EIN for a Nonprofit: Get the Number Before the 501(c)(3) Application

The order of operations

1. Form the entity with the state. Usually a nonprofit corporation, filed with the Secretary of State. Unincorporated associations and trusts can also be nonprofits, but a corporation is what most 501(c)(3) applicants use.
2. Get the EIN. In the organisation’s exact legal name, as the state approved it.
3. Open the bank account with the EIN, the articles, and the board resolution.
4. Apply for tax-exempt status with the IRS, using the EIN. Then register with the state for charitable solicitation if the state requires it.

Steps two and four are separate. An EIN is issued to any entity that asks; exemption is granted only after the IRS reviews the organisation’s purpose and structure. Donations made before exemption is granted are deductible only if the exemption is later approved and made retroactive, which the IRS generally does when the application is filed within its window after formation.

What Form SS-4 asks a nonprofit

• Line 1. The legal name from the articles of incorporation, including “Inc.” or whatever suffix the state required.
• Line 7a and 7b. The responsible party. For a nonprofit this is a real person who controls or manages the organisation, usually the president, executive director or board chair, with their own SSN or ITIN. It cannot be the organisation itself and it cannot be a lawyer or accountant acting for it. Boards sometimes resist naming an individual; the IRS requires it.
• Line 9a. Tick Other nonprofit organization and specify the type, such as “charitable”, “educational”, “religious”. Do not tick Corporation, even though the state formed you as one; that box is for taxable corporations and leads the IRS to expect a Form 1120.
• Line 9a, church. Churches tick the church or church-controlled organization box. Churches are automatically treated as exempt and are not required to file Form 1023, but they still need the EIN.
• Line 10. Usually “started new business” or “banking purpose”. Either works.
• Line 16. Principal activity. “Other”, with a short description of the charitable purpose.
• Group exemption number. Only if the organisation is a subordinate under a parent’s group ruling, such as a local chapter. Most new nonprofits leave it blank.

The mistakes that delay the exemption

• Applying for the EIN before the state approves the corporation. The 1023 wants the EIN, the articles and the formation date to agree. An EIN issued under a name the state later changed does not.
• Choosing Corporation on Line 9a. The IRS then expects a corporate income tax return, and the mismatch surfaces when the 990 is filed instead.
• Naming the wrong responsible party, or changing officers and never telling the IRS on Form 8822-B.
• Assuming the EIN is the exemption. It is not. Banks will open the account on the EIN alone; donors and grant makers will ask for the determination letter, which only the 1023 produces.

Quick answers

Does a church need an EIN?

Yes. A church is automatically exempt and need not file Form 1023, but it still needs an EIN to open accounts, pay staff, and issue giving statements.

Does a small club or association need an EIN?

If it opens a bank account, yes. An unincorporated association can obtain one; the responsible party is an officer.

Can we get the EIN before we have a board?

The application needs a responsible party, so at least one officer has to exist. In practice the incorporator or first president applies.

Is the EIN application different for a 501(c)(3)?

No. Form SS-4 is the same for every entity. The nonprofit-specific parts are the entity type on Line 9a and, later, the separate exemption application.