Re: ITIN process for children
 

Why would you not take the dependency exemption for a child ($3900 of tax exempt income per child) if you qualified for it?

Re: ITIN process for children
 

One would take it if they qualified for it. "if" being the operative word.

A dependent child is not the same thing as a spouse with whom one can chose to file a joint tax return. The spouse is a joint filer, not a dependent.

Regards, JEff

Re: ITIN process for children
 

Interesting, Pete originally included them but then removed them as he said they were not allowed as dependents on the 1040NR. The tax refund difference was significant. That was for 2010. I'll ask Pete again if that was the correct thing to do?

Re: ITIN process for children
 

June Everett, the Pro-Consul at 1000 Louisiana St, Suite 1900. You have to book an appointment. Take both passports along (i.e. child + parent).

She was very nice and helpful.

Re: ITIN process for children
 

The instructions don't appear to say anything that would indicate that your dependents aren't allowed to be claimed.

Re: ITIN process for children
 

Please clarify your post - which instructions are "the" instructions?

From the instructions for Form 1040NR:
This may not be the applicable instructions in this case, but if for AL's the first tax year in the USA the children did not meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test then they would not have been residents of the US for tax purposes?

Regards, JEff

Re: ITIN process for children
 

Initially when I looked at that, I assumed the instructions were referring to a dependent that wasn't living in the US but had exceptions for some countries. Now that I again look at that, I'm not sure. I originally assumed that the instructions would have referred to the "substantial presence test" for the dependent if that is how they defined a resident in this case since form 1040 refers to the "substantial presence test" of the dependent in order to be eligible for child tax credits but not as a dependent.

So are the children residents of the US or do they need to meet the "substantial presence test" to be considered residents on form 1040 NR? It doesn't appear that on form 1040, they need to meet the "substantial presence test" to be considered residents and therefore dependents.

Re: ITIN process for children
 

Thanks, that seems to confirm what I was thinking : There is no point in going to the IRS Tax Center now, I should probably wait to have all my documents to fill the taxes (like the 1099 forms you get from your bank), have the tax return document prepared, and then go to the tax center and fill the W7 for the kids and certify the required passports at the same time as handing the tax return.

Re: ITIN process for children
 

About the other discussion from this thread (about whether or not you can have children as dependent the first year or not):

I was in the same situation: First year I filed as Non Resident Alien (NRA) because we did not meet the substantial presence test, and I was not allowed to add the kids as dependents that year (I do not remember the details where this came from, I just know that they were not added). So it's really this year that I try to add the kids as dependents, now that we meet the test and that we file as resident aliens (even without a green card).

I actually discovered the ITIN requirements when trying to e-file : the system didn't want to process the draft of the tax return, because no SSN or ITIM was specified for the dependents.

As a resident alien, you can claim the same dependents as a US citizen.

Hope this helps

Re: ITIN process for children
 

After doing more researching on the IRS web site, that appears to be the case that you can't claim dependents (except from certain countries) when filing from 1040 NR.

Re: ITIN process for children
 

Er... can't be bothered to read the whole thread through but anyway it depends on your own filing status, which is why I linked to the 1040 instructions.

Read IRS publication 519 for more details (if it is your first year in the US you generally will file dual-status - unless you arrived on January 1st).

If you're filing on 1040NR you can only claim for the dependents if you are a tax resident of Canada, Mexico or South Korea. However you don't even need to use 1040NR if you are a tax resident of those countries because of the non-discrimination clause in the tax treaty. Generally recommended to use 1040NR though because using 1040 and filing an 8833 with it to claim non-discrimination causes confusion. Which is why 1040NR has special boxes on it under "filing status".

Anyway...

This is the relevant telephone number for the IRS international tax "hotline" - 267-941-1000

Back in ye olde days when they gave seminars on how to do stuff like the W-7 and 1040NR they used to expressly warn people not to listen to advice on the regular IRS helplines but to call that number for the helpline in PA.

Also note there is a lot of hoopla about the "substantial presence test" but in reality it doesn't mean a whole fat lot because (a) if you want to (which you will if you're planning on staying in the US for any length of time) you can be a tax resident on day 1 and (b) if you DON'T want to, you can always claim a closer connection to your home country on Form 8840, which basically sets the "test" to 183 days. Or in some cases (c) depending on what the tax treaty says you can be non-resident for longer than that, or if you're a foreign student or patient (using form 8843).