ITIN Center
Obtaining individual taxpayer ID numbers
We are open during COVID-19 and helping people apply for ITIN. During COVID, our procedure for fulfilling IRS requirement of reviewing actual passport is:
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Right now, our top priority, all of us, is our own health and safety and that of our loved ones and where “social distancing” is the preferred method of containment. While other appointments currently are limited to phone, skype/WhatsApp/Google-hangouts, for ITINs, where we must see the passport, you can bring your passport, we will view it thru the window of our closed front door (and at same time {live or by video} compare applicant’s facial features to applicant’s passport picture), which will remain closed, you can leave all signed documents in my mailbox and you take your passport back with you after showing it to us from outside thru the door window).
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You can also express-mail your passport to us and we express-mail it back to you the next day – this method is typically used by elderly applicants OR by applicants who live far from Toronto.
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note that any LONE family member, can come on behalf of all applicants, so long as that person brings all passports and all documents signed/dated (including any tax return being filed, intake doc and W-7) and that I conduct a video interview with all applicants to compare facial features to passport picture.
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Only sign and date the W-7 the day you come
We offer valuable expert knowledge key to successful application and to avoid making an application where unnecessary.
Our fee covers the time we spend: preparing filing documents, filing copies for you and our office, preparing required IRS "intake document" maintained by our office, completing IRS-required forensic training for identifying fraudulent identification documents, spending time in communication and ongoing time investment to stay abreast of current ITIN application rules and procedures.
We also offer value in advising/preparing proper ITIN applications. This is a big deal because there are many nuances to the application process, each IRS processor is given just 60 seconds to reject/approve an ITIN application and many people and professional firms who self-prepare ITIN applications get rejected. The ITIN application process is a finite one and must be followed exactly by IRS prescribed procedures without the slightest deviation.
Also, as CAA we can certify your passport. If you self-apply, you need to mail IRS your passport or a certified copy from Passport Canada (whose offices are currently closed due to COVID-19). Certification by any notary public or any lawyer won't suffice. We will attach to the ITIN application a completed and signed IRS Form W-7(COA) certification containing our IRS certification-authorization number on file with IRS.
Each IRS ITIN processor (the IRS agent who reviews your ITIN application) is given only a mere 60 seconds to review your application and decide whether or not to accept or reject your application. The agent will refer to a manual and quickly compare your application data to a checklist of required data and if anything is missing or unclear, the agent will reject your application and you'll need to start the process anew. With a 7 week wait plus mail delivery time on top, that is time that often cannot be afforded.
So many self-prepared applications are rejected and often the reason for rejection is due to missing just one lone item on the application form. Sometimes an item is missed because all ITIN application procedures were not fully understood (sophisticated lawyers whose knowledge specialties do not include ITIN applications often trip and fail on this point) or because of a simple omission (the word "Canada" in an address or the name of the treaty country) or a lowly clerical error.
Let us help you get it right and get approved the first time!
We ask all applicants to e-mail us verification that the ITIN applicant(s) were never issued a SSN nor are eligible for one, as SSN applicants are ineligible for ITIN.
An ITIN cannot arbitrarily be issued upon request but instead must fit squarely into a pre-determined application schema prescribed and set by IRS. We work with clients and often bring them new awareness of their fitting into one of the finite IRS reasons they previously hadn’t entertained on their own. There are many nuances to the process and each application differs from the next, each based on its specific application reason. For some client situations we recommend applying for a tax ID (TIN) other/different than an ITIN, for some we find a solution whereby they don’t need a TIN and for some we identify that they are not allowed to, or cannot, apply for an ITIN.
Please see these links:
http://www.ustaxservices.ca/single-post/2018/08/30/First-Question-I-ask-ITIN-Applicants
http://www.ustaxservices.ca/single-post/2018/11/05/Four-ITIN-questions-clients-commonly-ask
For a renewal ITIN to file or join a tax return, we can apply with that return OR before filing it: