Do I need an ITIN?
An ITIN is a nine-digit tax number the IRS issues to someone who has a US federal tax filing or reporting obligation but is not eligible for a Social Security number. You apply on Form W-7, usually with the return it is needed for. It exists for tax purposes only: it grants no work authorisation and no immigration status.
Key points
- An ITIN is a nine-digit taxpayer identification number the IRS issues to people who need a US tax number but are not eligible for a Social Security number.
- An ITIN is issued for federal tax purposes only: it confers no work authorisation, no immigration status, and no eligibility for Social Security benefits.
- Form W-7 is used both to apply for a new ITIN and to renew one that is expiring or has already expired, and it is normally filed with the tax return it is needed for.
- Immigration status, visas, and permission to work are legal questions for an immigration attorney, not tax questions a CPA or an ITIN can resolve.
- A return filed under an expired ITIN can be processed while refunds and credits tied to it are delayed until the renewal is complete.
What is an ITIN and who is it for?
An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is a nine-digit number the IRS issues to individuals who are required, for US federal tax purposes, to have a US taxpayer identification number but who do not have and are not eligible to get a Social Security number. It is applied for on Form W-7.
The people who need one are usually in ordinary situations: a nonresident with a US filing obligation, a spouse or dependent being claimed on another person's return, a foreign partner in a US partnership whose share of income is subject to withholding, or a foreign seller of US property whose buyer must withhold and report. The common thread is a tax filing that needs an identifier attached to a specific person.
Does an ITIN affect immigration status or the right to work?
No. An ITIN is issued for federal tax purposes, and that is the whole of its function. It does not authorise work in the United States, it does not grant, change, or improve immigration status, and it does not make anyone eligible for Social Security benefits. Holding one is evidence that a person has a tax filing obligation and has taken steps to meet it, nothing more.
Questions about status, visas, adjustment, or permission to work are legal questions and belong with an immigration attorney. A CPA prepares and files the tax return and can prepare the Form W-7 that goes with it; the immigration side of a person's situation is not tax work and should not be answered as though it were.
How do you apply for or renew an ITIN?
Form W-7 is normally submitted together with the federal tax return the number is needed for, rather than on its own, and it must be supported by documentation that establishes identity and foreign status. Those documentation rules are specific and are revised from time to time, so the current instructions for Form W-7 are the thing to work from rather than a remembered version of them.
The same form renews an ITIN that is expiring or has already expired. A new application has to be submitted on or before the return's due date with the tax return inside the package — the return is not filed separately. The IRS says to allow about seven weeks for a decision, or nine to eleven weeks during the filing season or when applying from overseas, so an application tied to a refund is better sent early in the season. A renewal does not have to wait for a return and is best done before the season opens. If more time is needed to file, an extension can be requested by the April due date.
What goes wrong with ITINs in practice?
Two things, mostly. The first is timing: a W-7 filed in the middle of the season alongside a return can hold up the refund attached to it, and an ITIN that lapsed from disuse can leave credits and refunds suspended until a renewal clears. Neither is a penalty, but both can cost months.
The second is expecting the number to do work it cannot do. An ITIN does not decide whether you are a resident or a nonresident for tax purposes; that is a separate determination under its own rules, and it drives which return you file and which income is taxable. Two people can hold the same kind of number and have entirely different filing obligations.
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Sources
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