How to Change Your Business Name with the IRS (and Keep Your EIN)

First, which kind of change is it?

Three different things get called “changing my EIN”. They have three different fixes, and using the wrong one is how businesses end up with two numbers or a return filed under the wrong name.

• Same entity, new name. The LLC or corporation renamed itself at the state, or a sole proprietor changed their trade name. Update the record; keep the EIN.
• Same entity, new address or new person in charge. Update the record on Form 8822-B; keep the EIN.
• Different entity. Sole proprietorship to LLC, single-member LLC to partnership, partnership to corporation, a new corporation after a merger. New EIN. The old one is closed or simply left with the old business.

If the name or another detail was simply entered wrongly on the application, that is a correction rather than a change, and fixing an EIN application mistake covers each kind.

Changing the business name

The IRS wants to know so that returns and notices match. How you tell them depends on the entity.

• Sole proprietor. Write to the IRS at the address where you file your return. State the old name, the new name, the EIN, and sign it. Simple letter, no form.
• Corporation. If you have not filed the current year’s return, tick the name change box on Form 1120 or 1120-S and file under the new name. If you have, send a letter signed by an officer, with a copy of the state amendment.
• Partnership or multi-member LLC. Same idea on Form 1065, or a letter signed by a partner.
• Single-member LLC. A letter signed by the owner, with a copy of the state amendment. The LLC files no return of its own to tick a box on.

Do the state first. The IRS wants the name the state approved, and a letter that arrives before the state amendment is filed can be rejected or simply not match anything.

The name change letter: exactly what to write

There is no IRS form for a name change. The letter below is the whole thing. Print it on plain paper, attach a copy of the state amendment or the amended articles, and have it signed by someone with authority to sign the entity’s return: the owner, a corporate officer, a partner, or the LLC’s member or manager.

[Date]

Internal Revenue Service
[Address for your return type, see below]

Re: Business name change
EIN: 12-3456789

To whom it may concern:

Please update the name on the above EIN from

    [Old legal name exactly as the IRS has it]

to

    [New legal name exactly as the state approved it]

effective [date the state approved the amendment]. The entity type,
ownership, address and responsible party have not changed. A copy of
the state filing approving the new name is enclosed.

Please send confirmation of the change to the address below.

[Signature]
[Printed name]
[Title: Owner / President / Partner / Member]
[Entity mailing address]
[Daytime phone]

Enclosure: [State] amendment, filed [date]

Keep a copy. The IRS mails a confirmation notice, usually within four to six weeks, and that notice is what banks and payroll providers accept while their own records catch up.

Where to send the letter

To the IRS service center where the entity files its income tax return, which depends on the entity type and the state. The address is on the “where to file” page in the sources for the return you file: Form 1040 for a sole proprietor, Form 1065 for a partnership or multi-member LLC, Form 1120 or 1120-S for a corporation. A single-member LLC with no return of its own uses the owner’s Form 1040 address. If you also have a change of address or responsible party, send Form 8822-B in the same envelope rather than a second letter.

Faxing is not offered for name changes, and there is no email route. If you need the change confirmed quickly for a bank, call the Business and Specialty Tax Line after the letter has had a few weeks to land; the agent can confirm the name on file and send a 147C letter showing it.

The name-control rule, or why your e-filed return got rejected

The IRS matches an electronically filed business return to its EIN using a name control: the first four characters of the entity’s legal name as the IRS recorded it, with spaces and most punctuation removed. “Smith Consulting LLC” has the name control SMIT; “The Smith Company” is THES, because the IRS keeps a leading “The” when it is followed by more than one word. If the name control on the return does not match the one on the EIN, the return is rejected.

This is why the order matters. File the return under the new name before the IRS has processed your letter and the e-file bounces with a name-control mismatch. The fixes, in order of preference: wait for the IRS confirmation before filing under the new name; file under the old name one more time and tick the name change box; or, if the deadline will not wait, paper-file. Your tax software will show the name control it is sending; if the first four characters of the old and new names happen to match, none of this applies and the return goes through either way.

Changing the address or the responsible party

Form 8822-B does both. A change of business mailing address or location is reported on it whenever you like, though IRS notices go to the old address until you do. A change of responsible party, the person who controls the entity, must be reported on 8822-B within 60 days. This is the one that is missed most: the founder leaves, the trustee changes, the executor is replaced, and the IRS still has the old person on file.

8822-B is mailed, not filed online, and takes several weeks to process. The EIN does not change. The Form 8822-B instructions go through every line, with both mailing addresses.

When you actually need a new EIN

The IRS keeps a list. The common cases:

• A sole proprietorship forms an LLC or incorporates.
• A sole proprietorship takes on a partner and becomes a partnership.
• A single-member LLC adds a member and becomes a partnership.
• A partnership incorporates, or a corporation becomes a partnership or sole proprietorship.
• A corporation receives a new charter from the state.
• A new corporation is created after a merger.
• You buy an existing business and run it as your own sole proprietorship.

And the cases where the IRS says you do not need a new one: changing the business name, changing the address, adding locations, a corporation electing S status, a partnership or corporation declaring bankruptcy, and a single-member LLC that stays single-member and merely changes its name.

If you are in the new-EIN list, the old number does not transfer, and the new entity applies for its own. EIN before or after the LLC covers the sequence for the most common case.

Quick answers

How do I change the name on my EIN?

Amend the name with your state first, then tell the IRS: tick the name change box on the next return if the entity files one, or send the letter above with a copy of the state amendment. The EIN stays the same.

Does changing my business name change my EIN?

No. The number is permanent. Only the name attached to it changes, and only after the IRS processes your letter or return.

Can I change my EIN online?

No. Name changes are by letter or on the return; address and responsible party changes are on a mailed 8822-B. There is no online update.

Do I need a new EIN if I change from an LLC to an S corp?

No, if the LLC is simply electing S corporation taxation. It is the same entity with a tax election. If you dissolve the LLC and form a corporation, that is a new entity and a new EIN.

How long does a name change take to show up?

Weeks, typically. Keep a copy of the letter and the state amendment; banks will accept those while the IRS record catches up.

What if I already got a second EIN by mistake?

Pick the one the bank and the returns use, and write to the IRS to close the other. How to close an EIN.