Questions, Answered

It is a nine-digit number the IRS gives a business so it can be told apart from every other business. People also call it a Federal Tax ID. You need one before a bank will open a business account for you, before you can put anyone on payroll, and before you can file most business returns.

If you have employees, if you are a corporation or a partnership, if you file employment or excise tax returns, or if you run a trust or estate, then yes. A one-person business with no staff can often trade on the owner's own Social Security number — but most banks will still ask for an EIN before opening an account in the business's name.

No. We are an independent company with no connection to the IRS or any other government body, and nothing on this site is issued or endorsed by them. We prepare and file your application; the IRS decides and issues the number.

You are paying for the work around the form, not for the number. Reading the SS-4 instructions, deciding which box your entity falls under, phrasing the answers the way the IRS expects, and dealing with anything that comes back. If you would rather do that yourself, apply directly at IRS.gov and it costs nothing — we would say so either way.

Yes. Form SS-4 has a section, line 18, for naming a third-party designee. That is a formal role the IRS provides for: the designee may complete the form, sign it in that capacity, answer questions about it and receive the number. Ticking the box on our form is what appoints us.

Only what that line covers, and only for this application. We may prepare and file your SS-4, answer the IRS's questions about it, and receive the EIN. We cannot act for you on any other tax matter, and the authorisation does not carry on afterwards.

There are three speeds: Standard at $99, Express at $149 and Rush at $199. The price shown at checkout is the whole price and nothing is added afterwards. There is no subscription and no renewal.

Only how quickly your form is filed. Standard goes within seven business days, Express within three, Rush inside four working hours. The form, the check before filing and the delivery of the number are identical in all three — you are buying a place in the queue.

Preparing your Form SS-4 from the answers you give, a read-through by a person before anything is filed, filing with the IRS as your designee, the EIN and the IRS confirmation emailed to you, and a reference you can use to check the status.

No. One payment, taken once, for the speed you chose. We do not charge for a status check, for a copy of your confirmation, or for answering a question by email.

By credit or debit card. The payment is handled by Stripe inside the page; your card number goes to them and never reaches our servers. We are told the payment succeeded and nothing more.

We come back to you, work out what the IRS objected to, and refile at no further cost. Most rejections trace to one answer contradicting another, which is what the check before filing is meant to catch.

Yes, within the terms set out on our refund page. In short: before we file, a refund is straightforward; after filing, it depends on what has happened and we will tell you plainly where you stand.

The entity's legal name and address, the name and Social Security or tax ID number of the responsible party, the date the business started or the entity was created, and a rough idea of what the business does. Nothing beyond what Form SS-4 asks for.

Under ten minutes for most people. You only see the questions your entity type needs, so a sole proprietor's form is noticeably shorter than a corporation's.

Our entity guide sets out all ten with what each protects you from and what it costs in tax and paperwork. If you are between two of them, that is a question for an accountant rather than for us — picking the wrong structure is expensive to undo.

Yes. Your answers are saved on your own device as you type, so closing the tab or losing your connection costs you nothing. Reopen the page and you carry on where you stopped.

If you have not paid yet, go back and change it. If you have, email us straight away with your reference number. Before your form is filed we can correct almost anything; afterwards it depends on what changed.

Yes. The responsible party needs an SSN, an ITIN or an existing EIN, and international applicants without any of those can still be issued a number. Tell us your situation by email before you start and we will say whether we can help.

Because Form SS-4 requires the responsible party to be identified that way. It is used to complete your application and for nothing else. It is encrypted where it is stored and is never put into an email, to you or to us.

The speed you pick governs when we file: seven business days, three, or inside four working hours. How quickly the IRS then issues the number is its own timetable, and nobody can promise that part — but the wait after filing is usually short.

By email, to the address on your application. You get the EIN itself and the IRS confirmation letter, Form CP-575, as a PDF you should keep.

Yes. Keep the reference number from your confirmation email; the tracking page will show the current status against it and your email address.

Monday to Friday, 7AM to 10PM EST. We are closed at weekends and on federal holidays, and the clock on your chosen speed only runs on working days.

No, and anyone telling you otherwise is overselling. Rush is a promise about our end: your form leaves us within four working hours. The IRS's own processing is outside anyone's control.

Everything you type reaches us over an encrypted connection. Once here, your answers are encrypted again before they are written down, under a key kept outside the database — so a copy of the database on its own gives up nothing.

Only the people filing your application, and the IRS. We do not sell your details, we do not rent them, and we do not pass them to anyone who is not part of getting your EIN.

We never have them. Stripe collects the card inside our page and confirms the payment to us. There is nothing on our side to keep.

Long enough to file it, answer any IRS query about it and deal with a later question from you. It is not kept indefinitely, and the detail is on our privacy page.

Yes. It works from the moment it is issued, for opening accounts, hiring and filing. A few systems take a short while to recognise a brand-new number, which is normal.

Yes — an EIN is exactly what a bank asks for when opening a business account. Most also want your formation documents, so bring those too.

No. An EIN belongs to the entity for good. It is not reissued or reused, even if the business later closes.

You can, if you run more than one entity — each separate business needs its own. What you cannot do is hold several for the same entity.

Probably not. If your existing entity has an EIN, that number stays with it. You would only need a new one if you have created a genuinely new entity, or changed structure in a way the IRS treats as new — a sole proprietorship becoming an LLC, for instance.

Not strictly, but it helps. You can issue 1099 forms under your own SSN as a sole proprietor, though most people prefer an EIN so their Social Security number is not sitting on every form they send out.

No, and this catches people out. An EIN is federal identification. Forming an LLC or corporation happens at state level and is a separate step, usually done first. We do the EIN, not the formation.

No. Licences and permits come from your state, county or city and depend on what you do and where. An EIN identifies you to the IRS; it does not authorise you to trade.

Almost certainly, if you are an LLC, corporation or partnership. State registration and federal identification are different things and you generally need both.

By email, at info@einapplynow.com, or through the form on our contact page. Include your reference number if your question is about an application already started — it saves a round trip.

Usually within a couple of hours during working hours. Anything sent overnight or at the weekend is answered when we are next in.

No — we are email only, and we would rather say so than list a number nobody answers. Everything we do is in writing, which also means you have a record of what was agreed.

Choose Rush at checkout and your form leaves us within four working hours. If something has gone wrong with an application already in progress, email us with the reference number and put URGENT in the subject line.