A missing Social Security number stops a lot of couples before they even try. A US taxpayer married to someone still living in Vietnam often assumes married filing jointly simply isn’t an option without one. It usually is an option though, through an ITIN application filed alongside the return. Choosing married filing jointly correctly, instead of defaulting to a worse status, often saves $2,000 to $6,000.
Most people who skip this route default to filing as single, or worse, married filing separately. Neither status realizes married filing jointly could save them thousands every year.
Why Filing Separately Usually Costs More Than Married Filing Jointly
The married filing separately status carries some of the least favorable tax brackets. It also phases out several valuable credits and deductions entirely. A taxpayer earning a typical middle-class income loses access to certain education credits under this status. Student loan interest often can’t be deducted at all.
Married filing jointly, by contrast, generally offers the most favorable combined brackets. Full access to credits like the Child Tax Credit follows too. For a single-income household where one spouse’s income is entirely earned in Vietnam, married filing jointly often looks meaningfully better on paper.
Getting an ITIN So You Can File Married Filing Jointly
A spouse without a Social Security number needs an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. This lets them be included on a jointly filed return. Form W-7 gets filed alongside the tax return itself, not separately in advance. The spouse’s passport serves as the primary identity document. A certified copy or an in-person review at an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center satisfies the documentation requirement.
A Certifying Acceptance Agent can certify the passport copy without mailing the original overseas. Many tax preparers experienced with married filing jointly for spouses abroad offer this service. Sending an original passport through international mail carries real risk of loss or delay.
Choosing Between Two Elections Once You Have the ITIN
A nonresident spouse can be treated as a US resident for tax purposes. A specific election on the joint return makes this happen. This makes the spouse’s worldwide income reportable on the US return. That sounds like a downside. The foreign tax credit and foreign earned income exclusion often offset most or all of the additional US tax on Vietnamese-source income though.
The alternative treats the nonresident spouse as a nonresident for the full year. You’d file married filing separately instead. This only makes sense when the spouse’s Vietnamese income is large enough that including it triggers more US tax than married filing jointly saves. Run both scenarios with a preparer before committing.
What Documentation to Gather Before You File
Beyond the spouse’s passport for the ITIN application, gather any Vietnamese income records. This matters if you’re electing to treat the spouse as a US resident. That income needs reporting, even though a credit or exclusion will likely offset the tax. Marriage certificate documentation, especially if issued in Vietnam, may come up during ITIN processing too.
Keep copies of everything submitted. ITIN processing through this route can take longer than a standard tax refund timeline. Seven weeks or more isn’t unusual during peak filing season. File early in the season rather than close to the deadline. That gives more buffer if the IRS requests additional documentation.
Renewing an ITIN That Has Expired
An ITIN not used on a tax return for three consecutive years expires automatically. Certain ITIN ranges have also faced mandatory renewal cycles the IRS announced separately. Check the current status before assuming a previously issued ITIN is still valid. Filing married filing jointly with an expired ITIN can delay the entire refund.
Renewal uses the same Form W-7 process as a new application. It typically processes somewhat faster though, since the IRS already has the taxpayer’s identity on file.
Running the Actual Numbers Before Choosing Married Filing Jointly
Don’t choose married filing jointly just because it sounds like the standard, expected path. Run an actual side-by-side comparison using your real numbers first. A tax preparer can typically model both scenarios, married filing jointly with the resident election versus married filing separately, in the same appointment. Compare the bottom-line refund or amount owed under each, not just the marginal tax bracket each status uses.
The comparison matters more in years when your Vietnamese spouse has meaningful income of their own, since that income becomes part of the US return under the resident election. A spouse with little or no independent income makes married filing jointly an easier, more obvious choice. A spouse running a business or holding rental property in Vietnam makes the comparison genuinely worth running carefully, since the added reporting complexity needs to be weighed against the tax savings themselves.
What Happens to the Election in Future Tax Years
Once you elect to treat a nonresident spouse as a US resident for tax purposes, that election generally continues into future tax years automatically. You don’t need to re-file the election paperwork every single year once it’s in place. This differs from some other tax elections that require annual renewal, and it’s worth confirming with your preparer exactly how the continuing election affects each subsequent year’s filing requirements.
Revoking the election is possible, but it carries its own consequences, including a waiting period before either spouse can make the same election again in certain circumstances. Think of this as a multi-year commitment rather than a choice you can freely reverse every filing season based on whichever status happens to produce a slightly better result that particular year.
Working With a Preparer Familiar With This Filing Type
Not every tax preparer handles married filing jointly cases involving a nonresident spouse and an ITIN application regularly. Ask directly about their experience with this specific combination before committing, since the W-7 paperwork and the resident election both carry details that a preparer unfamiliar with international filing situations can easily get wrong.
A preparer who regularly works with immigrant communities, including Vietnamese American clients specifically, is more likely to have handled this exact scenario multiple times already. That experience translates into fewer processing delays and a cleaner first-time filing, rather than a return that gets kicked back for additional documentation months into the process.
Worth Knowing
Does the nonresident spouse need to have ever visited the US? No. Choosing married filing jointly through this ITIN route doesn’t require the spouse to have set foot in the US at any point.
Can we switch back to filing separately in a future year? Generally the resident election, once made, stays in effect until formally revoked. Consult a preparer before assuming you can freely switch statuses year to year.
Does having Vietnamese rental income change which election makes more sense? Often yes. A spouse with meaningful Vietnamese-source income, like rental property, may make separate filing more favorable once that income and applicable Vietnamese withholding get factored in.
Compare the actual dollar difference between married filing jointly with an ITIN election and married filing separately using your specific numbers, since the right answer depends heavily on how much income, if any, your spouse earns in Vietnam.
The IRS’s Form W-7 instructions cover the current ITIN application requirements in detail. For how cash-heavy business income gets reported alongside a return like this, see the cash business tax reporting guide for Vietnamese owners.
This is general information about tax filing status, not personalized tax advice. ITIN processing times and IRS rules change, so confirm your specific numbers with a preparer before filing.