How to Get a Free Employer Identification Number From the IRS

An EIN is a free federal tax identification number from the IRS

An Employer Identification Number, commonly called an EIN or federal tax ID, is a nine-digit number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service to identify businesses, tax-exempt organizations and other entities for federal tax purposes.

The number is formatted like 12-3456789.

The IRS issues EINs free of charge. Its current guidance specifically warns applicants about websites that charge for obtaining an EIN and states that you never have to pay a fee for the number itself.

Employers, corporations, partnerships and many other entities require an EIN

The IRS states that you need an EIN if you:

• have employees;
• must pay employment taxes;
• must pay certain excise taxes;
• withhold tax on income, other than wages, paid to a nonresident alien; or
• operate a type of organization for which an EIN is required.

Entities commonly requiring an EIN include:

• partnerships;
• corporations;
• many limited liability companies;
• tax-exempt organizations;
• estates;
• trusts, subject to specific exceptions;
• retirement plans and certain IRAs;
• real estate mortgage investment conduits; and
• farmers' cooperatives.

A business that does not need an EIN for federal tax purposes may still request one for a legitimate banking or state-tax purpose.

Create the legal entity before requesting its EIN

If you are establishing a legal entity such as an LLC, partnership or corporation, the IRS instructs you to register or form that entity with the appropriate state before applying for its EIN.

The same principle applies to tax-exempt organizations: do not obtain the EIN before the organization has been legally formed.

Using the final legal name and structure helps prevent mismatches between state formation records and the federal tax account.

Eligible domestic applicants can receive an EIN immediately online

The IRS online EIN application is the fastest route for eligible applicants.

If the application is approved, the IRS issues the EIN immediately online.

The application is free and must be completed in a single session. The IRS does not allow you to save a partially completed EIN application and return later.

The session expires after 15 minutes of inactivity, after which you must start again.

The online tool is limited to qualifying domestic applicants

You can use the online EIN application when the IRS eligibility requirements are satisfied. Current IRS guidance requires that:

• the organization is domestic and formed or created in the United States or U.S. territories;
• its principal place of business is in the United States or U.S. territories;
• the applicant is the responsible party or an authorized representative; and
• the responsible party has a valid SSN or ITIN.

You cannot use the online tool when the principal place of business is outside the United States or U.S. territories.

The EIN application is not available online around the clock

The IRS currently lists the online EIN tool's availability in Eastern Time as:

• Monday through Friday: 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. the following day;
• Saturday: 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; and
• Sunday: 6:00 p.m. to midnight.

Availability can change, so applicants should use the current IRS application page when ready to submit.

The IRS wants the real person who ultimately controls the entity

The EIN application requires a responsible party.

The IRS defines this as the person who owns, controls or exercises effective control over the entity and who directly or indirectly manages its funds and assets.

Examples include:

• a corporation's principal officer;
• a partnership's general partner;
• a tax-exempt organization's principal officer;
• a trust's grantor, owner or trustor; and
• an estate's executor, administrator, personal representative or other fiduciary.

Except for government entities, the responsible party must generally be an individual rather than another entity.

A temporary formation representative is not allowed to obtain the EIN as responsible party

The IRS specifically states that nominees are not authorized to apply for an EIN.

A nominee may assist during business formation but does not have sufficient control over the entity's assets to be treated as the responsible party.

Identify the actual responsible party before applying.

Prepare the legal entity and responsible-party details first

The EIN application requests information that establishes the entity's federal tax account.

Form SS-4 includes fields for information such as:

• legal name of the entity or individual;
• trade name, when different;
• mailing address;
• physical address;
• county and state of the principal business location;
• responsible party's name and taxpayer identification number;
• entity type;
• reason for applying;
• date the business started or entity was acquired;
• closing month of the accounting year;
• expected employees, when applicable; and
• principal business activity.

Enter the legal name consistently with the organization's formation or registration records.

Some symbols must be changed when entering a legal business name

IRS systems accept letters, numbers, hyphens and ampersands in EIN business names.

Current IRS guidance instructs applicants to adjust certain other symbols. For example, a period may need to be spelled out or replaced with a space, a slash is replaced by a hyphen and an apostrophe is removed.

The IRS also limits street-address fields to 35 characters, so use essential details and standard postal abbreviations.

Domestic Form SS-4 fax applications take about four business days

If the principal place of business is in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia and you cannot use the online tool, you may fax Form SS-4 to the IRS at 855-641-6935.

If you provide a return fax number, the IRS says it will generally fax a cover sheet containing the EIN back in about 4 business days.

The IRS no longer returns a copy of Form SS-4 itself annotated with the assigned EIN.

Mail Form SS-4 when immediate issuance is not necessary

For applicants whose legal residence, principal place of business, principal office or agency is in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia, the current mailing address is:

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: EIN Operation
Cincinnati, OH 45999

The IRS states that mailed applicants generally receive the EIN in approximately 4 weeks.

The Form SS-4 instructions recommend mailing the application at least 4 to 5 weeks before you will need the EIN.

Businesses outside the United States use phone fax or mail instead of the online tool

If your principal place of business is outside the United States, you cannot use the standard online EIN application.

International applicants can apply by calling the IRS at 267-941-1099, which is not a toll-free number, Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The person calling must be authorized to receive the EIN and answer questions about Form SS-4.

International applicants may alternatively submit Form SS-4 by fax or mail.

International EIN applications use separate fax numbers

When the applicant has no legal residence, principal place of business or principal office or agency in any U.S. state or the District of Columbia, current IRS fax numbers are:

• 855-215-1627 when faxing from within the United States; or
• 304-707-9471 when faxing from outside the United States.

The international mailing address is:

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: EIN International Operation
Cincinnati, OH 45999

Form SS-4 has instructions for foreign responsible parties without a U.S. taxpayer ID

The online application requires the responsible party's SSN or ITIN, but the paper Form SS-4 rules address some foreign applicants differently.

The current Form SS-4 instructions state that if the responsible party does not have and is ineligible to obtain an SSN or ITIN, the applicant may enter foreign or N/A on the responsible-party taxpayer-ID line.

This exception does not make such an applicant eligible for the domestic online EIN tool.

Do not submit repeated EIN applications on the same day

The IRS online application currently limits a responsible party to one EIN application per day.

IRS general EIN guidance also warns against duplicate applications and states that a business entity should have only one EIN.

Submitting another application simply because an earlier request is still being processed can create duplicate EIN problems.

Save the IRS assignment notice and protect the number

At the end of an approved online application, save or print the EIN assignment confirmation.

The EIN becomes the entity's permanent federal tax identification number and should be retained with the organization's tax and formation records.

Do not use the business EIN in place of your personal SSN or ITIN for matters that require an individual taxpayer identification number.

Most business uses are immediate but some IRS systems need up to two weeks

The IRS states that a newly issued EIN can be used immediately for most business needs, including:

• opening a business bank account;
• applying for business licenses; and
• filing a tax return by mail.

However, the IRS advises allowing up to 2 weeks before the new EIN will work for:

• the IRS Taxpayer Identification Number Matching Program;
• electronic filing of a tax return; and
• electronic tax deposits and payments.

This waiting period is separate from EIN issuance itself.

An EIN does not replace state formation licenses or tax registrations

An EIN identifies an entity for federal tax purposes. It does not by itself create an LLC or corporation, register a trade name, issue a state business license or automatically complete state tax registration.

Those obligations are handled separately by the applicable state or local agencies.

Likewise, an EIN is different from the federal Unique Entity ID and SAM.gov registration used by entities that want to compete for federal contracts or directly apply for certain federal awards. Businesses pursuing that route can review how to register an entity in SAM.gov for federal government contracts.

An EIN identifies the organization but does not approve tax exemption

A nonprofit or other tax-exempt organization needs an EIN, but obtaining the number does not by itself make the organization federally tax-exempt.

The IRS specifically distinguishes an EIN from tax-exempt status and from state tax-exemption numbers.

Tax-exempt organizations should also avoid obtaining the EIN before the organization is legally formed because IRS filing obligations may begin after formation and EIN assignment.

Ownership or entity structure changes can require a new number

The IRS states that a business generally needs a new EIN when its ownership or legal structure changes.

You generally do not need a new EIN merely because you change:

• the business name;
• the business address; or
• the responsible party.

Whether a particular conversion, acquisition or ownership change requires a new EIN depends on the entity type and transaction.

Use Form 8822-B after the EIN has been issued

If the business's responsible party, address or location changes after EIN issuance, use Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party - Business.

The IRS requires a change in responsible party to be reported within 60 days.

This update procedure changes the IRS record; it does not require obtaining a replacement EIN merely because the responsible party or address changed.

Recover the existing number instead of applying for another one

If you previously received an EIN but cannot find it, do not apply for a new EIN simply to replace the lost number.

The IRS recommends first checking:

• the original EIN assignment notice;
• business bank records;
• state or local licensing records; and
• previous business tax returns.

If you still cannot locate it, an authorized person can call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933. After identity verification, the IRS can provide the number to someone authorized to receive it.

An EIN cannot be canceled but the IRS account can be deactivated

An assigned EIN remains permanently associated with the entity.

The IRS states that it cannot cancel an EIN. If the entity no longer needs the number, the IRS can instead deactivate the associated account after applicable filing and payment obligations are satisfied.

Avoid duplicate numbers fees and incorrect responsible-party information

• Paying a private website for the number: the IRS issues EINs for free.
• Applying before forming an LLC or corporation: complete legal entity formation first.
• Listing a nominee as responsible party: the IRS requires the person who actually controls the entity.
• Using the online tool for a foreign principal business location: international applicants use phone, fax or mail.
• Entering inconsistent legal-name information: use the entity's actual formation or registration name and follow IRS formatting rules.
• Submitting several applications: use only one method for an entity and respect the daily application limit.
• Applying again after losing the EIN: recover the existing number instead.
• Assuming the EIN completes every business registration: state formation, licenses, tax registrations and federal award registrations are separate procedures.
• Discarding the confirmation notice: save the EIN assignment documentation permanently.

Apply directly through the IRS whenever you qualify

For an eligible domestic applicant, the most direct route is the IRS online EIN application: there is no fee and an approved EIN is issued immediately.

If online filing is unavailable for your situation, Form SS-4 provides official fax and mail alternatives, while businesses principally located outside the United States can also use the IRS international telephone procedure.

Use the IRS directly, keep the confirmation notice and avoid duplicate applications.