

A nonresident alien normally cannot file a joint US return. Section 6013(g) creates the exception: if, at the close of the tax year, the nonresident is married to a US citizen or resident, the couple can elect to treat the nonresident spouse as a US resident for income tax purposes for the entire year.

The mechanics are simple. Attach a statement to your joint return, signed by both spouses, containing:

  1. A declaration that on the last day of the tax year one spouse was neither a US citizen nor a US resident, the other spouse was, and that you are electing for the nonresident spouse to be treated as a US resident;
  2. The name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each spouse.

You must file jointly for the year you make the election. In later years the election stays alive automatically and you may file jointly or separately, but your spouse continues to be treated as a US resident.

The price: worldwide income, every year

This is the part to weigh before signing. Under the election, “each spouse must report their entire worldwide income” — not just US-source income — for the election year and all later years. If your spouse earns wages, rental income, or business income in their home country, it goes on the US return (foreign tax credits and the foreign earned income exclusion may offset some or all of the US tax, but the reporting obligation exists either way — see cross-border tax obligations by country).

The election ends only by revocation by either spouse, death, legal separation, or the IRS terminating it for inadequate records. And the IRS is explicit that this is a once-in-a-lifetime choice: once ended, “neither spouse can make this choice in any later tax year, even if married to a different individual.” If you live in a community property state (or country), one more wrinkle: making the election means community property rules apply, and you must file jointly for the election year.

Getting the spouse’s ITIN: W-7 with the return, not before

The electing spouse needs an SSN or ITIN — and a spouse who isn’t work-authorized typically can’t get an SSN, so the ITIN is the route. You cannot apply for it in advance on its own: a spouse qualifies for an ITIN only when claimed for an allowable tax benefit or filing a return, so the Form W-7 is filed with the joint return. Check reason box (e), “Spouse of U.S. citizen/resident alien,” and enter your (the citizen/resident’s) name and SSN on the form.

Assemble one package — joint Form 1040 (with the spouse’s SSN field handled per the W-7 instructions), the signed 6013(g) statement, Form W-7, and the spouse’s identity documents (a certified passport copy is the strongest single document) — and mail it to: Internal Revenue Service, ITIN Operation, P.O. Box 149342, Austin, TX 78714-9342. Expect roughly 7 weeks for the ITIN decision, or 9-11 weeks during tax season or when applying from abroad. The IRS processes the W-7 first, then the return.

MFJ vs. MFS vs. head of household — the actual numbers

Married filing jointly (with the election): $31,500 standard deduction for 2025 and wider brackets, but worldwide income of both spouses is taxed.

Married filing separately (no election): Your spouse stays a nonresident; their foreign income stays outside the US system. You take the separate-filer standard deduction ($15,750 for 2025) and narrower brackets. Your spouse still needs an ITIN only if they have their own US filing requirement or are listed for an allowable benefit.

Head of household (no election): A useful third path many couples miss. If your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the year and you do not make the election, the IRS treats you as “considered unmarried” for HoH purposes. You get the $23,625 standard deduction (2025) and better brackets than MFS — but your nonresident spouse cannot be your qualifying person; you need another one, such as a child who lived with you more than half the year.

Note what’s off the table everywhere: an ITIN does not qualify anyone for the Earned Income Tax Credit. See the full breakdown of credits available to ITIN filers.

The “spouse exemption” is gone — permanently

Before 2018, a common reason to get a spouse an ITIN was the personal exemption (about $4,050 per person in 2017), claimable for a nonresident spouse even on a separate return in some cases. The TCJA suspended personal and dependency exemptions from 2018 through 2025, and the 2025 tax law (P.L. 119-21) made that elimination permanent for all tax years after 2025. There is no longer any version of “get the spouse an ITIN just for the exemption.” Today the ITIN-for-spouse decision is driven by one question only: does joint filing under 6013(g) — worldwide income and all — beat MFS or head of household for your household? Run the numbers both ways before you sign the election, because you can only unwind it once.

Last verified: 2026-06-11. Sources: IRS — nonresident spouse, IRS — Form W-7 instructions, IRS — head of household abroad.

General information — not tax advice. The 6013(g) election has permanent consequences; model both paths with an Enrolled Agent or CPA before signing.