Taxes: What is the ITIN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number?

The ITIN identifies taxpayers who do not have a Social Security number.

It was created in 1996 so that non-resident workers could pay taxes.

Learn more about the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.

Do you already know what an ITIN is? Learn everything about it! The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number was created to allow people who are unable to get a Social Security number to file taxes.

With the ITIN, workers whose legal status has not been resolved will be able to file their taxes and obtain other tax help. Learn everything about the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.

What is the ITIN?

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The first step is to know what the ITIN is. The ITIN, better known as the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, is a nine-digit code that serves to identify taxpayers who do not have a Social Security number. This is the format: 9XX-XX-XXXX.

Regardless of immigration status, workers may incur tax liabilities under the Internal Revenue Code, so they must apply for an ITIN in order to file their taxes unless they receive an official exception from the IRS.

Learn more about its history

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The ITIN was created in 1996 to allow people without a Social Security number to file a tax return and thus comply with the tax obligations that the United States establishes for anyone who receives income from a US employer.

The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is not a work permit and its usefulness sometimes goes beyond filing taxes. Ten years after its creation, in 2006, 1.4 million people used an ITIN. In 2015, there were already more than 4 million taxpayers with this document.

Who can apply for an ITIN?

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Now that you know what the ITIN is, the next step is to identify the requirements for obtaining it. Remember that information you submit will always be confidential and that it will not be cause for extradition or deportation proceedings in the case of immigrants whose legal status has not been resolved yet.

People who can apply for an ITIN are those who need to declare taxes in the United States, who are the dependent or spouse of a US citizen or resident or visa holder, or who are a non-resident foreign student, professor or researcher.

How do you apply for an ITIN?

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To apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number you must submit form W-7 (SP), which is the formal document for the Internal Revenue Service. it will also be necessary to submit your tax return.

Once the W-7 (SP) form has been completed, the next step will be to include the official documentation or a copy of the certificates issued by an authorized agency, with which the identity of the taxpayer and their immigration status will be verified. To learn more about this process, visit the IRS website.