I am on H1B and my wife on H4. I shall be filing for taxes as married jointly. I have learned that my wife will need an ITIN since she is not eligible for SSN. Got a couple of queries regarding this.

1) How do I apply for ITIN... I read it somewhere that I need to fill W7, attach a notarised copy of my wife's passport and my W2 form and mail it to the address on the W7. I wanted to know whether I should attach a copy of my W2 or the original.

2) ITIN takes a couple of weeks.Is it too late for me to apply for ITIN now? What do you recommend and how do I go about filing taxes.

3)Will I have to wait till I receive my wife's ITIN before I file for federal income tax returns and state income tax returns?

4) Is it compulsory for me to apply for ITIN? If not, how do I file the taxes.

5) Which 1040 form should I fill and what should be written under exemption? Do I need to select me and spouse. Also, do I need to write my wife's name under dependents.

1) The W-7 with the notarized photocopy of the passport is submited WITH the jointly-filed tax return, so, yes, a copy of the W-2 is needed.

2) Actually, it will take about four weeks for the return to be processed and six weeks to get the ITIN back in the mail. This is from the mailing date, as such returns must be mailed!

3) See 1 above for federal return. Yes, you must wait until you get the ITIN before you can file the state tax return.

4) Yes, if you want to file jointly with your wife or claim your wife as a dependent.

5) If you have no children, you can probably get by with Form 1040EZ. Fill in your wife's name under yours and leave the SSN area blank to file jointly. If, for some reason, you want to just claim your wife as a dependent, then you must use Form 1040A, leaving the SSN area blank in section #6.

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