Help with your ITIN application.
Get help with Form W-7, supporting documents, and your ITIN application or renewal. We explain the requirements, which documents a Certifying Acceptance Agent can authenticate, and what must go to the IRS.
Understand the document process.
You can apply by mail or use an available in-person service, including certain IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers. A Certifying Acceptance Agent (CAA) can prepare Form W-7 and authenticate eligible supporting documents.
CAA authentication has limits: foreign military identification cannot be authenticated, and for dependents the permitted documents are passports and civil birth certificates. Other required documents must be sent to the IRS as originals or copies certified by the issuing agency.
Compare the IRS application options and CAA document requirements.
Services Include
- Determining whether an ITIN is required and which exception, if any, applies
- Preparation of Form W-7 for new applications
- Renewal of expired or expiring ITINs
- Authentication of eligible identification documents under CAA requirements
- Submission of the application and Certificate of Accuracy to the IRS
- Coordination with the federal tax return the application accompanies
- ITIN eligibility review for spouses and dependents with a qualifying federal tax purpose
- Help with IRS application correspondence within the agreed scope
When you may need ITIN support.
Most ITIN applications are filed together with a federal income tax return. Some applicants qualify for an exception that allows the application to be filed on its own. See the IRS Form W-7 instructions.
First U.S. Tax Return
A nonresident or resident alien filing a U.S. return for the first time who is not eligible for a Social Security number.
Spouse or Dependent
A spouse or dependent who is ineligible for an SSN and needs an ITIN for a qualifying federal tax purpose, such as filing a return or being included for an allowable tax benefit. Simply being listed on a return is not enough.
Expired ITIN
An ITIN that has not been used on a federal income tax return for three consecutive tax years expires on December 31 of the third year and must be renewed before it can be used on a return again.
Withholding and Treaty Claims
Individuals who need an ITIN to claim a tax treaty benefit or to satisfy withholding requirements on U.S.-source income.
Real Estate and Investment Income
Foreign owners of U.S. rental property or other investments with a U.S. reporting requirement.
Business Owners Abroad
Foreign partners, shareholders, and owners of U.S. entities who must be identified on a U.S. return or information filing.
Your application, step by step.
Your ITIN interview takes place by video. The CAA must have your required original identification documents or issuing-agency-certified copies physically in hand during the interview. A portal upload alone is not a substitute.
Initial review
Fintaxe reviews the federal tax purpose and SSN eligibility, identifies any applicable filing exception, and confirms the documents needed and how to get them to us before the interview.
Video interview & document review
With the required documents physically in hand, we conduct the video interview and authenticate eligible documents. We explain which can be returned after review and which must accompany the application to the IRS.
Submission and follow-up
We submit the completed application package and help address IRS correspondence within the agreed scope. The IRS decides whether to issue or renew the ITIN.
Connect the application to your return.
Let’s talk about your application.
Tell Fintaxe whether this is a new application or a renewal, who the ITIN is for, and whether a tax return will be filed with it. Do not send identification documents through the public form.