Prospective tenant "has Tax ID but no SSN". What does it mean?

Question

Hello,

Prospective tenant informed me her mother who will be living with her (and submitting an app as well) "doesn’t have a social security actually it’s just a tax ID." I've not heard of this before and was hoping to group might be able to shed some light on what this might mean so I can be informed while I wait for their apps to come through tomorrow.

My understanding was Tax ID's were allocated for businesses, not individuals? Hoping for your insight.

Thank you in advance,Carlin

Account Closed · Answer

@Carlin A Guarneri

You may want to ask if the person has an ITIN # or a TIN#?

Here's a little bit from the IRS on ITIN:

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tin#itin

And a good article on tax numbers in general:

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/tax-id-employer-id-397572

An ITIN is for someone who can't get an SSN

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

She might be referring ti an ITIN which is issued by the IRS to enable collecting income tax from the individual. You won't be able to background or credit check this individual, for me that would be a no; but make your own decision.

Carlin A Guarneri · Answer

Hmm okay, thank you for the insight. I would be concerned about the background check more than the credit check as long as her daughters credit comes back okay and her income covers our criteria. Background and criminal though is important. Any tips?