Administration of the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number Program

During this audit, we issued an e-mail alert to the IRS recommending that the Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, implement systemic RTS processes to reject ITIN renewal applications when the required tax return is not provided.

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should review the 6,688 ITINs TIGTA identified and take appropriate actions to ensure that these ITINs do not remain active unless the individual can demonstrate a continued tax filing need.

Establish processes to identify ITINs that are not being used for a tax treaty purpose and update IRS data to reflect the current reason for which the ITIN is being used (to meet a tax return filing requirement, claim a refund, etc.).

Require individuals who indicate that they have a tax treaty need for an ITIN to provide documentation to support their need (e.g., tax return claiming a treaty benefit, proof of excludable income, withholding agent documentation, etc.).

Review the 716 ITINs we identified to determine why these ITINs were not identified by systemic programming for deactivation due to nonuse and modify the programming as appropriate.