Hello,

Currently I am on H1B visa and my wife is on f1 and she will be going on OPT from April 17th onwards.

She has got a job it starts from April 20th. She tried to apply for SSN and they said that she will have to come back once the OPT starts i.e aftre April 17th to apply for SSN.

Since I am filing my taxes jointly, I want the hassels of having to apply for an ITIN number and directly file for the taxes after my wife gets her SSN.

Now this being the case, should I apply for extension ? I have seen in these forums that we have to file for extension only if we owe money to the government else we are good to file even after the April 15th deadline.

IN case I do need to apply for extension, Should I apply for extension both for federal and State or should it be only for Federal.

Please advise.

Thanks,
Ashwin

You do not file for ITIN if you can get SSN.
You must file for extension. Use Form 4868.
For state, check at the state web site. For example, in CA you file for extension only if you owe tax.