WELCOME TO THE IRS’S INTERNATIONAL INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS ASSISTANCE OR IITA VIDEO SERIES. IN THIS VIDEO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DETERMINE IF YOU NEED AN INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER, OR ITIN. AN ITIN IS ISSUED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE AND IS USED FOR TAX PURPOSES ONLY. WE ISSUE ITINS TO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, OR SSN. TO QUALIFY FOR AN ITIN, YOU MUST HAVE A TAX FILING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENT AND FILE A U.S. INCOME TAX RETURN ALONG WITH THE ITIN APPLICATION. HOWEVER, THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS. A LIST OF EXCEPTIONS CAN BE FOUND IN THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FORM W-7. ITINS ARE ISSUED REGARDLESS OF IMMIGRATION STATUS SINCE BOTH RESIDENTAND NONRESIDENT ALIENS MAY HAVE A U.S. FILING OR REPORTING REQUIREMENT UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE. TO DETERMINE IF YOU NEED AN ITIN, ASK YOURSELF, "DO I HAVE OR AM I ELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OR SSN?" IF YOU DON'T KNOW OR IF YOU ARE NOT SURE YOU HAVE AN SSN, WE RECOMMEND YOU CONTACT THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, OR SSA, FOR CONFIRMATION. JUST GO TO SSA.GOV/AGENCY/CONTACT IF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION CONFIRMS THAT YES, YOU HAVE A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, THEN YOU DON'T NEED AN ITIN. USE YOUR SSN WHEN FILING YOUR FEDERAL TAX RETURN– FOR INDIVIDUAL OR JOINT RETURNS. NOW, IF YOU HAVE AN SSN OR ARE ELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN ONE, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR AN ITIN. IF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION CONFIRMS THAT YOU DON'T HAVE A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, THEN VISIT SSA.GOV/SSNUMBER. IT WILL HELP YOU DETERMINE IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE FOR A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND, IF SO, WALK YOU THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS. IF YOU ANSWERED NO, YOU DO NOT HAVE AN SSN, OR THE SSA CONFIRMS THAT YOU DON'T HAVE AN SSN, AND YOU DETERMINED THAT YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN AN SSN, THEN ASK YOURSELF, "DID I RECEIVE ANY PAYMENTS OR INCOME FROM U.S. SOURCES?" IF YOU ANSWERED YES, THEN GENERALLY, YOU NEED AN ITIN. A COPY OF FORM W-7 AND ITS INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE, IRS.GOV ONCE THERE, TYPE "FORM W-7" IN THE SEARCH BOX. HOWEVER, IF YOU ANSWERED NO, YOU DO NOT HAVE AN SSN AND NO, YOU DID NOT RECEIVE PAYMENTS OR INCOME FROM U.S. SOURCES, THEN ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: "DO I HAVE TO PROVIDE A U.S. TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER TO ANYONE?" EXAMPLES OF WHY YOU MAY HAVE TO PROVIDE AN ITIN ARE YOU PLAN TO FILE YOUR INCOME TAX RETURN JOINTLY WITH YOUR SPOUSE, OR YOU WILL BE CLAIMED AS A DEPENDENT ON SOMEONE ELSE'S TAX RETURN, OR YOU WANT TO OPEN A U.S. BANK ACCOUNT. AGAIN, YOU WILL NEED TO COMPLETE AND SUBMIT FORM W-7 ALONG WITH SUPPORTING IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS. NOW, IF YOUR ANSWERS ARE NO, YOU DON’T HAVE AN SSN AND YOU’RE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ONE, AND NO, YOU DIDN’T RECEIVE PAYMENTS OR INCOME FROM U.S. SOURC ES, AND NO, YOU DON’T HAVE TO PROVIDE A U.S. TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER TO ANYONE, THEN GENERALLY, YOU DON’T NEED AN ITIN. FINALLY, FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR ALL TYPES OF INTERNATIONAL TAXPAYERS, GO TO IRS.GOV AND TYPE INTERNATIONAL TAXPAYERS IN THE SEARCH BOX.
