An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to individuals who are required to have a U.S. taxpayer identification number but who do not have, and are not eligible to obtain a Social Security Number (SSN) from the Social Security Administration (SSA) . ITINs are issued regardless of immigration status because both resident and nonresident aliens may have a U.S. filing or reporting requirement under the Internal Revenue Code. The ITIN is a nine-digit number that always begins with the number 9 and is formatted like an SSN (NNN-NN-NNNN) . An ITIN is required for individuals who need to report income but are ineligible to obtain an SSN. To apply for an ITIN, an individual must submit a Form W-7, “Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number,” with a U.S. tax return.