EIN for a Corporation or S-Corp: One Number, Whatever the Election

There is no S-corp EIN

The search that brings most people here is “how to get an S-corp EIN”, and the honest answer is that the question has a false premise. The IRS issues an EIN to an entity: a corporation formed under state law, or an LLC. Whether that entity is taxed as a C-corp, an S-corp, a partnership, or is disregarded is a classification layered on top, and changing the classification never changes the number. A corporation that elects S status keeps its EIN. An LLC that elects S status keeps its EIN. If you already have an EIN and are about to apply for a second one “for the S-corp”, stop; the second number would be a duplicate you would later have to close. Every scenario that does and does not need a new EIN.

When to apply

After the state accepts the articles of incorporation. The SS-4 wants the legal name exactly as chartered, and the incorporation date goes on Line 11, so applying before the state answers means guessing at both. Once the EIN is issued, the S election has its own clock: Form 2553 is due within two months and fifteen days after the start of the tax year it is to take effect, which for a new corporation is counted from the earliest of the date it had shareholders, acquired assets, or began doing business. Late elections are often forgiven, but the cleanest path is EIN first, Form 2553 the same week.

What the SS-4 asks a corporation

• Line 1. The name on the articles, including “Inc.”, “Corp.”, or whatever suffix the state approved.
• Lines 7a and 7b. The responsible party: an officer or principal shareholder who controls the company, with their SSN or ITIN. One person, not the registered agent and not the law firm.
• Line 8a. “No” for a corporation. An LLC electing corporate tax answers “Yes” here, because it is still an LLC under state law.
• Line 9a. “Corporation”, with the form it will file: 1120 for a C-corp, 1120-S if you intend to elect S status. There is a separate box for a personal service corporation, which applies to some professional practices and changes the tax rate; ask an accountant before checking it.
• Line 9b. The state of incorporation, and the foreign country if it was formed abroad.
• Line 10. “Started new business” for a new corporation. A business that incorporated an existing sole proprietorship or partnership checks “Changed type of organization” and names the old form.
• Line 11. The incorporation date.
• Line 12. The closing month of the accounting year. A C-corp may choose a fiscal year; an S-corp generally must use December. If you plan to elect S status, put December.
• Lines 13 to 15. Employees expected and the first wage date. An owner who will draw a salary is an employee of the corporation, so a one-person S-corp typically expects at least one.
• Signature. An officer, with title: President, Secretary, Treasurer, or as the bylaws name it.

Every line of the SS-4, explained.

What follows the EIN

The EIN opens the corporate bank account, and the corporation is expected to keep its money separate from the shareholders’ from the first deposit. It registers the company for state withholding and unemployment insurance, which an S-corp with a working owner needs immediately, because the owner’s reasonable salary runs through payroll. And it starts the annual return clock: Form 1120 or 1120-S every year, with a K-1 to each shareholder in the S-corp case, until the corporation files a final return.

Quick answers

I elected S-corp status for my LLC. Do I need a new EIN?

No. The LLC keeps the EIN it has. The IRS lists an election to be taxed as a corporation or S corporation as a change that does not require a new number.

Do I need a new EIN if I move the corporation to another state?

If you dissolve and incorporate fresh in the new state, yes: a new charter is a new corporation. If the new state accepts a domestication or conversion that treats the corporation as continuing, the identity-or-place rule lets it keep the EIN.

Does a corporation with no employees still need an EIN?

Yes. The requirement is by entity type, not by payroll. Form 1120 cannot be filed without one.

Who should be the responsible party when there are several shareholders?

Whoever actually controls the company, usually the president or the largest shareholder. It can be changed later with Form 8822-B, so the choice is not permanent, but it should be a real officer, not a nominee.

My co-founder and I formed an LLC, not a corporation. Which guide?

EIN for a partnership or multi-member LLC, unless you have already decided on S-corp treatment, in which case the Line 9a note above applies and the rest of this page does too.