eFile USA tax return with NRA spouse without TN - freefile OLT OnLine Taxes

Hello,

I have an NRA spouse without a TN.

I have been using HR Block for some years but have had difficulty using efile and resorted to mailing in my return.

It was my understanding that the IRS did not support efiling this kind of return due to not having a TN and needing to put NRA on the return.

Last year HR Block let me print and post the return but charged $50 for the pleasure.

This year I found HR Block wouldn't let me add my previous years tax credit carry forward / carry back unless I used their tax advisor service paying an extra $60.

So I tried using OLT's free file which can be used with a gross adjusted income up to $73,000.

I was delighted to find it permitted me to efile with NRA. I have since received confirmation that the IRS has accepted my return and processed my refund.

Is the efile NRA spouse without TN new or did the situation change some time ago and HR Block didn’t keep up, or was it always HR Block that was the problem?

I would be grateful to hear about any other tax software that you know of that supports this combination of circumstances.

I was very pleased with OLT. It wasn’t quite as intuitive as HR Block but had a good range of forms for my needs, foreign tax credit, child tax credit, etc, and free is great.

Good info, that’s great you have a solution. I have nothing to add, but am interested in seeing the responses.

TaxAct has something like ‘my spouse is a non resident alien and doesn’t have an ITIN’ check box. I’ve been filing for many years with TaxAct and the option has been there. You can efile no problem and although my circumstances doesn’t need me to check this box, the filing fee for this season was around $18. That’s all common forms, 8938 included. There are some idiosyncratic payment hoops though.

I've always used TaxAct.  Up to 2020, I filed as "Head of household" claiming a least one of my children as a dependent.  For 2021, I could no longer claim any dependents and thus I filed as "Married filing separately" (as I don't want to file as Married filing jointly).  TaxAct required me to add my wife's name and for her TIN I just reported non-resident alien (NRA) and my return when through e-filing just fine.  I did have to pay to file, but I presume that was due to the forms that accompanied my return including 2555 and 8938.

I've always used TaxAct.  Up to 2020, I filed as "Head of household" claiming a least one of my children as a dependent.  For 2021, I could no longer claim any dependents and thus I filed as "Married filing separately" (as I don't want to file as Married filing jointly).  TaxAct required me to add my wife's name and for her TIN I just reported non-resident alien (NRA) and my return when through e-filing just fine.  I did have to pay to file, but I presume that was due to the forms that accompanied my return including 2555 and 8938.

We’re you married while filing as Head of Household? Maybe it’s just the way you worded your post but a married person has never been allowed to file as HoH.

https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/filing/personal-tax-planning/irs-head-of-household-requirements/

You might be able to claim head of household (HOH) filing status if you meet these requirements: You're unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of 2021. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year. A qualifying person lived with you in the home for more than half the year.

@durhamlad
Yes, I was married while filing as HOH. In the eyes of the IRS, I was "considered unmarried".

If you are a U.S. citizen married to an individual who is neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code section 7701(b)(4), also referred to as a “nonresident”, you may qualify to use the head of household tax rates. You are considered unmarried for head of household purposes if your spouse was a nonresident at any time during the year and you do not choose to treat your nonresident as a resident. However, your spouse is not a qualifying person for head of household purposes. You must have another qualifying person and meet the other tests to be eligible to file as a head of household.
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad-head-of-household

@durhamlad
Yes, I was married while filing as HOH. In the eyes of the IRS, I was "considered unmarried".

If you are a U.S. citizen married to an individual who is neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code section 7701(b)(4), also referred to as a “nonresident”, you may qualify to use the head of household tax rates. You are considered unmarried for head of household purposes if your spouse was a nonresident at any time during the year and you do not choose to treat your nonresident as a resident. However, your spouse is not a qualifying person for head of household purposes. You must have another qualifying person and meet the other tests to be eligible to file as a head of household.
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad-head-of-household

Excellent, thanks for that, I learn something new every day.