Hi,

I came to US on Jan 2008 on H1B.My spouse and my kid came to US on May 2009.Now I want to apply for Tax-ID so that I can use the Tax-ID to file my 2009 Tax Return.
Could you please tell how to apply Tax-ID for my spouse and my kid?




Thanks in Advance
Ramesh Babu Rengarajan.

You can file jointly with your wife and you both CHOSE to be treated as resident aliens. This will allow you to claim the $11,100 joint standard deduction plus two $3,600 personal exemption (for yourself and your wife) plus one $3,600 for your child PLUS the $1,000 Child Tax Credit.

You will need to submit Forms W-7 to apply for ITINs for your wife and child. A notarized photocopy of their passport needs to be stapled to the W-7.

The downside is that you must declare ALL 2009 world-wide income, to include whatever your wife may have earned in her home country in 2009, but you can at least partially offset any double taxation by claiming a Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116).

Even with the downside, this is probably the best way for you to file.

You will need to file 2 W-7s; one for yor wife and one for your child. Get the copies here:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf

For your wife you will check box (e)
For you child you will check box (d)

You will attach a certified copy of their individual passports to each application, your tax return for 2009, and send it to:
Internal Revenue Service
ITIN Operation
P.O. Box 149342
Austin, TX 78714-9342