What Is a Federal Employee Tax ID Number?
A Federal Employee Tax ID number is also known as an Employer Identification Number or a Federal Tax Identification Number. It is the number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service to business entities, much like a social security number, for businesses to report their income and pay applicable taxes. Once numbers are assigned, they are never used again, also like a social security number.
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Federal Employee ID Number
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An Employee ID Number, or EIN, is a number assigned by the IRS to identify businesses. Basically, an EIN is like a social security number for a business. Prior to 2001, the prefix of an EIN indicated what region of the United States the business was located. However, after 2001, the numbers are only indicative of the region that assigned the number, which does not necessarily relate to the location of the business.
How to Get an EIN
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You may apply for a Federal Employee ID Number online at the IRS website, by telephone at 800-829-4933, or by mailing or faxing IRS Form SS-4. If you fax or mail the Form SS-4, it will go to the regional office of the IRS. Online or telephone requests will be issued immediately, while faxed requests takes four days and a mailed request takes up to four weeks.
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Who Needs an EIN?
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If your business has employees, is operated as a corporation or partnership, has a Keogh Plan, withholds taxes on income (other than wages) to a non-resident alien or operates as a specific type of organization, as identified by the IRS, you will be required to have an Employee ID Number.
Updating Business Entity Information
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To update the business entity information, instead of sending an additional request for an EIN, you should send a letter on company letterhead to the IRS at the Utah or Ohio office, depending on where the business is located. The IRS will then send a confirmation letter verifying the request has been processed.
Close Your EIN Account
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If you determine you no longer need an EIN, you may write to the IRS at: Internal Revenue Service, Cincinnati, Ohio 45999, and explain why you no longer need the number. The IRS will then cancel the number and close the tax account for the business. However, all required tax returns must be filed before the tax account can be closed.
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References
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