EIN for an LLC: How to Get One and When You Need It

Does my LLC need an EIN?

Ask two questions. How many members does the LLC have, and will it pay anyone? A multi-member LLC is a partnership for federal tax purposes by default, and a partnership must have an EIN to file its return. A single-member LLC is a disregarded entity by default, which means its income lands on the owner’s personal return, and the IRS only demands an EIN once it has employees, owes excise tax, or elects corporate taxation.

In practice the second question rarely matters, because the first thing an LLC owner does after the state approves the filing is open a bank account, and the account is opened in the LLC’s name. Banks, payment processors and lenders ask for the LLC’s taxpayer number, and an owner’s SSN is not that. The single-member LLC guide goes through the disregarded-entity rule line by line.

When the IRS requires an EIN for an LLC

• The LLC has two or more members (it files a partnership return).
• The LLC hires an employee, including the owner on payroll.
• The LLC files Form 2553 to be taxed as an S corporation, or Form 8832 to be taxed as a C corporation.
• The LLC owes excise tax, or files employment, excise, alcohol, tobacco or firearms returns.
• The LLC has a Keogh plan or is involved with certain trusts, estates or nonprofits.

Everything else is a bank rule rather than an IRS rule, and the bank rule is the one you will meet first.

The EIN belongs to the LLC, not to you

This is the point most owners get wrong, and it is why our intake asks about it. An EIN you received as a sole proprietor, before the LLC existed, is registered to you as an individual under your own name. The IRS does allow a disregarded single-member LLC with no employees to keep using that number, but a bank opening an account for “Smith Consulting LLC” is matching the name on the number to the name on the state filing, and those will not match. A multi-member LLC, or any LLC that elects S or C corporation taxation, must get a new EIN regardless.

So the working rule is simple. New LLC, new EIN, in the LLC’s exact legal name. The one case where you should not apply again is when this same LLC already has one and you have lost it. That is a retrieval, not an application; see how to get a 147C letter.

What the SS-4 asks about an LLC

Form SS-4 has three questions that only LLCs answer, and they decide how the IRS classifies the company for tax.

1. Line 8a: is this an LLC? Yes.
2. Line 8b: how many members. One means disregarded entity by default; two or more means partnership by default. A married couple who own the LLC together in a community property state can treat it as a single-member LLC, and that choice is made here.
3. Line 9a: the tax classification. For an LLC the honest options are “other” with “disregarded entity” written in, partnership, or corporation if you are electing S or C status. Choosing “corporation” here without also filing Form 2553 or 8832 is a common error that the IRS resolves by writing to you months later.

Line 7 asks for the responsible party: the human who controls the LLC, with their SSN or ITIN. It cannot be another company. Line 11 asks for the date the business started, which for an LLC is the formation date on the state certificate. The full SS-4 walkthrough covers every other line.

How to get an EIN for an LLC, step by step

1. Wait for the state to approve the LLC. The IRS wants the legal name and formation date exactly as the state recorded them. Applying with a name the state has not yet approved is how LLCs end up with an EIN attached to the wrong name. The before-or-after guide explains the order.
2. Gather the facts. Legal name with the exact “LLC” suffix the state used, state of organization, formation date, member count, physical address (not a registered agent or PO box), the responsible party’s legal name and SSN or ITIN, and what the business does.
3. Pick a method. The IRS online tool is the fastest when it works: it is available on weekdays during business hours, issues one EIN per responsible party per day, and must be finished in one sitting. Fax and mail take longer but are the only route when the tool rejects the name or the responsible party has no SSN. All four methods and their real timelines.
4. Save the confirmation. The CP 575 letter is issued once. The bank will ask for it, and so will your state’s revenue agency.

The mistakes that get LLC applications rejected

The name does not match the state filing

Dropping the “LLC,” using “L.L.C.” when the state used “LLC,” or applying under the trade name instead of the legal name. The online tool answers with reference number 101 when the name conflicts with an existing record, and the fix is a fax filing with the state certificate attached.

The responsible party is wrong

Listing the registered agent, the formation company, or a parent LLC as the responsible party. The IRS requires a person, and their name and SSN must match Social Security records exactly, which is what reference numbers 102 and 103 are about.

Applying twice

The online tool times out, the owner tries again the next day, and the LLC now has two numbers. The IRS has to close one, and the bank has whichever one it saw first. If a session fails, wait for the confirmation before starting another.

Using the pre-LLC number

Covered above. A sole proprietor’s EIN is in your name, not the LLC’s, and it does not become the LLC’s number by forming the LLC.

What to do once the LLC has its EIN

• Open the business bank account. Most banks want the CP 575 or a 147C letter, the state certificate and the operating agreement. The bank account guide lists what each major bank asks for.
• Register with your state’s revenue agency if you will collect sales tax or run payroll. Those registrations ask for the EIN and issue separate state numbers; see state tax ID vs federal EIN.
• File Form 2553 within two months and fifteen days of formation if you want S corporation taxation from day one.
• Keep the EIN off public documents where you can. It is not secret the way an SSN is, but it is the number identity thieves use to open credit in a company’s name.

Quick answers

Can I get an EIN before my LLC is approved?

You can, and you should not. The IRS will issue a number to whatever name you type. If the state then rejects or changes the name, the EIN is attached to a company that does not exist, and correcting it means a letter to the IRS and weeks of waiting.

Does a single-member LLC need an EIN?

The IRS only requires it once the LLC has employees, excise tax, or a corporate election. Banks require it almost universally. Nearly every single-member LLC gets one in its first week for the bank.

Does the EIN change if I add a member?

Going from one member to two changes the default classification from disregarded entity to partnership, and the IRS requires a new EIN for that. Going from two members to one also requires a new EIN. Adding a third member to an existing partnership does not.

Do I need a new EIN if I change the LLC’s name?

No. A name change is reported to the IRS by letter, or on the next return, and the EIN stays. The name change guide has the exact steps.

Can a non-resident owner get an EIN for a US LLC?

Yes, without an SSN or ITIN, by fax or by the IRS international phone line rather than the online tool. The no-SSN guide covers it.