It usually surfaces the same way. A family files in February expecting the refund they receive every year. Nothing arrives. Months later a notice explains that certain credits were disallowed, and buried in it is the reason: an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number on the return had expired.
The return was fine. The number was not.
How ITINs expire
An ITIN is issued for federal tax administration, and the IRS deactivates numbers that fall out of use. If an ITIN has not appeared on a filed federal return for three consecutive tax years, it expires at the end of the third year.
This is why the problem clusters in particular situations:
- A dependent who was claimed for a few years and then was not — a child who started working, a parent who moved back abroad, a relative claimed only in certain years.
- A spouse on a joint return who was later filed separately from.
- A household that did not need to file for a couple of years and then did.
- Anyone who was issued an ITIN, used it once, and did not file again.
The IRS does send notices when numbers are due to expire. They go to the last address on file, which for a family that has moved is frequently the wrong one.
What happens when you file with an expired one
The return is accepted and processed. But the IRS treats the expired ITIN as invalid for credit purposes, which means:
- Processing is delayed, sometimes substantially
- Credits that depend on a valid identifying number for the person concerned can be reduced or disallowed
- You receive a notice weeks or months later explaining the change
You can renew and then have the matter corrected — but by then the refund has been delayed by a filing season, and correcting it takes further months.
Renewing: what it takes
Renewal uses the same Form W-7 as the original application, marked as a renewal. You do not need to file a tax return alongside a renewal, which is one of the few places the process is simpler than the original application.
What you do need is identification the IRS accepts. For most people that means a passport, or a combination of documents from the IRS's list. The documents must be originals or copies certified by the issuing agency — a notarised copy is not accepted, which is a distinction that catches a great many applicants out.
You have three routes:
- Mail originals to the IRS. Free, and means being without your passport for a period that can run to several weeks.
- Use an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center. By appointment; documents are verified and returned to you the same day. Appointments in the Los Angeles area book up, so plan ahead.
- Use a Certifying Acceptance Agent. An agent authorised by the IRS to verify documents so originals stay with you.
For families renewing several numbers at once, the third option is usually the least disruptive — and family members can be renewed together on a single submission, which is worth doing even for numbers that have not expired yet if others in the household have.
The timing that saves you the trouble
Renew in the autumn.
Between January and April, ITIN processing runs alongside the filing season and takes considerably longer. Renewing in September, October or November means the number is active before you file, and the return goes through normally.
If you are reading this in February with an expired number, renew now and expect a delay — but do renew, because the alternative is a disallowed credit and a longer correction afterwards.
A note on what an ITIN is and is not
An ITIN exists so that people who are required to file a U.S. tax return but are not eligible for a Social Security number can do so. It is not work authorisation, it is not immigration status, and it does not create eligibility for Social Security benefits. It does not, by itself, do anything outside federal tax administration.
Questions about how any of this interacts with immigration matters belong with a licensed immigration attorney, not with an accountant. We are happy to say what we know and equally happy to tell you when a question is outside what we can properly answer.
Si necesita ayuda en español
Podemos atenderle completamente en español — desde revisar si su ITIN está por vencer, hasta preparar la Forma W-7 y su declaración de impuestos. Llámenos y con gusto le explicamos el proceso paso a paso.
If you are not sure whether your ITIN — or a family member's — is still active, it takes us a few minutes to check. Get in touch before filing season starts, not during it.