These are the steps I took to get an EIN from the LLC Guide site:
An Employer Identification Number, also called a Federal Tax Identification Number, is how the IRS identifies your company. Basically, an EIN is a Social Security number for your Business.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, you need an EIN if you:
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Started a new business
Hired or will hire employees, including household employees
Changed the legal character or ownership of your organization (for example, you incorporate a sole proprietorship or form a partnership)
Purchased a going business
Created a trust
Created a pension plan as a plan administrator
Are a foreign person and need an EIN to comply with IRS withholding regulations
Are a withholding agent for taxes on non-wage income paid to an alien (such as an individual, a corporation, or a partnership)
Are a state or local agency
Are a federal government unit or agency
Formed a corporation
Formed a partnership
Administer an estate formed as a result of a person’s death
Represent an estate that operates a business after the owner’s death.
However, the reason you need an EIN is so that you can open a business checking account at your local bank. Banks will just NOT give you an account without one. It would be mighty hard to have a checkbook IRA without a checkbook. Luckily, getting an EIN is fast and easy.
Applying for an EIN is a free service offered by the Internal Revenue Service. Beware of Web sites on the Internet that charge for this free service. There is absolutely no need for anyone to pay to obtain an EIN.
You can apply for an EIN in a number of ways, including Fax, Mail, Toll-Free over the phone, or online. Since you are reading this on my website, I assume you have internet access, so that’s the way we will apply.
How to Apply Online
The Internet EIN application is the preferred method for customers to apply for and obtain an EIN. The process takes less than 10 minutes, and after the application is completed, the information is validated while you wait and an EIN is issued immediately.
The online process is pretty easy to follow, but here is some info you will need to complete the application:
1. You must have your social security number to use the online application.
2. You are applying for a Limited Liability Company (LLC) business structure.
3. You are probably creating a single member LLC, so when it asks for the number of members, you will probably enter “1”.
4. When they ask why you need the EIN. Select “Banking Purposes”.
5. When they ask, “Who is the Responsible Party of the LLC?” Select “Individual”. That is you, by the way.
6. For now, when they ask, you will select, “I am one of the owners, members, or the managing member of this LLC.”
7. When they ask where your LLC will be located, you can fill in your home address, unless you intend to have an actual business address.8.
Review your information. If you have made any mistakes, you will have to hit the re-start button and start all over again. It should take less than 3 minutes for the IRS to issue an EIN number to you via the internet. Print out a copy for your records and you are ready to go.
See you next time.
-DePriestlite