The IRS does not charge a fee to issue an ITIN. The cost comes from how you apply: doing it yourself costs postage and, if you mail your passport, weeks without it; an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center is free but US-only and by appointment; a Certifying Acceptance Agent or filing service charges a fee, from $197 to $348 at the services we checked on September 14, 2026, and $399 for our done-for-you filing. A rejected application costs the fee again at most services, plus another 7 to 11 weeks.
Does the IRS charge for an ITIN?
No. Publication 1915 puts it in one sentence: the IRS does not charge a fee to obtain an ITIN, however, a person acting as an acceptance agent may charge a fee for their services. The form is free, the decision is free, and the letter that brings the number is free. An IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center reviews the W-7 and authenticates your documents at no charge as well, by appointment, inside the United States.
Everything else on a price list is the cost of getting a correct application in front of the IRS from wherever you are, with your passport in your hands.
What does it cost to do it yourself?
If you are in the US and can reach a Taxpayer Assistance Center, the cash cost is your time. If you are abroad, the cash costs are real: a courier for your original passport to Austin and back, or the fee your passport authority charges to certify a copy, plus the courier for the application. The W-7 instructions say the IRS returns originals within 60 days; if you need the passport for travel in that window, the instructions themselves suggest a Taxpayer Assistance Center or a Certifying Acceptance Agent instead.
The larger cost is the one that does not appear on a receipt. A do-it-yourself application that ticks the wrong reason box, attaches a notarised copy instead of an agency-certified one, or misses the exception documents comes back as a CP567 after 7 to 11 weeks, and the process starts again.
What do Certifying Acceptance Agents and filing services charge?
We read the services' own pages on September 14, 2026 and recorded what they state. Prices, refund terms and turnaround claims are theirs; check the live page before you buy, because they change.
| Route or provider | Price stated | Your passport | Turnaround stated | Refund stated | After the ITIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRS by mail | $0 plus postage | Mailed to the IRS, back within 60 days | IRS: 7 weeks, 9 to 11 in peak season or from abroad | Not applicable | Nothing |
| IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center | $0 | Stays with you | Same IRS timing | Not applicable | Nothing |
| itin.so | $197 Standard, $297 Express | Stays with you (CAA partner) | Preparation within 7 days; IRS 6 to 11 weeks after submission, in their words | 100 percent money back if the IRS rejects, in their words | ITIN only |
| theitin.com | $348 | Stays with you (Certified Acceptance Agent partners, in their words) | Reviews on the page cite 6 to 8 weeks | 110 percent refund policy, in their words | Add-ons such as an LLC and a business address |
| Marketplace sellers (Fiverr) | $50 to $150 | Varies by seller; ask before you pay | Varies | Varies | Nothing |
| American Leverage | $399, one payment; $500 after September 25 | Stays with you: prepared and certified through an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent | We prepare and file; the IRS decides in its own time | Full refund until we file; not refundable after filing | The rest of the base: company paperwork, accounts opened in person, cards |
What hidden costs should you watch for?
- Passport shipping in both directions, and the weeks you cannot travel while it is gone.
- Certified copies from the issuing authority, which some countries charge for and some do not provide.
- A second fee to resubmit after a rejection, unless the service states in writing what happens when the IRS says no.
- Express add-ons that speed up the service's own preparation but change nothing about the IRS's 7 to 11 weeks.
- Tax return preparation sold alongside the ITIN when your situation fits one of the W-7 exceptions and no return is needed.
Ask three questions before paying anyone: does my passport leave me, who reviews the form before the IRS does, and what happens if the IRS rejects it. The answers are worth more than the difference between two prices.
What does a rejection cost?
Time first. The IRS allows 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 in peak season or from abroad, and a rejection uses that time up before you learn anything. Then money: most services charge again to refile, and a do-it-yourself applicant pays the courier again. The IRS itself charges nothing the second time either, and returns your documents within 60 days of the CP567.
Our position on this is simple. If the IRS rejects an application because of an error on our side, we correct it and refile at no charge. That is possible because the application is prepared and certified through a Certifying Acceptance Agent before it goes anywhere near the IRS.
Is paying for an ITIN service worth it?
Not always. If you live in the US, can get to a Taxpayer Assistance Center, have a return to file and are comfortable reading the W-7 instructions, the free route is the right one. The case for paying is stronger when you are outside the US, when your passport cannot leave you, when your situation depends on an exception rather than a return, or when the ITIN is step one of something larger and you want the next steps built on it correctly.
That last case is ours. We do not sell the ITIN as a product; we file it as the first layer of a US financial base, for founders who are not American. The price covers that first layer and nothing else, and the service page says exactly what it includes.
What our {price} covers
- Preparation of Form W-7 from one online form and a high-quality passport scan.
- A check of the reason box, the exception and every document against the IRS requirements before filing.
- Preparation and certification through an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent, so your original passport is never mailed to the IRS.
- Filing, and tracking until the CP565 letter arrives, with updates by email.
- A full refund at any time before we file. Not included: tax return preparation, and the IRS's own processing time, which nobody sells.