Opening bank account with tax ID
 

Does anyone have any recent experience of opening a US bank account with a tax ID and passport instead of the usual SS# and drivers license? I've read about people doing this but I don't know if things are still the same, or if it's ever been possible in New York. People who report success always seem to be in places like Florida or North Carolina, I never heard of anyone doing it up here.

And what are the chances of being able to open a business account with a tax ID?

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

If you can show some sort of proof that you are running a business you should be able to open a business account.

If you shop around you will find that many banks do not require an SSN if someone does not have one (meaning that people who are here without permission to work are allowed to open accounts). Is it an ITIN you have, or a business EID?

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

My account is in New York, but it's foreign status. Are you using a US
address or a foreign address? If you are using a foreign address, you
should be okay (can't comment on business account, but personal
account would be fine). If you have a US address, they are more strict
about what you provide. I really can't comment on that.

S.

On Aug 6, 1:09 am, Antioxident <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Does anyone have any recent experience of opening a US bank account with
> a tax ID and passport instead of the usual SS# and drivers license? I've
> read about people doing this but I don't know if things are still the
> same, or if it's ever been possible in New York. People who report
> success always seem to be in places like Florida or North Carolina, I
> never heard of anyone doing it up here.
>
> And what are the chances of being able to open a business account
> with a tax ID?
>
> --
> Posted viahttp://britishexpats.com

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

I opened an account with a tax ID number in Chicago but it was in 2003! Sorry don't have much more up to date info. They said that when I got my SSN to go in and they would make the change which is what I did.

Maggie

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

SSN is not needed to open a Bank account, shop around.

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

My 18 year old daughter has just opened a bank account with PNC using her ITIN. She had to take her passport and one other form of ID (she used her student ID card).
It took less than 15mins.

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

As far as I know the Patriot act doesn't say anything about requiring banks to ask for a SS# and says that a tax ID is sufficient, so I guess it's down to the bank's discretion. I went into a bank today to ask what I needed to open an account and she said two forms of ID, like a passport and a drivers license. Unfortunately I only have a passport, no license, so it's a problem. When I said "is a tax ID a valid form" she said "no, that's what you'd put for your SS#, I'm talking photo ID", which is a promising insinuation I guess.

She said she would ask the manager if a passport was OK in certain circumstances but he wasn't around, so I said I'd go back another day. Hmmm, what can I do about the lack of a second photo ID? Is there any kind of ID I can get over here as a non-resident?

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

How about your passport as the second ID?

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

Our "town hall" will make photo ID's, however they don't give a date of birth and someone told me that would be a problem.
I think our driving test centre will issue photo ID's but I'm not 100%...might be worth checking.

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

My passport is my only photo ID, and banks generally require two. Tax ID or SS# is required also.

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

It is definitely legal in New York. You can even get a credit card with
Bank of America with only an ITIN. For Citibank I and my husband only need one photo ID. We used driver's licenses.

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

Washington Mutual just told me today that they only require one photo ID too. Someone told me they don't even require an ITIN#, but I would dispute that.

The bad news is, if I want an ITIN# now, I have to either wait until it's time to file taxes for 2007, or else file a return for 2006. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet and fork out a few grand. Oh well, I guess it all looks good when it comes to green card time anyway.

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

On Aug 7, 12:44 am, Antioxident <[email protected]>
wrote:
> > How about your passport as the second ID?
>
> My passport is my only photo ID, and banks generally require two. Tax ID
> or SS# is required also.

What forms of ID do you use in your country? If you're a non-resident
(as your other posts indicate), you used a passport to come into the
US. Unlikely for you to get either a State ID or Driver's License if
you're not a resident or have any valid "stay" status (VWP and B1/B2
are not entitled to either in most states, but I'm not versed on all
those laws. I think you said New York... I have a bank account in New
York without an SSN or ITIN, but I used three forms of ID to open it).

Suggestions would be, federal ID from your country, birth certificate,
health insurance cards, etc. I don't know what else I can suggest, I
was just trying to come up with the obvious. While in the US, I was
able to get a library card (in the presence of a friend who was
actually a resident in that county, I needed something to do with my
free time since he didn't have a computer/internet at home, and there
was no book store). I don't think a library card would hold much
weight... I also managed to have two different checking accounts while
in the US. One was solely in my name (opened with passport, driver's
license, recent bank statements, proof of employment, proof of
address, I brought overkill just in case). The other I was a joint-
holder on with just my passport, but the bank was upset that I didn't
have an SSN or ITIN (uh, cuz I didn't live in the US, but the other
account holder did, so that's probably why, I might have been okay on
my own).

That's my experience as a non-resident... I also don't have either an
ITIN (not needed for checking accounts with no interest), or SSN.

S.

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

On Aug 6, 8:23 pm, jumping doris <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Our "town hall" will make photo ID's, however they don't give a date of
> birth and someone told me that would be a problem.
> I think our driving test centre will issue photo ID's but I'm not
> 100%...might be worth checking.

If the OP is not a resident (as in, doesn't even have a place of abode
in that state), that will be the first problem.

The second problem is the need to prove legal status. Those laws vary
from state to state, so no comments on that. He will have to explain
his situation to someone at the DMV to see if he qualifies for either
a driver's license or a state ID.

S.

Re: Opening bank account with tax ID
 

On Aug 7, 7:16 pm, Antioxident <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Washington Mutual just told me today that they only require one photo ID
> too. Someone told me they don't even require an ITIN#, but I would
> dispute that.

That's pretty good, since where I opened my account I was told as a
Canadian Resident (your mileage may vary), I needed three IDs (but I
think she only copied two), plus three months worth of recent bank
account statements in good standing to open the account. Of course, I
was "foreign status" for my account, so that's not the same as being a
US resident. They tend to be a little more strict on people claiming
foreign status who use US mailing addresses.

> The bad news is, if I want an ITIN# now, I have to either wait until
> it's time to file taxes for 2007, or else file a return for 2006. Guess
> I'll have to bite the bullet and fork out a few grand. Oh well, I guess
> it all looks good when it comes to green card time anyway.

Just a few questions... are you here on a Visa? if so which one? Or
VWP? Or Canadian Citizen? Do you have residence in New York, or are
you planning to open your business account as foreign status (non-
resident)?

For the ITIN, do you use a US residential address (or PO Box?) Or do
you apply for that on the basis of being foreign status and earning
interest on investments? One easy way to get an ITIN is to attempt to
open a CD or savings account that requires either an SSN or ITIN, and
the bank will issue you a letter stating you require an ITIN, so you
are eligible to apply. From the look of the forms, those aren't given
out freely. I just decided to keep all my investments in Canada, the
US checking account for me, is just to pay for stuff directly, and
spend money shopping while in the US. It's also a good venue for me to
turn my $100 in US coin into cash bills for spending (the exchange
rate sucks, but I'm frugal, I also come up with over $100 US in coin
per month, so that's $8 a month for keeping my currencies separate).

S.