Give your business its own number.
An EIN is the nine-digit federal tax ID the IRS issues to your business, the identity it needs to open a bank account, hire, get paid, and file taxes. We prepare and file Form SS-4 for your exact situation, same business day for US founders, and by fax for international founders who have no Social Security Number.
The company exists. It just can't do anything yet.
Your LLC or corporation is formed, the Articles are stamped, and then the bank asks for a number you do not have. Without an EIN your business cannot open its own account, run payroll, take payment through Stripe, or file a federal return. It is the one small step between a company that exists on paper and a company that can actually operate.
So what is this number, and why does everything wait on it? Here's the plain version.
Think of it as a Social Security Number for your business.
An EIN, also called a Federal Employer Identification Number, is the nine-digit ID the IRS assigns to a business, one per entity. It is how the federal government, banks, and payroll systems tell your company apart from you personally and from every other business. The filing itself is short. What matters is getting it done correctly for your situation, because the path is very different depending on whether you have a Social Security Number.
- Open a business bank account, which even a single-member LLC needs its own EIN to do.
- Hire employees or pay contractors, and issue the payroll tax forms that go with them.
- Get paid through Stripe, PayPal, and other processors that ask for a federal ID.
- File federal taxes and start building business credit in the company's name.
- You formed an LLC or corporation, including a single-member LLC.
- You have any W-2 employees or pay 1099 contractors.
- You are an international founder opening a US company and US banking.
- You run a real estate LLC, or a trust or estate that files its own return.
The part that trips up half of founders: the IRS issues EINs at no cost on its own site, but only US founders with a Social Security Number can get one instantly online. Founders without an SSN, most international founders and certain trusts, have to file a paper SS-4 by fax or mail, which the IRS runs four to eight weeks. We prepare and file it either way, and for international founders we obtain the EIN by fax in about one to three weeks. If you are a non-US founder, an ITIN is a separate personal number, not a substitute for the business EIN.
The number is simple. Getting it fast is the trick. Here's the timeline.
Same day with an SSN, about a week or two without one.
The work on your side is a few minutes. The rest depends on the IRS, and on which filing path your situation requires. Here is how it actually runs.
Give us the basics
Entity type, legal name, and the responsible party. That is everything we need to complete Form SS-4 correctly for your specific structure.
We complete the SS-4
We fill Form SS-4 the way the IRS wants it for your entity, including the responsible-party rules that reject a surprising number of do-it-yourself filings.
Filed and issued
If the responsible party has a Social Security Number, we file online and your EIN comes back the same business day, ready to use immediately.
International founders, by fax
Without a Social Security Number, the online tool is closed to you. We file by fax and follow up with the IRS, obtaining the EIN in about one to three weeks instead of the standard four to eight.
Open the bank account, get paid
With the EIN in hand you can open business banking, set up payment processors, run payroll, and file federal taxes under the company.
Short as it is, the SS-4 is easy to get wrong. Here's the handoff.
You give us four facts. We handle the IRS.
Four moves take you from formed to fully operational. You supply the details; we file the form the way the IRS accepts it.
Share the basics
Entity type, legal name, and responsible party. A few minutes, no IRS account or jargon required.
We complete the SS-4
Filled correctly for your structure, including the responsible-party rules that bounce many self-filings.
Submit to the IRS
Online for founders with an SSN, by fax for international founders, with follow-up either way.
Your EIN, in hand
We deliver the number and the IRS confirmation, sealed in your vault for the bank and every filing after.
Get just the number, or line up everything the number turns on.
Just the EIN, or everything it turns on.
The federal number, done right
- Form SS-4 prepared for your entity
- Filed online or by fax, with follow-up
- Works with no Social Security Number
- IRS confirmation stored in your vault
Ready to bank and operate
- Everything in the EIN filing
- Operating Agreement a bank will accept
- Business banking setup guidance
- Compliance calendar so nothing lapses
The IRS charges nothing for an EIN; our fee is for preparing and filing it correctly. See what the filing costs →
Filed and issued. Now your business can actually move.
The moment your business can open its own account.
When the IRS issues the EIN, your company has a federal identity of its own. It can bank, hire, take payment, and file taxes in its own name, cleanly separate from you. We deliver the number and the IRS confirmation letter and seal both in your vault, because the bank, the processor, and every future filing will ask for them.
Cedar & Co. Holdings, LLC
Form SS-4 filed with the IRS. Responsible party and entity details specialist-reviewed before submission.
Mateo built his US company from Bogotá.
No Social Security Number, no US address, and every bank wanted a federal ID first. We filed his SS-4 by fax, had the EIN in twelve days, and he opened US banking and a Stripe account the same week. His company could finally take its first payment.
The steps the EIN turns on next.
Business Banking
The first thing the EIN turns on, and what keeps your liability shield intact.
Learn more →Operating Agreement
The other document a bank asks for when you open the account.
Learn more →S-Corp Election
Once profit is steady, the EIN is what an S-election is filed against.
Learn more →Compliance Calendar
Now that you can file federally, keep every deadline in one place.
Learn more →Identity in hand. Here's the whole road it opens.
The EIN is where the company starts to operate.
It is one of the first stops on a much longer road. Everything that comes after it, banking, hiring, growth, and the eventual exit, already lives on one platform, so you never restart with a new provider.
Form it, number it, bank it, and run it, all inside File.Business. One platform for the whole life of the company, from its first filing to its federal identity to its last.
The questions founders ask about the number.
What is an EIN, and is it the same as a Tax ID?
An EIN, or Employer Identification Number, is the nine-digit federal tax ID the IRS assigns to a business, one per entity. It is also called a FEIN or, loosely, a business Tax ID, and it is the business equivalent of a Social Security Number. It identifies your company to the IRS, banks, and payroll systems. We file Form SS-4 to obtain it for you.
Does a single-member LLC really need an EIN?
In practice, yes. Even though a single-member LLC can sometimes use the owner's Social Security Number for taxes, essentially every bank requires an EIN to open a business account, and you need one to hire, take certain payments, or elect S-corp status later. Using an EIN also keeps your SSN off vendor and payroll forms. It is one of the first things to set up after forming.
The IRS gives EINs for free. Why use File.Business?
The IRS does issue EINs at no cost, and if you have a Social Security Number and time to spare, applying online is straightforward. People use us for two reasons: the SS-4 has responsible-party and entity rules that reject a surprising number of self-filings, and founders without an SSN cannot use the online tool at all. We prepare it correctly and, for international founders, obtain it by fax far faster than the standard timeline.
How long does it take to get an EIN?
With a Social Security Number, we file online and the EIN comes back the same business day. Without one, the IRS requires a paper SS-4 by fax or mail, which it normally processes in four to eight weeks; we cut that to roughly one to three weeks by filing by fax and following up. We give you the realistic window for your situation before we start.
Can I get an EIN without a Social Security Number?
Yes. You do not need an SSN, a US address, or US residency to get an EIN for a US company. The online tool is closed to applicants without an SSN, so the EIN is obtained by filing Form SS-4 by fax, which we handle for you. This is the standard path for international founders, and it is what lets a non-US owner open US banking and payment processing.
Is an EIN the same as an ITIN?
No. An EIN identifies a business; an ITIN is a personal taxpayer number for an individual who cannot get a Social Security Number. A non-US founder may need an ITIN for their own tax filings, but it is not a substitute for the company's EIN, and you do not need an ITIN to obtain an EIN for your business. We can help with both, but they serve different purposes.
I lost my EIN, or already have one. What now?
Each entity gets one EIN and keeps it for life, so you do not apply again. If you have misplaced it, it is on your IRS confirmation letter, a prior tax return, or your bank records, and the IRS can retrieve it by phone. If you are unsure whether your entity already has one, we can check before filing so you do not end up with a duplicate on record.
Do I need a new EIN if my business changes?
Sometimes. The IRS requires a new EIN for certain changes, such as forming a new entity, or an LLC electing to be taxed as a corporation in some cases, but not for a simple name or address change. When you convert or restructure, we flag whether the IRS treats it as a new entity that needs a new EIN, so your tax filings and banking stay consistent.