I think my husband & I need ITIN for our short term rental property in the US. We are Canadian. I think there is a treaty benefit. How do we fill in the form. What does the treaty do for us. Our expenses will be in Canada & US but all income will be US. How is this claimed - both countries, just one? Thanks.:confused:

If you have rental income from U.S.-based property, that income IS subject to U.S. income taxes.

You must file Form 1040NR with a Schedule E to detail the rental property expenses and income.

If you BOTH buy the property, you EACH will have to file your own Form 1040NR with a Schedule E, because, as non-resident aliens, you CANNOT file jointly.

To get an ITIN, you need to file Form W-7 when you first file the Form 1040NR. If you need the ITIN in order to make the property purchase, you can file the Form W-7 by itself with a memo from the real estate broker noting the requirement for the ITIN.

We are in the same situation, but have received a response from the IRS telling us that our application was denied. When we applied we checked box A. Is there another box that we should have checked in order to get the number approved?

Rodrena:

Checking off item a (Nonresident alien required to get ITIN to claim tax treaty benefit) was incorrect, because you are NOT claiming a treaty benefit.

You needed to check Item b (Nonresident alien filing a U.S. tax return). You will need to re-submit WTH the tax return (Form 1040NR with Schedule E). Contact me at [email protected] if you need professional help.