W9, W7, and getting an ITIN

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goldstone
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed May 29, 2019 11:27 am

W9, W7, and getting an ITIN

Post by goldstone »

My daughter has recently moved to the US. Her husband has an H1b visa and she and their two kids are H4s.

She has investment accounts in Canada and the broker is asking her to complete a W9 form. The W9 asks for an ITIN which she does not yet have. The form instructions say that if you do not have an ITIN then to apply for one and comment that the ITIN is applied for.

To apply for an ITIN she has to complete a W7 but that can normally only be done when filing a tax return.

Aside from the issue of her Canadian accounts it would be very helpful for her to obtain an ITIN as soon as possible to facilitate many things such as obtaining a credit card. The W7 does provide some exceptions to allow an immediate application. Exception 1c is if she has a deposit account requiring IRS reporting. Would she qualify for this exemption simply by opening an interest bearing savings account with her bank ? Exception 1d is similar, being for required IRS reporting on other income streams. Would she qualify for 1d based on the request from her Canadian broker ?

I realise that these are pretty detailed questions but I have seen in previous threads that some posters have great knowledge of this sort of thing. Thanks for any help or advice you can provide.
nelsona
Posts: 18314
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Re: W9, W7, and getting an ITIN

Post by nelsona »

First, be careful that an ITIN is NOT equivalent to an SSN for credit purposes. Using an ITIN when applying for credit will NOT work, and can even be viewed as fraudulent. ITINs are strictly for federal and state tax purposes.
Unfortunately, her ability to get and build US credit will be impossible until she qualifies for an SSN. H4s and TDs are really second-class persons when it comes to credit, driver's licenses, etc.

To your question, 1(c) would apply. 1(d) would seem to suggest that income will not be released without the ITIN, which is not the case for the Cdn firm. Good luck getting the required letter from the investment firm. The request will likely stall the W-9 process, it will stall the process, probably long that she file the W-7 with her joint tax return in the spring.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
goldstone
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed May 29, 2019 11:27 am

Re: W9, W7, and getting an ITIN

Post by goldstone »

Thanks Nelsona.

You made me smile with your comment that it might be hard to make any progress before her tax filing next Spring.

Ax you say, H4s are second class. If fact, my daughter has said that the system more or less regards her as an undocumented alien.

I do have another question about her situation which I will pose in another thread.
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