IRS Eliminates ITIN Certifying Acceptance Agent Program Outside of the US!

According to a recent IRS communication, the IRS will implement the new provision on January 1, 2017, which will eliminate the need for Certifying Acceptance Agents outside of the United States. Specifically, pursuant to Section 203 of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the “PATH Act”), Pub. L. 114-113, div. Q, enacted on December 18, 2015, Internal Revenue Code Section 6109 was modified leading to significant changes to the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (“ITIN”) program. Under the PATH Act, an applicant who resides outside of the Unites States may now submit their Form W-7, Application for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number by mail or to an employee of the Internal Revenue Service or a designee of the Secretary at a United States diplomatic mission or consular post. Currently, all IRS employees authorized to review and accept applications are located in the United States.

 

 How do these changes affect me?

What does it mean if you are a non-US citizen requiring an ITIN to file US federal tax return or other IRS filing (for example, to claim a refund or credit for taxes withheld in the United States in the 2016 tax year)?

First of all, your passport and birth certificate will no longer be certified by Certifying Acceptance Agent located in your vicinity and, as a result, you will have to send IRS your originals or notarized and apostilled documents confirming your identity. The detailed list of acceptable documents (including whether only original or certified copies of such documents may be accepted) is available on the IRS website.

Secondly, any ITIN not used on a tax return at least once in the last three (3) years will be invalid for use on a tax return as of January 1, 2017. Accordingly, taxpayers with such ITINs need to renew their ITIN.

Thirdly, taxpayers with ITIN middle digits “78” or “79” need to renew their ITINs, even if they used it in the last three years (for example, XXX-78-XXXX or XXX-79-XXXX). Note that for renewing your ITIN, you do not need to attach a tax return to Form W-7. The IRS allows all family members to renew their ITINs at once. The affected taxpayers should have received a letter from the IRS inviting them to renew their expiring ITIN.

Why pay a Tax Accountant?

We specialize in obtaining ITIN numbers for non-residents of the United States of America.  To use our service you need to have a valid reason for obtaining an ITIN number and be able to prove your residency and identity.


By using our service you will benefit by:


1) Faster processing times:

Self prepared applications usually contain errors. To be accepted by the IRS the application has to be perfect, containing no errors.  It is not unusual for self prepared applications to be sent back multiple times for correction, each time resulting in a delay of 2 to 3 months.


2) Applications under the wrong reason:

The IRS are not going to interview you and determine the correct procedure to apply for your ITIN number and prepare the documents on your behalf, this is outside the scope of their service as it requires more time to understand your unique requirement than they are alloted to assist you. By using our service we will take the time to understand your situation and apply under the correct procedure.

An ITIN number is only issued for tax reporting purposes. To see if you qualify please contact us. The fee for a US Tax number is payable in advance. 

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