A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is an identifying number used for tax purposes in the United States and in other countries under the Common Reporting Standard. In the United States it is also known as a Tax Identification Number (TIN) or Federal Taxpayer Identification Number (FTIN). A TIN may be assigned by the Social Security Administration (SSA) or by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Any government-provided number that can be used in the US as a unique identifier when interacting with the IRS is a TIN, though none of them are referred to exclusively as a Taxpayer Identification Number. A TIN may be:
SSNs are used by people who have or had the right to work in the United States.
ITINs are used by aliens who may or may not have the right to work in the US, such as aliens on temporary visas and non-resident aliens with US income.
EINs are used by employers, sole proprietors, corporations, LLCs, partnerships, non-profit associations, trusts, estates of decedents, government agencies, certain individuals, and other business entities.
Section 6109(a) of the Internal Revenue Code provides (in part) that "When required by regulations prescribed by the Secretary [of the Treasury or his delegate] [ . . . ] Any person required under the authority of this title [i.e., under the Internal Revenue Code] to make a return, statement, or other document shall include in such return, statement or other document such identifying number as may be prescribed for securing proper identification of such person." [3]
Internal Revenue Code section 6109(d) provides: "The social security account number issued to an individual for purposes of section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act [codified as 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(A)] shall, except as shall otherwise be specified under regulations of the Secretary [of the Treasury or his delegate], be used as the identifying number for such individual for purposes of this title [the Internal Revenue Code, title 26 of the United States Code]." [4]
Form 1040, officially, the U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, is an IRS tax form used for personal federal income tax returns filed by United States residents. The form calculates the total taxable income of the taxpayer and determines how much is to be paid to or refunded by the government.
The United States has separate federal, state, and local governments with taxes imposed at each of these levels. Taxes are levied on income, payroll, property, sales, capital gains, dividends, imports, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. In 2020, taxes collected by federal, state, and local governments amounted to 25.5% of GDP, below the OECD average of 33.5% of GDP.
In the United States, Social Security is the commonly used term for the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program and is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The Social Security Act was passed in 1935, and the existing version of the Act, as amended, encompasses several social welfare and social insurance programs.
Tax returns in the United States are reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or with the state or local tax collection agency containing information used to calculate income tax or other taxes. Tax returns are generally prepared using forms prescribed by the IRS or other applicable taxing authority.
A tax lien is a lien which is imposed upon a property by law in order to secure the payment of taxes. A tax lien may be imposed for the purpose of collecting delinquent taxes which are owed on real property or personal property, or it may be imposed as a result of a failure to pay income taxes or it may be imposed as a result of a failure to pay other taxes.
Three key types of withholding tax are imposed at various levels in the United States:
The Employer Identification Number (EIN), also known as the Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) or the Federal Tax Identification Number (FTIN), is a unique nine-digit number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to business entities operating in the United States for the purposes of identification. When the number is used for identification rather than employment tax reporting, it is usually referred to as a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). When used for the purposes of reporting employment taxes, it is usually referred to as an EIN. These numbers are used for tax administration and must not be used for any other purpose. For example, an EIN should not be used in tax lien auction or sales, lotteries, or for any other purposes not related to tax administration.
An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a United States tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is a nine-digit number beginning with the number “9”, has a range of numbers from "50" to "65", "70" to "88", “90” to “92” and “94” to “99” for the fourth and fifth digits, and is formatted like a SSN. ITIN numbers are issued by the IRS to individuals who do not have and are not eligible to obtain a valid U.S. Social Security Number, but who are required by law to file a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
Form W-2 is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax form used in the United States to report wages paid to employees and the taxes withheld from them. Employers must complete a Form W-2 for each employee to whom they pay a salary, wage, or other compensation as part of the employment relationship. An employer must mail out the Form W-2 to employees on or before January 31 of any year in which an employment relationship existed and which was not contractually independent. This deadline gives these taxpayers about 2 months to prepare their returns before the April 15 income tax due date. The form is also used to report FICA taxes to the Social Security Administration. Form W-2 along with Form W-3 generally must be filed by the employer with the Social Security Administration by the end of February following employment the previous year. Relevant amounts on Form W-2 are reported by the Social Security Administration to the Internal Revenue Service. In US territories, the W-2 is issued with a two letter territory code, such as W-2GU for Guam. Corrections can be filed using Form W-2c.
A gift tax, known originally as inheritance tax, is a tax imposed on the transfer of ownership of property during the giver's life. The United States Internal Revenue Service says that a gift is "Any transfer to an individual, either directly or indirectly, where full compensation is not received in return."
In the United States of America, an Enrolled Agent (EA) is a tax advisor, who is a federally authorized tax practitioner which is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Enrolled Agents represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax issues that include audits, collections, and appeals.
The United States federal government and most state governments impose an income tax. They are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allowable deductions. Income is broadly defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and trusts may be taxable on undistributed income. Partnerships are not taxed, but their partners are taxed on their shares of partnership income. Residents and citizens are taxed on worldwide income, while nonresidents are taxed only on income within the jurisdiction. Several types of credits reduce tax, and some types of credits may exceed tax before credits. Most business expenses are deductible. Individuals may deduct certain personal expenses, including home mortgage interest, state taxes, contributions to charity, and some other items. Some deductions are subject to limits, and an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) applies at the federal and some state levels.
Form W-9 is used in the United States income tax system by a third party who must file an information return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It requests the name, address, and taxpayer identification information of a taxpayer.
Tax protesters in the United States have advanced a number of arguments asserting that the assessment and collection of the federal income tax violates statutes enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law by the President. Such arguments generally claim that certain statutes fail to create a duty to pay taxes, that such statutes do not impose the income tax on wages or other types of income claimed by the tax protesters, or that provisions within a given statute exempt the tax protesters from a duty to pay.
In tax administration in the United States, backup withholding is the sending of a portion of a payment to a tax authority instead of to the payee. This applies to the US IRS and the tax authorities of some states. For the IRS, it applies to some payments reported on Form 1099 which must be submitted to the IRS by financial institutions and businesses making certain income payments. Factors that necessitate backup withholding include:
The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses forms for taxpayers and tax-exempt organizations to report financial information, such as to report income, calculate taxes to be paid to the federal government, and disclose other information as required by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). There are over 800 various forms and schedules. Other tax forms in the United States are filed with state and local governments.
A tax protester is someone who refuses to pay a tax claiming that the tax laws are unconstitutional or otherwise invalid. Tax protesters are different from tax resisters, who refuse to pay taxes as a protest against a government or its policies, or a moral opposition to taxation in general, not out of a belief that the tax law itself is invalid. The United States has a large and organized culture of people who espouse such theories. Tax protesters also exist in other countries.
In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, codified as
. The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent agency of the United States government. Although the original purpose for the number was for the Social Security Administration to track individuals, the Social Security number has become a de facto national identification number for taxation and other purposes.The Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) is an identification number that all paid tax return preparers must use on U.S. federal tax returns or claims for refund submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Anyone who, for compensation, prepares all or substantially all of any federal tax return or claim for refund must obtain a PTIN issued by the IRS.
A Registered Tax Return Preparer is a former category of federal tax return preparers created by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).