What an EIN is
The Employer Identification Number is the IRS’s identifier for a business — the business equivalent of a Social Security Number. Despite the name, it isn’t only for employers: LLCs, corporations, partnerships, trusts, estates and non-profits use it too. It goes on the business’s tax returns and IRS correspondence, and banks, payment processors and marketplaces use it to verify the business.
You’ll see it called an EIN, an “EIN number”, a federal tax ID number or a FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number). They all mean the same nine-digit number.
EIN vs. SSN vs. ITIN
| Number | Identifies | Issued by |
|---|---|---|
| EIN | A business or other entity | IRS |
| SSN | An individual eligible to work in the U.S. | Social Security Administration |
| ITIN | An individual who needs a U.S. tax number but can’t get an SSN | IRS |
A non-U.S. founder often has neither an SSN nor an ITIN — and doesn’t need either to get an EIN for their LLC. Our ITIN vs. EIN guide explains when you’d want both.
Who needs an EIN
According to the IRS, you need an EIN if you:
- have employees;
- will need to pay employment, excise, or alcohol, tobacco and firearms taxes;
- withhold taxes on income, other than wages, paid to a non-resident alien.
You also need one to operate a partnership, a limited liability company (LLC), a corporation, a tax-exempt organization, an estate or most trusts, among other entities. A U.S. LLC wholly owned by one foreign person also files Form 5472 with the IRS every year, which requires an EIN — and U.S. banks, Stripe, PayPal, Amazon and most other platforms ask for the business’s EIN before they open or activate an account.
How to get an EIN
You apply to the IRS with Form SS-4. Which route you can use depends on where the business is based and whether the person applying has an SSN or ITIN:
- Online — available when the entity was formed in the U.S., its principal place of business is in the U.S. or a U.S. territory, and the responsible party has an SSN or ITIN. The EIN is issued at the end of the session.
- Fax — the main route for non-U.S. founders. See how to fax Form SS-4 from outside the U.S.
- Phone — for businesses with no legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office or agency in the U.S.: +1 267-941-1099, Monday–Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time.
- Mail — the slowest route, about 4 weeks by the IRS’s own estimate.
The IRS issues only one EIN per responsible party per day, across all application methods. Applying twice for the same business can leave you with two EINs, so use one method. For a foreign applicant, small mistakes on the SS-4 — especially lines 7b, 9a and 10 — are the usual cause of delays. Our SS-4 line-by-line guide covers each one, and how long an EIN takes sets out realistic timelines.
After you have it
The IRS confirms the number with a CP 575 notice. Keep it safe: if it’s lost, the replacement is a Letter 147C (see CP 575 vs. Letter 147C). Foreign owners then have a few yearly obligations, covered in after you get your EIN.
If you’d rather not handle the SS-4 yourself, our EIN application service prepares it, files it with the IRS and follows up until your EIN is assigned.