How To Get ITIN for Tax Return (Explained With Instructions)

Today we’re going to be talking about whether you can file a federal tax return and get an ITIN at the same time.

Hey, this is Sina Bonabi from EIN Express. I’m an IRS certified acceptance agent and I’ve been both trained and authorized by the IRS to help non-US citizens all over the world just like you to successfully get their EINs and their ITINs for them. We’ve assisted and helped over 2,240 non-US citizens to help them get their EINs and ITINs and we’d love to help you get yours too.

Today we’re going to be discussing a topic of “can you file your U.S. federal tax return and also get an ITIN at the same time”. It might sound simple but it’s a very common question. It gets asked all the time.

What usually happens is people come to me and they say,

“I want to file a tax return. Can you get my ITIN for me so I can go ahead and file my tax return?”

What they don’t know is that if that is the case for you, you’re supposed to file them both at the same time and that’s traditionally how that works for the ITIN application.

Get your ITIN here: https://einexpress.com/itin

Can You File a Tax Return and Get an ITIN at the Same Time?

As you guys already know, the way to apply for an ITIN the traditional route is through a tax return. If it’s not through a tax return then it has to be through one of the five exception categories.

Now, for this video we’re talking about tax returns. If you’re applying for a new ITIN and you don’t qualify for any of the five exception categories, then you have to provide a tax return with your ITIN application to get your ITIN.

If you’re doing a renewal ITIN application you don’t necessarily have to provide a tax return with your renewal ITIN application to get your ITIN renewed but it is also strongly suggested that if you are trying to renew your ITIN and you do have a tax return to file, you should also file a tax return with the ITIN renewal application at the same time.

What is the Advantage of Filing your Federal Tax Return and ITIN at the Same Time?

That’s strongly recommended to avoid delays, processing errors, etc. You should do that. You could do it without it but it’s strongly recommended. If you do have a tax filing requirement that needs to be done, do them both at the same time.

Now if you’re applying for a new ITIN, you have to provide a tax return with your ITIN application and so the way it works is get your tax return prepared but you don’t file it and then we get the ITIN application prepared for you as well too and what we do is we go ahead as your agent and we file both your federal tax return, state also if you want, you can also file a state tax return with it as well, but the federal must be so you can’t just file a state return with your ITIN application and no federal. It has to be at least a federal.

If you want to include a state, you can include a state return in it as well.

So we’ll go ahead and we’ll take your federal tax return and a state return if you want, and we’ll also attach it to an ITIN application and we’ll file both of them together to the IRS Service Center in Austin, Texas, and what’s going to happen is the tax examiner is going to receive your file and they’re going to see that you have a tax return but with no tax ID on it, but there is an ITIN application attached to it.

So what they’ll do is they’re first going to process the ITIN application, issue you an ITIN, and then they will take that ITIN, they will manually put it on your tax return, and then go ahead and process the tax return accordingly.

Apply for your ITIN today: https://einexpress.com/itin

What To Do Next

That’s the biggest misconception that people have. A lot of times people think that oh, I have to get my ITIN first and then I can go ahead and get my ITIN and then use that to help me file a tax return.

No, you do them at the same time because if you don’t provide the tax return with your ITIN application, if that’s the route you’re going for your case, then your application is going to automatically be rejected.

The IRS will send you a letter back saying there was no supporting documentation or there was no tax return attached to your ITIN application, therefore, it didn’t meet the requirements and you were rejected.

It’s a simple thing but it’s a very common misconception that people have so hopefully this will clarify any confusion for people and this answer was helpful if this applied to you in your case.

If you have any more questions post a comment in the comments below and if you’re ready to get your EIN or ITIN, go ahead and click here to start your application.

Get your ITIN here: https://einexpress.com/itin