Acquiring ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number

An ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number is used by the International Revenue Service or the IRS for identifying tax payers. Until you have this number, you cannot file and pay taxes. Generally, national residents can also use their Social Security Number or SSN for paying their taxes, but if you are not eligible for an SSN, you will need an ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number.

Here is a basic procedure for getting an ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number.

Determine your eligibility for ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number

Determine if you are eligible for an ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number or not. You will require an ITIN if you do not have an SSN and are not eligible for one, but still have to file a return, pay the taxable amount or provide some other information to the IRS. People who are not eligible for an SSN are resident and non-resident aliens, their spouses and their dependents.

Please note that if you are a permanent resident or a US citizen and can qualify for an SSN, but do not have one, you will not be able to apply for ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number.

Fill out the W-7 form

For applying for an ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number, you will need the W-7 form. Contact IRS and they will provide you with this form. You can even download it from their website. Fill out the form and correctly; mention your name, date of birth, address and other details that are asked. Once you are finished with this, sign the form and then obtain a copy of it for record purposes.

Prepare your application

Gather all required document in one place; you can find details on this on the IRS website. You will have to provide a proof of your identification and foreign status. Documents such as passport, driving license, USCIS identification card can serve this purpose.

Now complete a tax return, which you will have to submit with your ITIN application. Without this, your application will not be approved. There are certain cases in which you may not qualify for a return. An example of this is when you are a non-resident alien and require an ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number to get a tax treaty benefit. Review the exemption list on the IRs website for other similar cases.

For cases when you do not qualify, but still want to be exempted, you will to provide documents that can serve as evidence and support your claim.

Submit your ITIN or Individual Tax Identification Number application

Submit your complete application which includes a filled out W-7 form, a tax return and supporting documents that provide proof of your identification and status. You can send your application on the address that is given on the IRS website.

Though you may be required to submit original document, you will get them all back once your application has been reviewed and processed.

If you need more information about our accounting and tax services, please contact us at 407-502-2400.  Freedomtax Accounting’s staff has been providing honest accounting services and tax services for 15 years.  Our Orlando accounting and tax firm has its main offices in Kissimmee, FL.  Our services are provided nationwide, but mainly in the Central Florida market to areas like Orlando, South Orlando, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Poinciana, Clermont, Davenport, and Hunters Creek, FL.  Our tax accountants and IRS enrolled agents (irs ea) specialize in corporate accounting and bookkeeping, tax services, tax preparation, back taxes help, tax debt relief, tax resolution, tax planning, itin numbers, incorporations, and non profit 501c3 tax exempt status applications.