No SSN or ITIN

[SG5]

I have a married couple he is a US citizen she is not.  She has a Visa and is in the process of getting a Green Card.  She has no SSN or ITIN can she still be put on the return.  Because his income is minimal and he is getting a refund of taxes paid in, the deductions are a moot point. Pro series says I can uncheck the error for no number and e-file the return, but will the IRS accept this return?

[BobKamman]

Why not file MFS (or in certain cases, HoH is allowed)?  But before doing that I would ask them to check with their immigration lawyer as to whether there are advantages or disadvantages to filing jointly.  

He has minimal income, so what has she been living on?  If she files a joint return, she is taxed on her worldwide income.  That is not a concept that most countries share, so make sure she understands U.S. law.  

[itonewbie]

I agree with Bob.  If there's no tax reason to elect joint filing, your client should be better off filing MFS (or HoH, if eligible).  If joint filing is to be elected, your client and the spouse need to understand the downstream implications.

[TaxGuyBill]

But filing as MFS still asks for a SSN or ITIN of the spouse.

I suspect that error will prevent e-filing, so you may need to file by mail.  But if you want, you can try e-filing to see what happens (but disable the error-checking first).

[itonewbie]

Not sure about PS but Lacerte/PTO will allow you to e-file MFS by checking the box that the spouse is an NRA.