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Amazon, eBay or Etsy ask for tax details before releasing payments. For a foreign person that means Form W-8BEN, and the form asks for a taxpayer identification number.
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Formation, EIN, ITIN through an IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agent, the company and personal returns, and the bookkeeping underneath them.
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ITIN from MexicoYour ITIN from Mexico, with an IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agent.
If you live in Mexico and have a tax obligation in the United States, the ITIN is the number the IRS will ask you for. Here is what changes when you apply from Mexico: the tax treaty, the documents that work and how the process runs from there.
From Mexico
Three things that depend on living in Mexico.
Tax treaty
The United States has an income tax treaty with Mexico.
Depending on the type of income and on where you are a tax resident, the treaty can reduce the tax the United States withholds from you. Claiming a treaty benefit usually requires a taxpayer identification number, and for an individual without a Social Security number that number is the ITIN. Whether it applies to you is decided case by case.
Documents
Your INE voter card is on the IRS list.
The IRS accepts a foreign voter registration card, such as the INE credential, as proof of identity and of foreign status, but there is a detail almost nobody mentions: when you applied for it you chose whether your address was printed on the front. The IRS requires a national identity document to show name, photograph, address, date of birth and expiration date, so a credential without the printed address does not qualify on its own. Take a look at yours. Only a passport works as a stand-alone document; with anything else you need two. For dependents, Mexican passports do not need the U.S. entry stamp the IRS requires from dependents of other countries.
Your tax number
Your RFC does not replace the ITIN.
Your RFC is thirteen characters: four letters from your name, six digits for your date of birth and three more, the homoclave, that the SAT assigns so no two are alike. It works before the SAT and nowhere else. The IRS keeps its own register, and when you have to file there, report U.S. income or sign a U.S. tax form and you are not eligible for a Social Security number, the number it asks for is the ITIN. Neither number replaces the other.
Common situations
When the ITIN shows up if you live in Mexico.
Your life straddles the border
Proximity means many situations mix income from both countries. What decides whether you need an ITIN is not how often you travel: it is whether you have something to file with the IRS and cannot get a Social Security number.
You file with your spouse or claim dependents
Here Mexico has a concrete advantage: a Mexican dependent’s passport does not need the U.S. entry stamp, and the INE credential is on the IRS list of accepted documents.
The treaty, in numbers
What the treaty with Mexico actually changes.
These are the rates the United States withholds at source under the treaty with Mexico, in force since 1 January 1994, with the dividend protocol since July 2003. To be given the treaty rate instead of the general 30%, you hand the payer Form W-8BEN with a taxpayer identification number, and for someone who cannot get a Social Security number that number is the ITIN.
| Type of income | Without a treaty | With the treaty |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends | Without a treaty30% | With the treaty10%, or 5% if you hold at least 10% of the voting shares |
| Interest | Without a treaty30% | With the treaty4.9% on bank and insurance loans and on bonds traded on a recognised exchange; 10% in several bank and credit-sale cases; 15% otherwise |
| Royalties | Without a treaty30% | With the treaty10% on all of them: patents, copyright, know-how, industrial equipment, film and TV |
| Private pensions | Without a treaty30% | With the treaty0%: taxed only where you live |
The treaty also exempts students: payments you receive from abroad for your maintenance and studies, and scholarships, are not taxed in the United States. Rates from the IRS treaty table; the IRS updates it from time to time, so check the current version before you rely on a number: Tax Treaty Table 1
How it works
From Mexico, without guessing what the IRS wants.
Big Skill Solutions is an IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agent. That lets us verify your identity documents and certify the application ourselves, instead of you mailing your originals to the IRS and waiting for them to come back.
We tell you the exact rule, because it matters from abroad: the interview can be done by video call, but the documents cannot be checked on a screen. We have to receive and examine your originals, or copies certified by the agency that issued them, by an embassy or consulate of your country, or by a U.S. embassy or consulate. Before you send anything, we agree with you how they reach us and how they come back.
From Mexico the routes are three: the agency that issued the document, a Mexican consulate, or a U.S. embassy or consulate. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and the U.S. consulates around the country do notarial services for any nationality, by appointment only and at 50 dollars per seal, with limited availability and no emergency slots. If you are already travelling to the United States, doing it in person with us solves the whole document question in one sitting.
- ✓We check your case firstThe questionnaire tells you whether you need a return and which W-7 reason applies, before you spend anything.
- ✓Video interviewIn Spanish or in English, at a time that works from where you are.
- ✓A complete fileIncomplete documentation is the most common reason for rejection. We review everything before filing.
- ✓And the tax return, if one is neededWe are also an IRS Registered Tax Preparer: the W-7 and the return go out together.
Questionnaire
Which case is yours?
Five questions. We tell you which Form W-7 reason applies, whether you need to file a return, and which documents you will be asked for. At the end you can request a quote for your specific case.
The questionnaire needs JavaScript. If you cannot enable it, write to info@big-skill.com and we will review your case with you directly.
Frequently asked questions
What people in Mexico ask us.
My INE credential does not show my address. Does it still work?
Not on its own. The IRS requires a national identity document to show name, photograph, address, date of birth and expiration date, and the printed address on the INE credential is optional: you chose it when you applied. A current passport avoids the problem, because it is the only document that proves identity and foreign status by itself.
Do I have to travel to the United States to get an ITIN from Mexico?
No. The interview with a Certifying Acceptance Agent can be done by video call. What the rules do require is that the agent receives and examines your original documents, or copies certified by the issuing agency, by an embassy or consulate of your country, or by a U.S. embassy or consulate.
Can I use my RFC instead of an ITIN?
No. Your RFC only works before SAT. For the IRS you need a U.S. number: a Social Security number if you are eligible for one, and the ITIN if you are not.
Does the tax treaty with Mexico mean I do not pay tax in the United States?
Not necessarily. A treaty can reduce withholding or assign the right to tax some income to one country, but it depends on the type of income and on your residency, and some benefits have to be claimed on a form or a return. We review it for your case.
Does an ITIN give me a work permit or immigration status?
No. An ITIN exists solely to meet tax obligations with the IRS. It does not authorize work, it grants no immigration status, and it carries no entitlement to Social Security benefits.
Is a tax return always required?
That is the general rule: Form W-7 is filed attached to a federal return. The only exceptions are the five IRS Exceptions, and each one requires specific documentation from a third party, such as a bank, a lender or a withholding agent.
The five Exceptions, the 13 documents the IRS accepts and the rest of the rules are in the complete guide: ITIN, explained
Would you rather we looked at it with you?
We work Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 17:00 Panama time, which is 7:00 to 16:00 in Mexico City.