This video was published by the IRS.

The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number program, or ITIN for short, is for people who have a filing or reporting requirement but who are not eligible for a Social Security number. The law now requires ITINs issued before 2013 to expire. If your ITIN is expiring or has already expired, now is the time to renew it. If you don’t, your refund will take longer next year and you may lose some important tax benefits.

So be sure to renew it soon if you need to file a tax return. You can do that by mailing a completed Form W-7 and the required identification documents and federal tax return to the IRS.

New this year, if the middle digits of your ITIN are 88, your ITIN number will expire at the end of this year. In addition, ITINs with middle digits 90-99 (with the exception of 93) that were assigned to you before 2013 and have not already been renewed, will also expire before the end of this year. All of these ITINs can be renewed now, along with any ITINs that expired in earlier years. You can find a list of all expired ITINs on IRS.gov/ITIN.

You only need to renew your ITIN if you need to file a U.S. Federal Tax Return. Also, any ITIN that isn’t used on a tax return at least once in three years will also expire at the end of the third year. This rule may affect you, but it can also apply to your spouse and dependents. If it does and you need to file a tax return, be sure to submit Form W-7.

When you renew, you will need to send certain documents to the IRS. Please carefully review the list of acceptable documents in the Form W-7 instructions. Only send the IRS original identification documents or a certified copy of these documents by the issuing agency.

Keep in mind that rather than mailing original documents, especially your passport, you may choose to work with a Certifying Acceptance Agent (CAA), authorized by the IRS to authenticate your documents. You can also make an appointment to get help at select IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC).

For more information on the ITIN program and where you can get help, go to IRS.gov/ITIN.