Stimulus benefits with wife and kids having ITIN

mechshot

Registered Users (C)
I am working on TN visa since 2004. I couldn't get any stimulus checks last year due to my wife and kids having ITIN. My question is can we get those benefits with our 2008 tax return.
 
Specifically, if you file jointly, you both need SSNs. You can file separately (since you have SSN) and get stimulus (now called recovery credit) for yourself, but the separate taxrate will be much higher than the $600 you will get.
 
Folks,

Could someone please clarify whether we will be eligible for the 2007/2008 recovery rebate? My wife was on H4 and had an ITTN and hence we were un-eligible last year. Our I-485s were approved 2 weeks back and we have already filed for her SSN. We plan on submitting our 2008 tax returns with her new SNN. However the IRS website FAQs on the Recovery rebate states that people who received their SSNs in 2008 qualify. There is no mention of receiving SSNs in 2009. Does that hold true or does it imply that SSNs received in 2008 (and latter) will qualify?

Sorry if this is very obvious but wanted someone's expert opinion or if someone with a 2009 SSN has already filed and received credit to confirm. We have 2 kids, so potentially $1800 to lose here.

Thanks for any information.

Jawad
 
Thanks Nelsona. Do we just use her SSN while filling the 2008 tax returns? I'd read somewhere folks calling IRS and having the SSN number added to their records over the phone (swapped for the ITTN) prior to filing their tax returns. Would this help and is this something we should do?

Thanks,

Jawad
 
You should send a letter (or phone) linking her ITIN and her SSN, and then retire the ITIN.
 
You should send a letter (or phone) linking her ITIN and her SSN, and then retire the ITIN.


That's too much work....

Just file the 2008 tax returns, and assuming u r using turbotax, it will ask you if you got the 2007 stimulus, answer is "no". The system will automatically apply the stimulus into your refund for this tax season.

FYI...I was in the same exact boat like u last year, this year we all have green-cards thus wifey now has a SSN...I did not bother to "call or attach a letter" about her change from ITIN to SSN. I simply re-entered her SSN into the turbotax system and viola!...we got $11K refund!!! within 6 days!!...and that's just federal...still waiting for $3K state refunds
 
You should not be proud to get an $11K refund. have you ever thought of adjusting your W-4 to reduce your withholding instead of lending the feds all that money?

And, whether turbotax accepted it or not, you are supposed to advise IRS that your ITIN has ben replaced by an SSN.
 
You should not be proud to get an $11K refund. have you ever thought of adjusting your W-4 to reduce your withholding instead of lending the feds all that money?

And, whether turbotax accepted it or not, you are supposed to advise IRS that your ITIN has ben replaced by an SSN.


I am not proud of $11K, I am ECSTATIC, YEEEEAAAHHH BABY!!...LOL..in al seriousness, I always claim 4 (me, wifey & 2 boys) in my W-4, and never thought anything of it...(I guess I was being honest?)

The refund is made up of a lot of deductions i.e.
-period of unemployment without claiming EI
-remodelling of property
-losses on property from renting out
-2008 stimulus
-charitable contributions from giving stuff to goodwill before relocation
-any other allowable deductions from turbo tax.

so I dont think I will be getting such a refund in the future again...unless history repeats itself
 
We received my wife's new SSN yesterday and I sat down to have a quick look at my tax returns. The 1040 e-filing software had row 70 dedicated to the Recovery Rebate saying something to the effect of looking at pages 62 & 63 of the IRS publication 1040 General Instructions (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf). I manually calculated my Recovery Rebate from those 2 pages and plugged the amount into the 1040 form. Surprisingly there is no mention of a requirement for having received the SSN in 2008 on the calculation instructions.

Prior to efiling my tax returns, I went ahead and called IRS today to have my wife's ITTN replaced with her new SSN (I'd read some folks were able to do that over the phone). Apparently the Officer said this was not possible over the phone and the SSN Office initiates this request (though I am not certain why - how would the SSN folks know that we have been using an IRS ITTN and that needs to be replaced with a SSN?). I did say our tax returns were ready to be efiled but she said I should mail paper tax returns this year and attach a copy of her SSN with it as it may take upto 2 months to make the change???

Now I'm more confused than before. We were going to mail her ITTN card back with a copy of her new SSN card, I guess I'll send both of these back with the paper tax filing. Seems a bit strange to me to have to file paper tax returns now-a-days. Also her new card has a 'issued' date of last week printed on it - I wonder if that will raise any flags.

Jawad
 
When you received you ITIN, yo ualso received instructions on how to eventually replace it with SSN. You need to write to the ITIN Unit, plain and simple.

Follow these, or go online and read them.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1915.pdf
An alien individual cannot have both an ITIN and a SSN.
upon receipt advise the IRS ITIN Unit in writing of your new SSN. The new SSN will become the primary number and must be used for all future filing purposes. The IRS will void the ITIN. All prior tax information under the ITIN will be associated with the new SSN.

The issue that arises when e-filing is that if you filed last year as a couple with an SSN and an ITIN, then this year, when you try to e-file with 2 SSNs, e-file 'signature' will usually fail. The same thing happens to newly married couples, and divorcees that remarry.
 
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Thanks, I'll just mail back the ITIN card with a copy of my wife's SSN number. I'll call them again in 2 weeks and see if they've swapped the numbers and then eFile or otherwise just mail in the paper tax returns.

Thanks for your advice Nelsona.

Jawad
 
Don't wait for this process to file. Paper file now and you will still get refund in 2 weeks.
 
The issue that arises when e-filing is that if you filed last year as a couple with an SSN and an ITIN, then this year, when you try to e-file with 2 SSNs, e-file 'signature' will usually fail.....

Not trying to beat a dead horse here, but I e-filed last year (and I had a PIN from IRS) with my SSN & wifey's ITIN and this year, I e-filed on Feb 4th, using my SSN and wifey's new SSN, and the system accepted the same pin, without issues. I got my refund deposited on Feb 13th.

Maybe I was just lucky...:)
 
I think that the pin # overrides the 'signature'. This process changes from year-to-year, so maybe it is getting easier.

But do not ignore what the ITIN guide states with regard to having both an ITIN and SSN. It is important to get that ITIN killed.
 
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