August 4, 2016
The IRS recently announced how taxpayers with expired Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) can renew them.
Here are two ways that an ITIN can expire, as explained in the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015, which made changes to the expiration rules for ITINs:
Who is Affected for the Upcoming Filing Season
A taxpayer who obtained their ITIN before 2008 or has not used their ITIN for 2013, 2014 and 2015 will need to renew it before they file their 2016 federal tax return this coming filing season.
How to Renew an ITIN
Beginning on October 1, 2016, an individual who needs to renew their expired ITIN must complete a Form W-7 (Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) and submit it to the IRS in one of the following ways:
For renewal purposes, the IRS will not require a tax return to be attached to their submitted Form W-7. Also, taxpayers must use the newest version of the Form W-7 available at the time of renewal. For those renewing in the fall of 2016, the newest version will be available sometime in September (version 9-2016).
See IRS News Release IR-2016-100 (IRS Works to Help Taxpayers Affected by ITIN Changes; Renewals Begin in October) for more information.