What Is the Difference Between an ITIN and an EIN?

The difference between an ITIN and an EIN comes down to who each number identifies. An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is assigned to a person who has to file a U.S. federal tax return but can’t get a Social Security Number. An Employer Identification Number is assigned to a business, trust, estate, or other entity so the IRS can track it separately from the people behind it. Both are nine digits, both come from the IRS, and one person can end up needing both.

What an ITIN Is and Who Needs One

An ITIN is a nine-digit tax-processing number in the format NNN-NN-NNNN. It always starts with a 9.¹ The IRS created it so people with U.S. tax obligations who don’t qualify for an SSN can still report and pay income tax.

You may need one if you are a nonresident alien filing a U.S. return, a resident alien who meets the substantial presence test or green card test, or the spouse or dependent of a U.S. citizen or resident alien without an SSN. Nonresident aliens claiming a tax treaty benefit also use an ITIN for that claim.²

What an ITIN doesn’t do is just as important. It doesn’t authorize you to work in the United States, doesn’t qualify you for Social Security benefits, doesn’t change your immigration status, and isn’t valid identification outside the federal tax system.²

What an EIN Is and Who Needs One

An EIN is also nine digits, but the format is different: XX-XXXXXXX, two digits then a hyphen then seven. The IRS assigns EINs to businesses, tax-exempt organizations, trusts, estates, and other entities.³

You need an EIN if any of the following apply:

You have employees and pay wages.
You operate a corporation, partnership, or LLC, whether or not you have employees.
You file excise, or alcohol, tobacco, and firearms taxes.
You withhold taxes on non-wage income paid to a nonresident alien.
You run a trust (with limited exceptions for certain grantor-owned revocable trusts), an estate, a tax-exempt organization, or a retirement plan.

⁴

Sole proprietors without employees aren’t required to get an EIN; they can file under their SSN or ITIN instead. Many still get one so they don’t have to hand out a personal SSN to every client that needs to issue a 1099.

Side-by-Side at a Glance

The two numbers differ across almost every practical dimension:

Who it identifies: ITIN, an individual; EIN, a business or entity.
Format: ITIN is NNN-NN-NNNN starting with 9; EIN is XX-XXXXXXX.
Purpose: ITIN is strictly for federal tax reporting by people who can’t get an SSN; EIN identifies entities for tax and payroll filings.
Cost through the IRS: both are free.
Expiration: an ITIN can expire after three consecutive years of non-use; an EIN doesn’t expire.
How you apply: ITIN by mailing Form W-7 with a tax return and identity documents; EIN online, by fax, by mail, or by phone from outside the U.S.

How You Apply for Each

ITIN

You apply by filing Form W-7 together with the federal income tax return that requires the ITIN. The two are submitted in the same package, not separately.² You also submit documents proving both identity and foreign status. A valid passport is the only document that stands on its own; without one, you need two documents from the IRS’s accepted list, and they must be originals or certified copies from the issuing agency. Notarized copies are not accepted.⁵

To avoid mailing your passport, you can use a Certified Acceptance Agent, an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center, or a VITA site that offers ITIN services, all of which can authenticate documents so the originals stay with you.⁶ Processing takes about seven weeks, and 9 to 11 weeks during tax season (January 15 through April 30) or for applications sent from abroad.⁷

EIN

The IRS online application issues an EIN immediately. You can use it if your principal place of business is in the United States or a U.S. territory, you’re the responsible party or their authorized representative, and the responsible party has a valid SSN or ITIN.⁸ Otherwise, Form SS-4 can be faxed or mailed, and applicants outside the U.S. can call 267-941-1099.⁹

The IRS charges nothing for an EIN. Third-party sites that mirror the application and charge a fee are not the IRS, and the agency warns about them directly.⁸

Can You Have Both

Yes. An ITIN holder who starts a business can apply for an EIN through the same online process available to anyone else. The IRS online EIN application accepts an ITIN as the responsible party’s taxpayer identification number.⁸

After you have both, they don’t overlap. You use the ITIN on your personal Form 1040 or 1040-NR to report individual income, and the EIN on the business’s employment and excise tax filings. One identifies you; the other identifies the entity.

Credits an ITIN Won’t Get You

Filing with an ITIN lets you report and pay tax, but it excludes you from some credits that require a Social Security Number. You cannot claim the Earned Income Tax Credit with an ITIN.¹ A child with an ITIN rather than an SSN doesn’t qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit; the child must have an SSN.¹⁰ These limits don’t apply to EIN holders because they’re rules about individual filers.

When an ITIN Expires or You Get an SSN

An ITIN expires on December 31 following three consecutive tax years of non-use. A return filed with an expired ITIN is still processed, but refunds and credits are held until it’s renewed.¹¹ Renewal uses Form W-7 with the “Renew an existing ITIN” box checked. EINs don’t expire, so no renewal step applies.

If you later receive a Social Security Number, you must stop using the ITIN and switch to the SSN for all future tax purposes; filing under both is not allowed. You also need to notify the IRS so it can merge your prior records under the new SSN, otherwise wages and withholding reported under the old ITIN may not be credited to you.¹²

1
Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN)
2
Internal Revenue Service. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
4
Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number – Section: Who Needs an EIN
5
Internal Revenue Service. ITIN Supporting Documents
6
Internal Revenue Service. ITIN Acceptance Agent Program
7
Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN
8
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
9
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4
10
Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
11
Internal Revenue Service. How to Renew an ITIN
12
Internal Revenue Service. Additional ITIN Information