Hi All-
My wife is not eligible for an SSN (she has an ITIN), last year IRS told me Tax rebate will not be given to families if either spouse does not have an SSN.
Is there a way for me to file an appeal or something?
Thank you.
Well, you could always appeal... but you wouldn't win. Congress hard coded that requirement in the law. The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 wrote an exception to this rule. A spouse or eligible dependent child of a member of the US military may use an ITIN if a joint return is filed.
Congress wrote that into the law.
Are you active duty U.S. Military? If so, call your U.S. Senator and ask the law be changed.
Dick
The IRS website provides:
Q. If I have a spouse with an ITIN and choose "married filing separately" status to qualify for the economic stimulus payment and later on amend my original return to "married filing jointly" status, will I need to return the stimulus payment?
A. No.
See
What's your question? The IRS Q&A is very explicit. It also relates to the ESP, which is now closed.
You can file as MFS and you would be eligible for the 2008 Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) assuming you had qualifying income or a tax liability in 2008. You might also discover that you are paying higher taxes by filing MFS and it offsets any RRC.
Watch out if you're residing in a community property state and your income is treated as community income.
If you amend your 2008 tax return to MFJ after filing as MFS and getting an RRC, you would have to pay it back when you amend. The reason is that the RRC is a tax credit that flows to the original and amended return while the ESP was an advance payment that did not have to be paid back.
Tread carefully.
Remember that we have always been dealing with a 2008 credit. That reference is about the advance payments of the 2008 credit made based on
2007 return information. The provision in the law exempting the payment from recapture applied only to the reconciliation of the advance payment and the ultimate 2008 credit. Advance payments are now moot. Now we're dealing with the 2008 credit.I've not seen anything that indicates that an amended 2008 return would not affect the 2008 credit. IOW, it appears to me that if you file an MFS return claiming the credit and then later amend it to a joint return with an ITIN spouse you would lose the credit.
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