How to Open a Bank Account With No Social Security Number

To open a bank account without a social security number, a person must obtain an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) from the government. Under federal regulations, this form of identification may be accepted by banks as a legitimate identifier for prospective customers without a social security number. Typically, banks prefer social security numbers. The reason banks need to officially verify the identity of a prospective customer is because they have a legal duty to prevent money laundering and fraud. They also must file 1099 tax forms with the IRS, disclosing any interest they have paid to their customers. A U.S. Treasury Department regulation states that banks may accept ITINs instead of social security numbers. Typically, people without social security numbers are immigrants. Although having an ITIN does not change an immigrant's legal status, it does allow the IRS to collect taxes from those eligible to work.

Things You'll Need

• IRS Form W-7
• Legal address
• Valid passport, or two of the following:
• State ID; driver's license; U.S. issued visa
• Tax returns (there are exceptions to this requirement)

Instructions

1. Find out if you are eligible for the ITIN. If you do not qualify for a social security number, and if you are a non-resident or resident alien filing a tax return, or a dependent of a resident or non-resident alien, you qualify for an ITIN.

2. Go to the Internal Revenue Service, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number Web site (link below) and click on the various links to get answers to frequently asked questions about ITIN (if you do not have an internet connection, call the IRS: 1-800-829-1040 and ask them to send you the information). Roughly half way down in the document you will find a pink link that will take you to the W-7 application form.

3. Fill out the two-page form and enclose a notarized copy of your passport (you may send the original and it will be returned within 60 days), or notarized copies of two other eligible forms of identification. Include your tax return unless you fall within one of the exceptions listed on page 4 of the attached instructions.

4. Here is what the IRS cites as one reason you may fall within an exception to filing a tax return: "Frequently, third parties (such as banks and other financial institutions) which are subject to information reporting and withholding requirements, will request an ITIN from you to enable them to file information returns required by law. If you are requesting an ITIN for this reason, you may be able to claim one of the exceptions described below."

5. Once you receive your ITIN, take it to a bank and try to use it to open an account. Some banks may still be resistant to accepting the ITIN as valid identification, but if you know the law, you may be able to persuade them otherwise.

6. Tell the bank that you are aware that under a treasury department regulation addressing money laundering, identity and accounts (the precise citation for the law is 31 CFR 103.121(b)(i)A)(4)(ii) - see link below), an ITIN is an acceptable form of identification for those without a social security number. The law states as acceptable forms of identification. . . "For a non-U.S. person, one or more of the following: a taxpayer identification number; passport number and country of issuance; alien identification card number; or number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard."

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to have more than your INIT when you go to the bank to open an account. Most banks will also require at least one more piece of identification, such as a passport, driver's license, birth certificate or other means of double-checking your identity. Note, too, that the law states that banks can open accounts for a person without an INIT if the person provides proof that he is in the process of applying for an INIT. In that case, other forms of identification will be needed until the person receives the INIT and shows it to a bank representative.

Resources

• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
• Internal Revenue Service, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number