Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input.

US citizen married to non-resident alien; how do I file taxes?
Congrats on the upcoming wedding! Here is the official answer to this question, from the IRS. They note that you can choose to treat your spouse as a US resident for tax purposes and file jointly if you want to, by attaching a certain declaration to your tax return.  Though I'm not a tax expert, if your partner has significant income it seems like this might increase your taxes due. You can also apply for an SSN (used for tax filings, joint or separate return) at a social security office or US consulate, by form SS-5, or file form W-7 with the IRS to get a Taxpayer Identification Number which is just as useful for this purpose.   Without that, you can write "Non Resident Alien" (or "NRA") in the box for your partner's SSN, and mail in a paper return like that.  See IRS Publication 17 page 22 (discussions on TurboTax here, here, etc.).