ITIN

• An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number allows people who do not qualify for a Social Security number to file tax returns. ITINs don’t work as identification; they’re only for tax reporting purposes. All ITINs start with the number nine and have nine digits. Both aliens living in and outside the U.S. are eligible for ITINs, since both groups can have tax responsibility.
  
  

Application

• If you don't have a Social Security number, file form SS-5 with the Social Security Administration. You can submit it via mail or in person. If you aren't eligible for the Social Security number, fill out form W-7 and attach it to your tax return. Returns attached to ITIN applications need to be processed a bit differently, so when you’re ready to file send your documents to:
  
  Internal Revenue Service
  Austin Service Center
  ITIN Operation
  P.O. Box 149342
  Austin, TX 78714-9342
  
  

Dependents

• When filing a tax return with a W-7, claim any dependents to which you’re entitled. Your children, assuming they live with you and you pay their support, are your dependents. Any dependent who isn’t your child must be a citizen of the United States, Canada or Mexico currently living in one of the countries. That means if your dependent is a United States citizen but has been living in England with you for the past year, they are not an eligible dependent. If you provide more than half the support for your parents, siblings, aunts, uncles or grandparents, you can claim them as a dependent. To claim other people, like a girlfriend, the person in question must live with you for an entire year.
  
  

Benefits

• When you claim a dependent, your taxable income lowers because of the dependent exemptions. It also makes you eligible for the childcare tax credit. One of you may be able to file as Head of Household, which gives your larger income amounts allowable under each tax bracket, if it’s more favorable than Married, Filing Jointly. While you may not be allowed access to all credits and deductions, depending on your living situation, you are entitled to take dependents when filing as a married couple with ITINs.