ITIN assistance
Get your ITIN with confidence.
An ITIN is a personal tax number the IRS issues to individuals who have to file or be reported on a US federal tax return but are not eligible for a Social Security Number. If that describes you, we prepare and certify the application so your passport never leaves your hands.
$399 one-time · passport stays with you · applicability checked first
What happens after you start
- 01Applicability
- 02Profile
- 03Certification
- 04IRS processing
- 05Assignment
What it is
A tax number for a person, not a company.
An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is a nine-digit tax processing number the IRS issues to individuals who need a US taxpayer identification number for federal tax purposes but are not eligible for a Social Security Number. It always begins with 9. It identifies you to the IRS — nothing more: no work authorisation, no immigration status, no bank approval.
I
Individual
T
Taxpayer
I
Identification
N
Number
- What it is
- A 9-digit personal tax ID
- Always begins with 9. For individuals who must file, or be reported to, the IRS and cannot get a Social Security Number.
- Needed to form an LLC?
- No
- No US state requires a taxpayer ID from an LLC member. Your company's number is the EIN.
- Needed to get an EIN?
- No
- Form SS-4 accepts a responsible party with neither an SSN nor an ITIN.
- Applied for using
- Form W-7
- Generally filed with a US federal tax return; the IRS lists limited exceptions where a return is not required.
- IRS processing
- ~7 weeks
- The IRS's stated figure; 9–11 weeks in peak season or when applying from abroad. Not a RazorFile commitment.
Two numbers, two paths
Your company has one number. You may need another.
An EIN identifies a business to the IRS and is obtained on Form SS-4. An ITIN identifies an individual who has a US filing or reporting obligation but is not eligible for a Social Security Number, and is obtained on Form W-7. Both are nine digits, which is why they get confused. Your company needs the first. Whether you personally need the second depends on your own position — most commonly a US personal return you must file, a return you are claimed on, a treaty benefit you are claiming on US income, or a payment a US payer has to report against you.
Who it’s for
When an ITIN genuinely applies.
You are not eligible for an SSN, and one of the following is true: you must file a US federal tax return; you are claimed as a spouse or dependent on one; you are claiming a tax-treaty benefit on certain US-source income; or a US payer must report a payment to you and needs your taxpayer number. If none of these is true yet, you probably do not need one yet. An ITIN does not open a bank account, activate a payment processor, or confer any immigration or work status.
- You must file a US federal return
- Income effectively connected with a US trade or business, or other US-source income that creates a filing obligation, and no SSN to file it under.
- You are claimed on someone's return
- A spouse or dependent listed on a US federal tax return who is not eligible for an SSN.
- You are claiming a treaty benefit
- Reduced withholding on certain US-source income under a tax treaty can require a US taxpayer number on the claim.
- A US payer must report a payment to you
- Some payers are required to report payments to non-US individuals and need a taxpayer number to do it.
- Not needed for
- Forming an LLC, obtaining an EIN, or activating a payment processor — none of these require an ITIN, and an ITIN does not guarantee any bank or platform's approval.
The process
From individual to taxpayer identification.
A W-7 has to prove identity and foreign status, and a passport does both on its own. Filed directly, the IRS wants the original document, which means posting your passport abroad and being without it for weeks. A Certifying Acceptance Agent is authorised by the IRS to verify the document and issue a certificate of accuracy in its place, so the original stays with you. That is the part of this service that is hard to do alone.
What you’ll need
- A clear scan of your passportProves identity and foreign status on its own. Certified, so the original stays with you.
- Your details as they appear on itName, foreign address, country of citizenship, and the reason you need the number.
- The US return, if one appliesA W-7 usually accompanies a federal return; we check whether an IRS exception applies to you.
01First, before anything is prepared
Determine whether an ITIN applies
You tell us your situation — where you live, what US income or filing you have in view. If an ITIN does not apply to you, we say so here and stop.
02About ten minutes
Your taxpayer profile
Name as it appears on your passport, foreign address, country of citizenship, and the reason you need the number. This is what Form W-7 asks for.
03After we receive your scans
Documents and certification
A clear scan of your passport. A Certifying Acceptance Agent verifies it and issues the certificate the IRS accepts in place of the original — so the passport stays with you.
04IRS processing
With the IRS
The W-7, the certificate and, where one is required, your return go to the IRS ITIN unit. The IRS states about seven weeks; nine to eleven in peak season or from abroad. We follow up; we do not promise a date.
05When the IRS issues it
Your ITIN, assigned
The nine-digit number and the IRS assignment notice (CP 565) are saved to your dashboard — ready for the return, treaty claim or reporting that needed it.
Your documentation
Your taxpayer identification, organized.
When the IRS assigns your number, the assignment notice is saved to your RazorFile dashboard beside your company documents — the number, the certified identity record, and the reason it was issued, in one place for the return, claim or report that needed it.
ITIN assignment
A. Mehra
- Country of citizenship
- India
- Reason
- Tax-treaty claim
- Identity document
- Passport · certified
- Application
- Form W-7
ITIN assistance
$399
One-time service
Added to any RazorFile formation order. Applicability is checked first — if an ITIN does not apply to you, we say so before an application is prepared. No renewal, no annual fee.
Start ITIN assistanceWhat’s included
- Establishing first whether an ITIN applies to your situation — and telling you plainly if it does not
- Form W-7 prepared for a non-US applicant, including the reason-for-applying section that most self-filed applications get wrong
- Identity document certified by a Certifying Acceptance Agent, so your original passport stays with you instead of going to the IRS by post
- Submission to the IRS ITIN unit, follow-up, and the assignment notice (CP 565) saved to your dashboard when it is issued
Not included
- Any guarantee of IRS processing time or of assignment — the IRS decides both
- Preparing the US tax return that a W-7 usually accompanies; if you need one, an accountant does that and we will say so
- Advice on whether you personally have a US filing obligation — a question for a tax professional
- Immigration status or work authorization, which an ITIN does not provide
Direct answers
Frequently asked questions.
The IRS controls processing and assignment entirely. Whether you have a US filing obligation is a tax question that depends on facts we cannot see; an accountant who knows your situation should confirm it. If someone has told you an ITIN is mandatory to form a company or to use Stripe, ask them which rule requires it.
An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number — a nine-digit tax processing number the IRS issues to individuals who need a US taxpayer identification number for federal tax purposes but are not eligible for a Social Security Number. It always begins with 9.
Someone who cannot get an SSN and who must file a US federal tax return, is claimed as a spouse or dependent on one, is claiming a tax-treaty benefit on certain US-source income, or is the subject of a payment a US payer must report. Whether that applies to you is a question about your facts, not about your company.
No. An EIN identifies a business and is applied for on Form SS-4. An ITIN identifies an individual and is applied for on Form W-7. Your LLC needs an EIN; you may or may not personally need an ITIN. One does not replace the other.
No to both. No US state requires a taxpayer ID from an LLC member, and the IRS Form SS-4 instructions provide for a responsible party with neither an SSN nor an ITIN. Services that sell an ITIN as a prerequisite have the order wrong.
A completed Form W-7, proof of identity and foreign status — a valid passport covers both on its own — and, in most cases, the US federal tax return the W-7 accompanies. The IRS lists limited exceptions where a return is not needed; we check whether one applies to you.
Not through this service. A Certifying Acceptance Agent verifies your passport and issues a certificate of accuracy the IRS accepts in place of the original, so the document stays with you.
The IRS states about seven weeks, and nine to eleven weeks during peak season or for applications from abroad. Those are the IRS's figures, not ours, and we will keep you updated rather than promise a date.
Yes. An ITIN is specifically for people without an SSN, and most applicants live outside the United States.
No. It is a tax processing number only. It does not confer immigration status, work authorisation, or eligibility for Social Security benefits.
No. It is an identifier, not a liability. Whether you owe US tax depends on your income and situation, which is a question for a tax professional — the number just lets the IRS process whatever return or report applies.
Finish the requirement
Don’t leave a tax-identification requirement unresolved.
If a return, a claim or a report is waiting on this number, the requirement does not go away — it just gets later. We check that it applies, prepare it correctly, and keep your passport in your hands.
ITIN assistance — $399
Start your ITIN assistance