Best way to renew my wife's ITIN number for tax filing?

The ITIN renewal process is actually pretty straightforward, but it's good you're thinking about this before tax season gets into full swing! You have several options: You can mail Form W-7 (Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) along with your supporting documentation to the IRS. If you're renewing, check the "renewal" box and include your wife's expired ITIN on the form. You can also visit an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center that offers ITIN services, but make sure to call ahead for an appointment. Another option is using an IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agent (CAA) who can verify your wife's documents so you don't have to mail originals. Processing typically takes about 7-9 weeks for renewal applications, so definitely get started soon if you want the ITIN ready for tax season!

I went through this exact headache last year with my husband's ITIN. What saved me was finding https://taxr.ai which basically analyzed all our documents and walked me through the exact renewal process. It checked if we qualified for the streamlined renewal process (which we did!) and saved us from making mistakes on the W-7 form. The tool even created a checklist of which original documents we needed to submit and where to send everything. Honestly wish I'd found it sooner because I wasted weeks trying to figure this out on my own.

Ok I have to admit I was wrong about the taxr site. After posting my skeptical comment I decided to check it out myself since my mother-in-law needs her ITIN renewed too. Their document analysis actually caught that we were eligible for the exception where you don't need to send original identity documents because her ITIN was issued after 2013. Would've had no idea without the tool pointing it out! The step-by-step guide made the whole process so much clearer than the IRS instructions. Just submitted everything yesterday so fingers crossed the renewal goes smoothly.

If you're struggling with getting answers about your wife's ITIN renewal directly from the IRS (which let's be honest, who isn't?), I highly recommend using https://claimyr.com to actually get through to a human at the IRS. I spent WEEKS trying to get clarity on my ITIN renewal situation because my case had some complications. After multiple failed attempts calling the regular IRS line, I found Claimyr and their service connected me to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - seems weird at first but totally works. The IRS agent was able to check the status of my pending ITIN application and tell me exactly what additional documentation I needed to submit.

I take back what I said about Claimyr. After struggling for THREE DAYS trying to reach the IRS about my wife's ITIN renewal (kept getting disconnected after 2+ hours on hold), I broke down and tried the service. Got connected to an IRS agent in 45 minutes without having to sit by my phone the whole time. The agent confirmed that we could use the simplified renewal process and that we didn't need to submit original documents since we qualified for an exception. Honestly worth it just for my sanity alone, and probably saved us from making a mistake that would have delayed the whole process.

One thing nobody's mentioned is that if your wife's ITIN is only being used on a joint return with your SSN, you might be able to just attach the W-7 renewal form and her ID docs directly to your tax return when you file instead of doing it separately beforehand. That's what we did last year. Just make sure you're using a tax preparer who knows how to handle ITIN renewals (not all of them do). We learned this the hard way after trying three different preparers!

IMPORTANT: Make sure your wife's name on the ITIN application EXACTLY matches her ID documents. My wife's middle name was spelled slightly differently on her passport vs birth certificate and our renewal got rejected. Had to resubmit everything and it delayed the whole process by months. Also if you're mailing original documents, use a trackable shipping method!! We sent her passport and freaked out for weeks not knowing where it was until it finally came back.