ITIN Tax Number for Students

Students who are alien or non alien residents and obtaining education in the US need an Individual Tax Identification Number, or ITIN Tax Number. ITIN is needed as these students are not eligible for obtaining a Social Security Number, and thus need the ITIN Number which acts as an alternative to SSN. Students who are on J-1, F-1, M-1 or Q-1 status are allowed to work in the US, hence are eligible to apply for ITIN Tax Number.

Effective from October 2012, the Internal Revenue Service has outlined a detailed process for the filing of application for ITIN Number by foreign students falling under the F and J status, and J2 dependents. This change of policy was announced in response to Internal Revenue Service’s June announcement which required all foreign students to submit their passports along with their ITIN applications. Since this is impossible for foreign students, the new policy rather requires applicants to submit copies of original documentation along with their ITIN applications.

Typically, foreign students are required to submit the following documents along with their ITIN Tax Number application:

• The duly filled ITIN Tax Number application form
• Copy of passport
• Copy of I-20 or DS-2019
• Copy of visa stamp
• I-94 record
• Scholarship letter
• Other documents needed to be submitted as per the requirements on the W-7 form

The documents are to be emailed to the ITIN Operations Department of the Internal Revenue Service. Their posting address is:

Internal Revenue Service
ITIN Operations
P.O. Box 149342
Austin, TX 78714-9342

Once the appropriate documents, along with the ITIN Tax Number application, are submitted, the student advisor reviews the documents and issues an ITIN certification letter. The application is then mailed to the concerned authorities for subsequent procedures.

It is important to note that only those students who are employed need an ITIN Tax Number for tax purposes. Students do not require an ITIN for the following purposes:

• Class Registration: Students registering for classes do not need an ITIN Number.
• Driver’s License: In most states, although not all, students do not need an ITIN for obtaining a driver’s license. However, the state that the student resides in largely determines if an ITIN Tax Number would be required to obtain a driver’s license.
• Financial Transactions: For most financial transactions, like opening a bank account, students are not required by law to have an ITIN Number. The banks, however, require students engaging in any financial transaction to fill a W-8BEN form to verify that the student is indeed exempted from having a Social Security Number, and subsequently, the ITIN Tax Number.

If you want to apply for an, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN tax number and have any other questions, please feel free to contact us at 888-509-3616. If you have any suggestions please share those with us as well. Freedomtax ITIN Number has a professional team of IRS Certifying Acceptance Agents, and tax accounting professionals with more than 16 years of experience, helping immigrants with their ITIN application. Freedomtax can also help immigrant entrepreneurs incorporate a business in the USA. Freedomtax ITIN Tax Number Online services provides Quality, Professional Service with a Family Feel.