Do you need an ITIN for PayPal?

Your PayPal account belongs to the country you live in

PayPal ties each account to the country you picked when you opened it. PayPal says you can’t change your address to a different country, because the laws that apply to accounts differ by country. If you move abroad, you close the account and open a new one. If you have homes in two countries, you can hold an account in each, but only one of them can be a business account.

That’s why many people outside the US never see a US tax question on PayPal. They have a PayPal account in their own country, and customers in the US simply pay into it. Where your customers live doesn’t turn you into a US taxpayer.

What PayPal asks non-US users for (Certificate of Foreign Status / W-8)

When PayPal does ask a non-US user about US tax, it asks you to certify your foreign status, not to give a US number. It asks account holders with “US indicia”, meaning a US address, a US bank account or another US connection on the account, once they approach the reporting threshold of more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions for goods and services in a calendar year.

The CFS is generally valid for three years, and PayPal emails you before it needs renewing. You upload a completed form in the Notifications section of your account, or through PayPal’s customer service. PayPal says that if you don’t certify, payments for goods and services may be delayed and you could be subject to backup withholding of 24%.

A Form W-8BEN asks for the tax number your home country issued you, known as your foreign TIN. The IRS instructions require a US TIN on it only in narrow cases.

When an ITIN is actually required

An ITIN matters on PayPal in three situations.

You’re a US person without an SSN. PayPal has to report US account holders who pass the thresholds, so it asks them for a US TIN, which PayPal says can be an EIN, SSN or ITIN. If you’re a resident alien for tax purposes and aren’t eligible for an SSN, the IRS says your ITIN is your tax number. What an ITIN is explains who qualifies, and ITIN vs SSN covers the difference.

PayPal presumes you’re a US person. PayPal also asks holders of non-US accounts for a TIN when they’re US persons, or when PayPal presumes they are because of US details on the account. If you aren’t a US person, the answer is the Certificate of Foreign Status, not an ITIN. PayPal asks non-US persons who later become US persons to tell it within 30 days.

You have to file a US return anyway. PayPal doesn’t ask for this, but the IRS might. For freelancers abroad it often doesn’t apply: the IRS generally treats income from personal services as coming from the place where you do the work, so a freelancer working from home in another country usually has non-US income. If you do have to file Form 1040-NR, you’ll need an ITIN for it.

Tax holds and Form 1099-K

PayPal places goods-and-services payments on a tax hold for at least 60 days when a US taxpayer passes the IRS threshold without confirming their tax status. Friends and Family payments aren’t affected. PayPal says adding your US tax ID removes the hold within 30 minutes. Non-US customers release it by completing the Certificate of Foreign Status.

PayPal files a Form 1099-K for US tax residents who receive more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions for goods and services in a calendar year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 restored that federal threshold. Some states set lower ones: Vermont, Massachusetts, Virginia and Maryland use $600, and Illinois uses more than $1,000 across 4 or more transactions. PayPal also files one for any customer who was subject to backup withholding, whatever their total.

Whether or not you get the form, the IRS says you must report the income on your return.

US PayPal business accounts for US LLCs: EIN vs ITIN

A US LLC’s tax number is its EIN, and PayPal lists the EIN as an accepted TIN. Which tax form the account carries depends on how the IRS treats the LLC:

The first row surprises people. The IRS Form W-9 says that if the owner of a disregarded entity is a foreign person, the owner must complete a Form W-8 instead of a W-9, “even if the foreign person has a U.S. TIN.”

PayPal’s help pages don’t list every document it can ask for when verifying a US business account. Check the prompts in your account, or ask PayPal, before applying for an ITIN just for this. And as with Stripe, the LLC’s EIN doesn’t cover your personal US tax return if you have to file one. ITIN vs EIN explains how the two numbers fit together.

Adding a TIN in PayPal

If PayPal asks for your US tax number, you can add it from your account settings:

1. 1

   Open settings

   Select the Settings icon next to Log out.

2. 2

   Choose "Add your SSN"

   The label says SSN, but PayPal’s help says a TIN can be an SSN, EIN or ITIN.

3. 3

   Enter and save

   Enter your details exactly as the IRS has them, then select Save.

You can also use the link in PayPal’s email, choose your tax status from the list, and enter your TIN, name and business type.

PayPal checks the number with the IRS. It lists three common reasons for a failure: the number is invalid or incomplete, the name or TIN on the account doesn’t match IRS records, or the business name differs from the legal name registered with the IRS. For an ITIN, the IRS says to use your name as you entered it on line 1a of your Form W-7. If verification fails, PayPal asks you to fill out an equivalent Form W-9, and says a continuing mismatch can lead to an IRS B-notice later in the year.

Next steps

If you live outside the US, you probably don’t have to do anything unless PayPal asks, and then the answer is the foreign-status certification. If you live in the US and can’t get an SSN, apply for an ITIN with Form W-7, usually together with your tax return. The IRS doesn’t charge for it and says to allow 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 weeks between January 15 and April 30. How to apply for an ITIN covers each step and the documents to send.