A lot of you may wonder what is ITIN for. If you are working or generating money in the United States, your Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) will act as your identification number when you file your tax returns. This is for earning people who don’t qualify for a Social Security Number.  

Apart from its main function, ITIN also allows a qualified individual to refund this income withholding tax from the IRS. It permits you to file your taxes and at the same time, claim the tax benefits you are entitled to if you have qualifying dependents. Finally, it is a requirement that will help you open a bank or apply for a house loan.  

See? There’s a lot you can do when you have ITIN. Don’t worry, the application and renewal are free when you let us work on your federal income tax return!  

You can apply for ITIN in two simple steps:  

Step 1: Prepare the required documents.  

Securing your documents is a very important part of the process. To get your ITIN, you will the following:  

✓ Completely filled up IRS Form W-7.  

✓ A US federal income tax return 

✓ Your passport  

If you don’t have your passport, you can submit any 2 of the following, provided thatone is an identification card with your picture and the other is proof of your foreign status.  

✓ US driver’s license 

✓ National identification document with your name, address, date of birth, photo, and expiration date (this must be the most recent) 

✓ Birth certificate (this is also a requirement for dependents unless a passport with the date of entry in the US is submitted instead) 

✓ Foreign driver’s license  

✓ Foreign voter’s registration ID card 

✓ US state ID card 

✓ US Military ID card 

✓ US Citizenship and immigration services photo ID  

✓ School records for students who are under 18 years old  

✓ Medical for dependents under 6 years old 

Step 2: Contact us for assistance.  

Applying for ITIN alone may be quite confusing. Having a professional accountant to assist you is a good alternative. After securing the documents above, you can contact us for assistance and we’ll let you know once your ITIN is available.  

The next question is–is ITIN renewable? The answer is yes. Your ITIN has an expiry date and in order to keep your status as a taxpayer in the United States, you are required to renew your ITIN. Renewal is an important process so you can avoid delaying the refund of your withholding taxes and claiming your benefits on time. Those who are with expired ITIN can actually become ineligible for credits such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and other similar tax credits.  

The latest update of the IRS regarding the expiration of ITIN is specifically for people whose ITIN were not utilized on a tax return for Tax Year, 2016, 2017, or 2018. Those ITINs will expire on December 31, 2019. Also, if your ITIN’s middle numbers are 83, 84, 85, 86, or 87, you need to renew as they also expire by the end of 2019.  

On the other hand, if your ITIN doesn’t have the middle digits mentioned and you were able to use it during the tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018, you don’t need to renew it.  

We also offer ITIN renewable. All you have to do is secure the documents proving your identity and foreign status in the country. You may refer to any of the documents above. Submit to us the identification proof you have so that we can start processing your ITIN renewal.  

What’s good with our renewal service is that you and your family can renew your ITIN at the same time. If you all have ITIN expiring in 2019, you can submit all your documents so you can receive your new ITIN at the same time.