Important Reminders
Third party designee. You can check the “Yes” box in the “Third Party Designee” area of your return to authorize the IRS to discuss your return with a friend,
family member, or any other person you choose. This allows the IRS to call the person you identified as your designee to answer
any questions that may
arise during the processing of your return. It also allows your designee to perform certain actions. See your income tax package
for details.
IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) for Aliens. If you are a nonresident or resident alien and you do not have and are not eligible to get a social security number (SSN),
you must apply for an
ITIN. For details on how to do so, see Form W–7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, and its
instructions. It usually takes 4 – 6 weeks to get an ITIN.
If you already have an ITIN, enter it wherever your SSN is requested on your tax return.
Note.
An ITIN is for tax use only. It does not entitle you to social security benefits or change your employment or immigration
status under U.S. law.
Earned income credit (EIC). Generally, if you are a resident of a U.S. possession, you cannot claim the EIC on your U.S. tax return. To claim the EIC,
your home (and your
spouse's if filing a joint return) must have been in the United States for more than half the year. If you have a child, the
child must have lived
with you in the United States for more than half the year. For this purpose, United States includes only the 50 states and
the District of Columbia.
Special rules apply to military personnel stationed outside the United States. For more information on the credit, see Publication
596, Earned
Income Credit (EIC).
Change of address. If you change your mailing address, be sure to notify the Internal Revenue Service using Form 8822, Change of Address. Mail
it to the Internal Revenue Service Center for your old address (addresses for the Service Centers are on the back of the form).
Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of
missing children
selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children
home by looking at the
photographs and calling 1–800–THE–LOST (1–800–843–5678) if you recognize a child.
This publication discusses how to treat income received in U.S. possessions on your U.S. tax return.
It also discusses whether you are required to file a return with the possession. American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana
Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico have their own independent tax departments. If you have income from one of these
possessions, you may
have to file a U.S. tax return only, a possession tax return only, or both returns. This generally depends on whether you
are considered a resident of
one of the possessions. In some cases, you may have to file a U.S. return, but be able to exclude income earned in a possession
from U.S. tax.
If you need additional information on U.S. taxation, write to:
If you need additional information on your tax obligations in a U.S. possession, write to the tax department of that possession.
Their addresses
are provided under the individual headings for each possession.
Comments and suggestions.
We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions.
You can e-mail us at *taxforms@irs.gov. Please put “Publications Comment” on the subject line.
You can write to us at the following address:
Internal Revenue Service
Individual Forms and Publications Branch
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I
1111 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20224
We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number,
including the area code, in
your correspondence.
