This allows you to avoid mailing your original documents, or certified copies, to the IRS. However, if you’re living abroad and have adopted a foreign child or have had a foreign child legally placed in your home pending an adoption, that child may be eligible for an ITIN. If the dependent is a minor, the documentation must establish the relationship between the dependent and the representative signing the application on the dependent’s behalf. This could include a birth certificate, adoption papers, or other court-appointed papers showing legal guardianship.
What documents are acceptable as proof of identify and foreign status?
- Each of these groups has specific requirements to qualify.
- For more information or to find an LITC near you, see the LITC page on the TAS website or Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List.
- This looks the same whether you’re applying for a new ITIN or just renewing an old one.
- ITIN holders must verify their identity through the video chat process and will need a valid email address, proof of ITIN, one primary document and one secondary document.
- If you aren’t claiming them on your tax return, there’s no reason for them to get an ITIN number.
- They won’t officially begin accepting tax returns before then, so keep an eye out for this announcement.
Sarah is an Enrolled Agent with the IRS and a former staff writer at Keeper. In 2022, she was named one of CPA Practice Advisor’s 20 Under 40 Top Influencers difference between duty and tariff in the field of accounting. Her work has been featured in Business Insider, Money Under 30, Best Life, GOBankingRates, and Shopify.
Many applicants have reported that IRS lost their passports or other valuable and hard-to-replace identification documents. Consider getting certified copies or using one of the application methods listed below, rather than mailing original identification documents to the IRS. Apply for an ITIN in-person using the services of an IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agent. This will prevent you from having to mail your proof of identity and foreign status documents. Certain offices can verify passports and national identification cards and return them immediately. A list of these in-person Document Review Taxpayer Assistance is depreciation a liability why or why not Centers is available on IRS.gov.
Who Needs an ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number?
You will usually file an ITIN application, Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, with your first tax return, which you must file as a paper return, not electronically. All the exceptions are listed in the ITIN application instructions. Once the package is assembled, attach the Form W-7 to the front of your first-ever US federal income tax return, along with the supporting documents. Be sure to take a selfie for sentimental purposes (optional step). You can leave all the tax ID numbers on your 1040 tax return blank.
Sending important documents makes most people feel uneasy. Things get lost or damaged in the mail all the time, and replacing something like a passport is no small task. A taxpayer whose ITIN has been deactivated and needs to file a U.S. return can reapply using Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. As an independent organization within the IRS, the Taxpayer Advocate Service helps taxpayers resolve problems and recommends changes that will prevent problems. A current passport would meet all these requirements and is the only document you can submit on its own.
Only a Social Security Number qualifies you to receive Social Security and other government benefits. For citizens (and some eligible residents or foreign nationals), that number is their Social Security Number — often assigned at birth. See how much you can save when a TurboTax expert does your taxes, start to finish.
Step #1: Fill out Form W-7
The identity documents must verify both your identity and your foreign status. Nonresident aliens claiming tax advance payment journal entry treaty benefits must submit original documents or copies certified by the issuing agency. Dependents of U.S. military personnel are required to submit original documents or certified copies unless the required documents to prove foreign status and identity are notarized by an agent of the Department of Defense. A copy of a U.S. military ID is required if the documents are notarized. An exclusive list of documents that are acceptable for this purpose is included in the Instructions for Form W-7.
TURBOTAX DESKTOP DISCLAIMERS
The IRS has a long list of documents or combinations of documents that can show your status and identity. The IRS releases the tax season’s start date every year. They won’t officially begin accepting tax returns before then, so keep an eye out for this announcement. You will only file a tax return to the address above once, when you file Form W-7 to get an ITIN. In subsequent years, when you have an ITIN, you will file your tax return as directed in the form instructions.
