Do you need an ITIN or a US bank account to buy a US home?

The short answer

You can buy a US home without a Social Security number and without a US bank account at the moment you decide to buy. Neither is a legal condition of ownership for a foreign buyer. They show up later, as practical requirements: the lender wants an identification number to run its credit check, and the funds for the purchase have to sit in a US account before closing.

Three different things get mixed up in this question, and it helps to keep them apart. A Social Security number is issued by the Social Security Administration and is tied to working in the United States. An ITIN is a tax number issued by the IRS. A US bank account is a service that a bank decides whether to offer you. Each has its own rules, and each is covered below.

Social Security number: a visitor cannot get one

The Social Security Administration issues numbers to people who are authorized to work in the United States. For a noncitizen without work authorization its operating manual allows a number only for a valid nonwork reason, and it names two: a federal law that requires the number in order to receive a federally funded benefit, or a state or local law that requires it for public assistance. Owning a home is not one of them.

So if you live in Europe and buy a holiday home or an investment, you will not have a Social Security number and you cannot apply for one. That is the reason the ITIN exists, and the reason mortgage rules have a way round it.

What an ITIN is, and what it is not

The IRS describes an ITIN as a nine-digit number for people who need a US taxpayer identification number for federal tax purposes but are not eligible for a Social Security number. It is a processing number for tax paperwork. It does not give you any immigration status, it does not allow you to work, and it cannot be used outside the federal tax system. You cannot hold an ITIN and a Social Security number at the same time: if you later receive a Social Security number, you stop using the ITIN and tell the IRS.

Who applies

You apply if you have a federal tax purpose and no Social Security number. The IRS gives examples such as a nonresident alien who must file a US return or claim a tax treaty benefit, and a nonresident alien who is subject to withholding on rental income. The Form W-7 instructions also list foreign persons with a US home mortgage that is subject to mortgage interest reporting, and parties to a disposition of US real property by a foreign person.

Who should not apply

Do not apply if you are a US citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or anyone authorized to work in the United States, since you are eligible for a Social Security number instead. If a Social Security application is pending, the instructions say to wait for the Social Security Administration's answer before filing Form W-7.

When you need one when buying

Buying a home does not by itself require an ITIN. The need arises with a tax event: a US tax return, treaty benefits on rent, or a sale. The foreign national loans guide explains why rental income and a later sale bring US tax rules into play. The exception that lets you apply without attaching a tax return for a home mortgage points to Form 1098, the mortgage interest statement, as the supporting document. The instructions do not say whether the loan alone is enough, and a Form 1098 normally comes only after a loan is running. How and when to apply is a question for a US tax adviser, not for this page.

How the application works

The form is Form W-7. There are three practical points from the IRS instructions, revised December 2024.

• Documents. You send original documents or copies certified by the issuing agency. A passport on its own is enough. Without one you need at least two documents that establish both identity and foreign status. Everything must be unexpired when you submit it.
• Where it goes. By post to the IRS ITIN Operation in Austin, Texas, in person at a designated IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center, or through a Certifying Acceptance Agent. An agent can check your documents and return them straight away, so your passport does not have to travel by post.
• How long. The IRS says to allow about seven weeks. In the busy season from 15 January to 30 April, and for applications sent from abroad, allow nine to eleven weeks.

An ITIN also lapses: it expires on 31 December of the third consecutive tax year in which it is not on a US federal tax return. If you hold one you do not use, check its status before you rely on it.

What a lender asks for

If you borrow, the lender collects an identification number so it can obtain a credit report. The federal rule on mortgage applications lists the Social Security number for that purpose, and its official interpretation covers your case: where a consumer has no Social Security number, the creditor may use whatever unique identifier it uses to obtain a credit report, and collecting a tax identification number from a foreign national counts. That is why the number can be an ITIN or another identifier, and why the answer depends on the lender.

Fannie Mae's Selling Guide does not turn this into a requirement either way. It says the lender must determine the status of a non-US citizen borrower using the documentation it considers appropriate, and that the lender warrants the borrower is legally present. It does not mention an ITIN. We do not name any lender that accepts one, because no neutral source does. What a lender will want from you, including your credit history, is a question to put to each lender before you apply.

US bank account: what the law says, and what to ask

A US bank is required to run a written customer identification programme. For a non-US person it must obtain at least one of the following: a taxpayer identification number, a passport number and country of issuance, an alien identification card number, or the number and country of issuance of another government-issued document that shows nationality or residence and carries a photograph. On the regulatory side, then, a passport can be enough.

Beyond that it is the bank's own decision. We have found no neutral source that says which banks open accounts for non-residents, whether they can do it remotely, or what they ask for, so we say nothing about that. Ask the bank before you travel. The money for closing is paid to the title company or closing agent handling the transaction, so ask it what it accepts. A lender may still want an account for the loan payments, which the down payment and cash to close guide covers.

Moving the money without being scammed

Fannie Mae's rules say that money for the down payment, closing costs or reserves that comes from abroad must be exchanged into US dollars, held in a US or state-regulated financial institution, and verified there before the loan closes. So the transfer is part of the timetable, and it is also where fraud happens.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes the scam this way: criminals break into the email of a real estate professional, watch the transaction, then send a convincing message that looks like it comes from your agent or settlement agent, with new wiring instructions. Its advice, from a June 2019 post, is simple:

• Name two trusted people at the start, such as your agent and the settlement agent, and note their phone numbers in advance.
• Confirm wire instructions by phone using those saved numbers, never a number or link in an email.
• Distrust late changes to the closing process or to the account details sent by email.
• Do not email financial information. Email is not a secure channel.
• Agree a code phrase known only to you and your trusted contacts.

If it goes wrong, contact your bank or wire-transfer service at once and ask for a recall, and file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. The CFPB's post reports a 1,100 percent increase in these scam reports between 2015 and 2017 and an estimated loss of about $1 billion in 2017. Those figures are old, and we use them only to show that this is a known and long-running problem.

The order of steps

The sequence below keeps the slow things first. It is a general order, not advice for your case.

1. Decide whether you borrow. With a mortgage the lender sets the identification requirements. Without one, the title company and your tax adviser are the people to ask.
2. Ask lenders in writing which identification number they need from a foreign borrower and which loan programme they would use.
3. Ask a US tax adviser whether and when an ITIN makes sense for you, then apply with Form W-7 early, because processing takes weeks.
4. Ask the bank whether it opens accounts for non-residents and what it requires, if you want an account.
5. Agree the closing contacts and their phone numbers before any money moves.
6. Transfer the funds early, in dollars, to the account you have verified by phone, and keep the statements from your European account.

Questions people moving from Europe ask

Continue your research

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