ITIN for Indian Citizens

ITIN Last reviewed 2 September 2026 · 8 min read

If you are an Indian citizen with a United States tax obligation and you are not eligible for a Social Security Number, the IRS still needs a way to identify you. That identifier is the ITIN — the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.

The application itself is one form. What makes it difficult is the identity documentation, and specifically what the IRS normally expects you to do with your passport. This guide covers who actually needs an ITIN, what the application requires, and how to apply without letting your passport leave India.

What an ITIN is — and is not

An ITIN is a nine-digit number issued by the IRS, always beginning with the digit 9. It exists for one purpose: to let someone who cannot get a Social Security Number meet a US federal tax obligation.

It is worth being clear about what it does not do, because this is where most misunderstandings start. An ITIN:

• does not give you the right to work in the United States;

• does not affect your immigration status in any way;

• does not make you eligible for Social Security benefits;

• is not a visa, and is not evidence of any right to enter the US.

It is a tax processing number. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Who in India actually needs one

In our experience the people who come to us fall into a handful of recognisable situations:

1. A spouse or dependent being claimed on a US tax return. A family member in the US is filing, and needs to include you. This is the single most common reason we see.

2. An NRI earning rental income from US property. Owning a house in the US and renting it out creates a US filing obligation, and you cannot file without an identifying number.

3. A foreign owner of a US company. Forming a US LLC or corporation from India frequently brings an individual filing requirement with it — see our guide on opening a US LLC from India.

4. Someone claiming a benefit under the India–US tax treaty. Reduced withholding on royalties, dividends or certain other income usually requires an ITIN before the payer will apply the treaty rate.

5. A seller of US real estate. Sales by foreign persons are subject to withholding, and recovering any over-withheld amount means filing a return — which means having an ITIN.

6. A student, researcher or professor on a visa receiving a scholarship, stipend or grant that is not eligible for an SSN.

If none of these describe you, it is worth checking whether you need an ITIN at all before starting. The IRS will reject an application that is not attached to a genuine tax purpose.

What the application requires

The application is Form W-7, and it has three parts that must agree with one another:

• A reason for applying. Form W-7 asks you to tick a reason code. The code you choose determines what supporting evidence the IRS expects, so this is not a formality — a mismatched code is a common cause of rejection.

• Proof of identity and foreign status. A valid passport is the only document that satisfies both requirements on its own. Any other route means producing a combination of documents, which is slower and more fragile.

• A US federal tax return. In most cases the W-7 must be attached to the return it exists to support. Certain exceptions allow a standalone application — treaty benefit claims and some third-party withholding situations among them — but they are exceptions, and each carries its own evidence requirement.

The passport problem

Here is the part that stops most people. If you apply to the IRS directly, you must send either your original passport or a copy certified by the issuing authority.

In practice that means posting your actual passport from India to an IRS processing centre in the United States, and waiting for it to come back. For most people that is simply not an acceptable risk. It also means being without your passport for a period you cannot control, which rules out travel and can affect visa applications, employment paperwork and anything else that needs it.

A certified copy from the issuing authority sounds like the obvious alternative, but the IRS is specific about what it will accept, and a notarised copy is not sufficient. Applications sent with notarised copies are routinely rejected.

This is the difference between an ITIN application being a genuine obstacle and being a piece of paperwork. SV Associates is an IRS-authorised CAA based in Ahmedabad — you can read more on our Certifying Acceptance Agent page, which includes the IRS's own published listing.

How long it takes

The IRS publishes an expected processing time for W-7 applications, and it lengthens considerably during the January–April filing peak. Applications submitted from outside the United States generally sit at the longer end of the range.

Two things follow from that, and both are worth acting on:

• Apply outside the peak if you can. The same application submitted in September moves faster than the identical one submitted in March.

• Get it right the first time. A rejection does not put you back a week — it puts you back to the start of the queue. The great majority of the delay we see in practice is rework, not IRS processing.

Because the published timescales change, we have deliberately not quoted a number here. Ask us and we will tell you what the IRS is currently indicating.

ITINs expire

This surprises people who obtained an ITIN years ago and assumed it was permanent. An ITIN that is not used on a US federal tax return for three consecutive years expires, at the end of the third year.

An expired ITIN does not stop you filing, but the return is processed as though the number were missing: credits and exemptions tied to it can be disallowed, and any refund is held until the number is renewed. Renewal uses the same Form W-7 and the same documentation requirements — which means the same passport problem, and the same solution.

If you hold an ITIN you have not used recently, it is worth checking its status before filing season rather than discovering the problem inside it.

Why applications get rejected

The recurring causes are mundane, which is precisely why they are worth listing:

• A notarised passport copy submitted where the IRS requires an original or an authority-certified copy.

• A reason code that does not match the supporting documents attached.

• A name on the W-7 that does not match the passport exactly — including the treatment of middle names and initials.

• A missing tax return where no valid exception applies.

• An incomplete foreign address, or a mailing address the IRS cannot deliver to.

None of these are difficult to avoid. They are simply easy to get wrong when it is the first W-7 you have ever seen.

Note: This guide is general information about US tax procedure, not advice on your specific circumstances, and IRS requirements change. Please confirm the position that applies to you before acting — we are happy to do that with you.