The EIN and IRS forms · A term for founders abroad
What is an ITIN?
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. A personal US tax number for people who must file a US return but can't get an SSN; not needed to form a company or to get its EIN.
Checked against the IRS's instructions and the states' own rules. Reviewed by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
Term 60 of 105 in the glossary, filed under I.IRS: individual taxpayer identification number
ITIN, for a founder abroad.
The IRS issues an ITIN, on Form W-7, to people who need to file or be reported on a US tax return and can't get an SSN. It's nine digits, like an SSN. A founder abroad who owns an LLC with no US trade or business usually never needs one.
When a founder abroad does need one
- To file a US return of your own, such as Form 1040-NR, because the company has US business income.
- To claim a treaty rate on a W-8BEN if your country doesn't issue you a tax number.
- To file an 83(b) election with a number in it, or when a particular bank or platform insists.
You apply with the W-7, usually alongside the tax return that needs the number, and your original passport, a copy certified by the passport office, or through a Certifying Acceptance Agent who checks the original. The IRS says to allow seven weeks, or nine to eleven if you apply from abroad or during tax season. An ITIN that goes unused on a federal return for three years in a row expires at the end of the third.
Sources: IRS: individual taxpayer identification number; IRS: how to renew an ITIN.
Read next · guide · 2 minDo you need an ITIN? Usually not, and here's when you doWhat founders ask next.
- Do I need an ITIN to get an EIN?
- No. Form SS-4 takes "foreign" or N/A in place of the number, and an ITIN doesn't make the EIN arrive sooner.
- ITIN or EIN: what's the difference?
- An EIN is the company's tax number; an ITIN is a person's, for someone who can't get an SSN. Your US company needs an EIN. You need an ITIN only if you have a US filing of your own.
- Does an ITIN expire?
- Yes, if it isn't used on a federal tax return for three consecutive years; it expires on 31 December after the third. The ITIN guide covers renewal.
03 · See also
- The EIN and IRS formsEINThe nine-digit tax number the IRS assigns to a business, and the first thing every US bank, payment processor and marketplace asks for.Read the term
- The EIN and IRS formsSSNThe US personal tax and benefits number for citizens and people authorised to work; not something a founder abroad has or needs to own a US company.Read the term
- US tax for an owner abroadForm W-8BEN and W-8BEN-EThe IRS forms a foreign person or foreign company gives a US payer to certify foreign status and, where it applies, claim a treaty rate.Read the term
- The EIN and IRS formsForm 1040-NRThe US tax return for a non-resident individual with US-taxable income, such as income from a US trade or business; most foreign LLC owners don't owe one.Read the term
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