ITIN for spouse

I'm a USC and wish to claim my NRA wife who resides in the UK, has no US-source income as an exemption on my tax return which I will file as Married filing separately. To do this I understand she requires an ITIN.

From previous post on this forum I understand that this is what I have to do:

File my tax return and include her W-7 (signed by her) and certified copy of her passport. Is this correct ? I'm confused because instructions for w-7 make it sound like she should be filing her own tax return but this is not necessary for her case.

As the IRS division in the US embassy in London has shut down, will they still give her a certified copy of her passport for ITIN purposes ? will I have to be there ? The other option would be to get her passport certified by the Swedish embassy (she is Swedish) but I'm not sure this will be done in English.

Thanks.

I also need to get a certified copy of my non-US passport (in my case UK) to send to the London US Embassy.  I found instructions on the Embassy website:
http://london.usembassy.gov/mobile/cons_new/acs/scs/cert-us.html

I expect your wife could get the second stage of the process done at the Swedish Embassy.  I shouldn't think you need to worry about the language as it's a well established procedure.

Thanks. Her embassy provides a verification service of original documents. So I'll just send a copy of her passport stamped by the swedish embassy and the w-7 signed by her with all my tax forms. I believe this is all that is necessary unless anyone has done this before and know better, please shout.

To obtain an ITIN you will need:
1. A W-7 completed in ways that are acceptable to the IRS.
2. A tax reason that is acceptable to the IRS, such as a US income tax return, and
3. Evidence of your wife's identity that is acceptable to the IRS.

A copy certified by the Swedish Embassy is not considered adequate by the IRS ITIN Unit. Although the United States is a signatory to the Hague Convention, the IRS will not accept certified or Apostilled copies of documents for ITIN application purposes. Your wife could mail her original passport to the IRS ITIN Unit. Alternatively she could mail to the IRS a complete copy of her passport certified by the Swedish passport issuing agency (if the Swedish passport issuing agency offers that service).

Alternatively - and probably more easily - she could use the services of a Certified Acceptance Agent - It may help to say that I was the first Certified Acceptance Agent in the UK back in the year 2000 and have helped many thousands of individuals to obtain ITINS since.

However for IRS security reasons it has become increasingly tough to get an ITIN.  The IRS receives roughly 2 million ITIN applications each year; but in the most recent year for which statistics are published (2013), the IRS rejected 50.3% of all applications that they received. Please feel free to send me a private message if you would like the services of an Acceptance Agent.

A copy certified by the Swedish Embassy is not considered adequate by the IRS ITIN Unit......
Alternatively she could mail to the IRS a complete copy of her passport certified by the Swedish passport issuing agency (if the Swedish passport issuing agency offers that service).

Isn't the Swedish passport issuing agency just any Swedish embassy or consulate ? An embassy or consulate always issues passports on behalf of governments, so what you say here is contradictory.

The W-7 form instructions say the following:

"You may be able to request a certified copy of documents at an embassy or consulate."

I did not know about Acceptance agents, but really all I need is for her passport to be certified so it is accepted by the IRS. I do not wish to file my tax return from abroad because I'm in the US now, my wife is currently residing in the UK until she gets her green card, which will be next year, so we are apart for the time being. If an acceptance agent is able to provide a certified copy only then I will look into it.

The reason she would use on the w-7 is e : Spouse of U.S. citizen/resident alien

She will probably obtain a SSN in 2016 when she arrives to the US, but in 2015 she is only eligible for an ITIN which I wish her to have so I can get an exemption.

As I mentioned earlier, most people's experience of the IRS ITIN Unit is a rejection notice.  This can be both costly and annoying. All documents submitted have to be acceptable to the ITIN Unit. Given indeed that ITINs are truly so tough to obtain, most people in your circumstances would file the 2014 US individual return using MFS status and not claiming an additional exemption.

This does not eliminate you filing an amended return for 2014 (claiming an additional exemption for your NRA spouse) during 2016 once the SSA have issued her with a US Social Security Number after her green card has been activated.  You could equally consider at that stage filing an amended return for 2014 on a MFJ basis where you both jointly elect for your NRA spouse to be US resident throughout 2014 if this saves you tax overall.

I didn't know it was so hard to obtain an ITIN, and if this is the case, then waiting until she has a SSN and filing an amended return is probably best. Thank you for all the help.