Use Your ITIN before 2016 to Save it from Deactivation

Last updated on August 26, 2016

If you have U.S. filing or income reporting requirements and are required to use an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) on your tax return, there are some important factors to remember. If you have not submitted a return with your ITIN for five consecutive years, then your ITIN may be deactivated by the IRS. Even if you are using your ITIN on other financial and legal documents, if you are not using it on your tax return, it will be deactivated by the IRS.

If your ITIN is deactivated and you wish to get it reactivated, you may do so by filing Form W-7. When filing this form, you will be required to attach certain documents to prove your identity.

The newly adjusted IRS policy will not be fully implemented until 2016. The IRS will not deactivate any ITINs before this time. Under this new IRS policy, an ITIN will not be cancelled as long as taxpayers use it on their U.S. tax returns at least once in every five consecutive years. This includes ITINs issued after Jan. 1, 2013. Going forward, taxpayers will no longer face mandatory expiration of their ITINs.

To provide additional time for taxpayers to adjust to the new policy and avoid getting their ITIN cancelled, the IRS has allowed this grace period until 2016. If you have not used your ITIN on your tax return for 5 years or less, then you may consider filing your return as soon as possible to keep your ITIN valid for future tax filings.