Alabama EIN Number: Then Your Withholding and SUI Accounts
Last updated November 1, 2026 · Written by the EIN Registration filing team
Get the EIN for your Alabama business
We file the SS-4 for you. EIN typically emailed in 2 to 4 business days (about 11 by fax).
After your EIN in Alabama
| Account | Agency | Number you get | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| State income tax withholding | Alabama Department of Revenue | Withholding tax account number, 10 characters beginning with R | My Alabama Taxes |
| Unemployment insurance | Alabama Department of Workforce | Unemployment insurance account number, 10 digits | eGov |
| Sales tax | Alabama Department of Revenue | Sales tax license | My Alabama Taxes |
Alabama cities and counties add their own sales taxes, and some run those taxes themselves instead of through the state. My Alabama Taxes works as ONE SPOT to file both state-administered and non-state administered local sales, use, rental and lodgings taxes, but payments for non-state localities go straight to those localities.
The Alabama Department of Revenue handles state income tax withholding only. Unemployment tax is a separate registration with the state's workforce agency, and local occupational taxes are run by the city or county that levies them, so you contact that locality directly.
Also on the Alabama list
- File the Initial Business Privilege Tax Return, Form BPT-IN, with the Alabama Department of Revenue within two and a half months of the formation date. It is the first state filing an Alabama LLC owes and it asks for the EIN.
- Register on My Alabama Taxes with the Department of Revenue if you will collect sales tax or pay wages; the account cannot be opened without the EIN.
Agency sites checked November 1, 2026 · All 50 states
What is different about Alabama
- Alabama requires a name reservation from the Secretary of State before an LLC can be formed, and the reservation certificate is part of the formation filing. In most states a name is simply checked at filing time, so the two-step sequence catches out owners who expected to form the LLC the same day they chose the name.
- Alabama's Business Privilege Tax is an annual return filed with the Department of Revenue by every LLC, separate from the Secretary of State's records, with an initial return due shortly after formation and a regular return every year after. Alabama is one of a handful of states with a privilege tax return on top of income tax filings.
- Since 2021 Alabama LLC formations are filed directly with the Secretary of State. Before that they went through the county probate judge, so older Alabama paperwork and older guides describe a county filing step that no longer exists.
Before you apply
The SS-4 must match the Alabama Secretary of State filing; its entity ID number is a state index, not a tax ID.
Alabama EIN questions
How do I get an EIN number in Alabama?
File IRS Form SS-4 after the Alabama Secretary of State approves any formation filing; there is no Alabama EIN application. Then register with the Alabama Department of Revenue (My Alabama Taxes) for withholding and the sales tax license and the Alabama Department of Workforce (eGov) for unemployment insurance.
Is there an Alabama EIN or state tax ID number?
No; only the IRS issues EINs (also called the FEIN or federal tax ID). Alabama's own numbers are the entity ID number from the Alabama Secretary of State, the withholding tax account number from the Alabama Department of Revenue, the unemployment insurance account number from the Alabama Department of Workforce, and the sales tax license from the Alabama Department of Revenue.
Is the Alabama withholding tax account number the same as my EIN?
No. The Alabama Department of Revenue assigns it when you register as an employer in My Alabama Taxes, and it is 10 characters beginning with R. It goes in W-2 box 15; the EIN goes in box b.
Where do I register for Alabama unemployment insurance?
With the Alabama Department of Workforce, online through eGov. It assigns an unemployment insurance account number, 10 digits, a separate number from the EIN.
Do I need an Alabama sales tax license?
Only if you sell what Alabama taxes. The Alabama Department of Revenue issues it through My Alabama Taxes, and your returns are filed under its number, not the EIN.
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Related guides
Neighboring states
Most-searched states
Sources
- Alabama Secretary of State, business entities
- Alabama Department of Revenue, business privilege tax
- Alabama Department of Revenue: Do I need a withholding tax account number
- Alabama Department of Revenue: How do I register for a tax account
- Alabama Department of Revenue: Whbooklet 0126 (PDF)
- Alabama Department of Workforce: Labor.alabama.gov
- Alabama Department of Workforce: Uc emp handbook rev 2021 (PDF)
- Alabama Department of Revenue: How do I apply or register for a sales tax number
- Alabama Department of Revenue: Sales tax
- Alabama: Non state administered localities
You can also apply for an EIN directly with the IRS at irs.gov at no cost.