Wrong info on 1040 instructions re non-resident alien spouse needing ITIN??

I know it has been said before that if you spouse is a non-resident alien, and you are filing as married filing separately, then your spouse does not need a SS no. or ITIN no.

However, I just saw this in black and white in the instructions for filling out form 1040 for 2006 (bolding is mine):

"If your spouse is a nonresident alien and you file a joint or separate return, your spouse must have either an SSN or an ITIN."

It's on the bottom of page 16 at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

I also doublechecked the 2005 instructions and the same statement is there as well, so it's not new.

Wow, well spotted!!

The good news is that IRS instructions are not law so you can ignore them .  There is no section of the IRS Code or a Supreme Court decision that says what you have found the instructions to say, nor in practice have I ever seen a return rejected where "NRA" is written in the spouse's SSN box. 

The good news is that IRS instructions are not law so you can ignore them . 

 

Just to add, I was concerned about this as well, but there was a post back around April 15th (I believe on this site, but perhaps another) where someone phoned the IRS to ask about this, and was told that it was fine to ignore that.

Edited to add: Here is the post http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=33067.0

I just talked to someone on the international number (I think it was in Pennyslvania) and the kind gentleman told me to put NRA down.  So that is what I have done.

Hi,
I also spoke with someone in Philly and he said you couldn't just NRA anymore. We had to go through the whole pain of getting my spouse an ITIN. 

The last two posts start with "I just spoke with somebody at the IRS ...", and each has the exact opposite answer.  That's because the IRS isn't infallable.  In fact, they get it wrong a lot of the time.  They consider telephone advice that is correct 80% of the time to be GOOD.  I don't know about you, but I consider that awful.  Anything they say over the phone they can't be held accountable for.  Anything they put into print you can rely on in court.  I would take any advice provided over the phone with a grain of salt. 

I have not yet had any tax return rejected by the IRS for using "NRA" for the spouse.  I do over 200 returns a year, with probably about 1/4 having NRA spouses.  Beleive me, if I were making a mistake, my clients wouldn't let me hear the end of it; so it's a-okay to put "NRA".  I know Guya is in a similar situation (though I haven't a clue how many returns he prepares, or even if he's a he), in that he does loads of "NRA" spouses without a hitch.

Some computer programmes will reject "NRA", however.  If you are using a tax programme that won't let you finalize the return using "NRA", consider filing a paper print-out of the return rather than the computerized online version.

Some computer programmes will reject "NRA", however.  If you are using a tax programme that won't let you finalize the return using "NRA", consider filing a paper print-out of the return rather than the computerized online version.

If I remember correctly, Turbo Tax won't let you put NRA, but like you said you can file a paper print-out anyway.  Turbo Tax won't let you file electronically if your address is non-US anyway.

I was instructed to put "nonresident" in the social security spot as well.

I did this, printed out a hard copy (turbotax online doesn't allow NRA being put in that spot), sent it registered delivery with a cover letter and got my full tax return.

When you call the IRS, the person has to give you their name and ID number. Write it down and include it in your correspondence.  If they instructed you, it covers your rear end.  I did that.

Good luck.

~BEG

As Lizzit said, the IRS, in my experience, wasn't as up to date about this topic. The first two people I talked to at the IRS in Philly had never encountered anyone having an NRA spouse and kept telling me to call back until I reached someone who knew something about it. At the end of the day, my husband got an ITIN which wasn't that big of a hassle. We went to the consulate and they took a photocopy of his passport and notarized it. We filled out a W-7 and wrote a letter to the IRS stating that he didn't qualify for a SSN, that he'd never resided nor worked in the US, been a US visa holder, etc, etc. I sent that in with my return saying we were in the process of waiting for an ITIN - I just wrote that in the SSN space on both FED and State taxes. My taxes were processed and my hubby got an ITIN within a few weeks. At the end of the day, for our situation getting it over and done with will be easier for the future.