IRS Might Have Lost My Return - Should I Get Spouse an ITIN so I can e-file?

Hi everyone - I've received such fantastic help through this forum before, so thank you to all the absolute superstars on here.

I'm at my wit's end with the IRS. I filed my 2021 Taxes in May, Married Filing Separately. As usual, I had to do a mailed-in paper return because of that ONE box on the 1040 that wants my UKC spouse's SSN. I have been writing in "NRA" for 13 years, and the turnaround has been slow but it did always work.

This year, however, the IRS seems to have completely lost my return. I have RoyalMail/USPS proof that it was delivered to their reception/front office. And after that, nothing. The "Where's My Refund" tool comes up with 'could not find any info.'

And so far, it's been impossible to get through to them on the phones to even see if I can track the wayward return down. I'm also worried that if it is lost, and I send in a duplicate return, now it's just going to look like I'm very late.

But the question I came here to ask is this: Should I just get my UKC husband an ITIN so that I can e-file in the future? I can't remember why that seemed like a bad idea in the past, but maybe it's okay now?

Thanks in advance for any help!

In terms of putting NRA in for your spouse, TAXACT allows you to do this and then e-file - even on their free file version.

In terms of IRS delays - my own 2020 return took 7 months+ to get on the system - the IRS has a huge backlog so I wouldn't panic just yet.

I did wonder if it was due to backlog - I'll try to be patient. It's extra hard waiting for the refund this year with inflation.

I will look into TaxAct for next year though for sure!
Thank you so much for your help!

The good news is that when you finally get your refund the IRS will pay you interest from the date you filed. Currently paying 6% from October 1:

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-announces-interest-rate-increases-for-the-fourth-quarter-of-2022-6-rate-applies-to-most-taxpayers-starting-oct-1#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%94%20The%20Internal%20Revenue%20Service,that%20began%20on%20July%201.

The bad news is that it's then taxable!

Hi everyone - I've received such fantastic help through this forum before, so thank you to all the absolute superstars on here.

I'm at my wit's end with the IRS. I filed my 2021 Taxes in May, Married Filing Separately. As usual, I had to do a mailed-in paper return because of that ONE box on the 1040 that wants my UKC spouse's SSN. I have been writing in "NRA" for 13 years, and the turnaround has been slow but it did always work.

This year, however, the IRS seems to have completely lost my return. I have RoyalMail/USPS proof that it was delivered to their reception/front office. And after that, nothing. The "Where's My Refund" tool comes up with 'could not find any info.'

And so far, it's been impossible to get through to them on the phones to even see if I can track the wayward return down. I'm also worried that if it is lost, and I send in a duplicate return, now it's just going to look like I'm very late.

But the question I came here to ask is this: Should I just get my UKC husband an ITIN so that I can e-file in the future? I can't remember why that seemed like a bad idea in the past, but maybe it's okay now?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Based on the information provided,  the non-resident alien spouse would not qualify for an ITIN.