Filing without a Social Security number
You can file taxes with an ITIN
No Social Security number doesn’t mean you can’t file — or shouldn’t. If you earn income here but aren’t eligible for an SSN, the IRS gives you an Individual Taxpayer Identification Numberso you can file a return, follow the law, and claim the credits you’re owed. Filing is frequently worth real money.
The rule
“An ITIN is a 9-digit number the IRS issues if you need a U.S. taxpayer identification number for federal tax purposes, but you aren’t eligible for a Social Security number (SSN).”
IRS — Individual Taxpayer Identification Number irs.gov
Who needs an ITIN
If you have a U.S. tax filing requirement — you earn wages here, you’re self-employed, you rent out property — but you can’t get a Social Security number, you use an ITIN in place of one. It exists purely so you can meet your tax obligations. Filing with an ITIN is not a report to immigration: the IRS issues these numbers so people can pay what they owe and be seen to have done so.
How to get one — Form W-7, with your return
You apply on Form W-7, and you usually file it together with your federal tax return— the IRS says to “include the tax return in your ITIN application package” rather than file it separately. You have three ways to submit it:
In person at an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC). Free. The center verifies your passport and hands it back at the appointment, so you don't mail the original.
Through a Certifying Acceptance Agent (CAA). A CAA may charge a fee, but likewise authenticates your passport and returns it on the spot — no mailing your only ID overseas.
By mail to the IRS in Austin, Texas. The one route where you send original or certified documents in the mail. Use it only if the in-person options aren't practical.
IRS — How to apply for an ITIN irs.gov · About Form W-7 irs.gov
Which credits you get — and which you don’t
This is where filing pays off, and where the rules are easy to get wrong. An ITIN opens some tax credits and closes others, and one of them changed for the 2025 tax year.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
NoAn ITIN never qualifies you for the EITC — the credit requires a Social Security number valid for work.
Child Tax Credit (CTC / ACTC)
Filer needs an SSNNew for 2025: the person filing must have a valid SSN to claim the CTC — an ITIN filer no longer can, even for a child who has an SSN. On a joint return only one spouse needs the SSN (the other may hold an ITIN), and the child must still have an SSN.
Credit for Other Dependents (ODC, $500)
YesStill open to ITIN filers. You (and your spouse) may hold an ITIN, and the dependent may have an ITIN, SSN, or ATIN — often the credit for a dependent who can't get an SSN.
Education credits (AOTC / Lifetime Learning)
YesThese accept an SSN or an ITIN issued by your return's due date, so an ITIN filer paying tuition can still claim them.
EITC ineligibility: IRS ITIN page· CTC / ODC rules: 2025 Instructions for Schedule 8812
The expiration trap
An ITIN can go stale. If it isn’t used on a federal tax return for three consecutive years, it expires on December 31 after that third year. An expired ITIN doesn’t vanish — you renew it — but filing with a lapsed one can hold up your refund and block certain credits until the renewal clears. If you haven’t filed in a few years and are about to, check whether your ITIN needs renewing first.
IRS — How to renew an ITIN irs.gov
The move
Don’t self-select out. Filing is frequently worth real money.
Get free helpfrom a VITA site or an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent who handles Form W-7 — many verify your passport in person so you never mail the original. Bring your W-7 and your return together, keep the ODC and education credits in view, and renew your ITIN if it’s been sitting unused.