How Do You Get An Employer Tax ID Number?
Getting an employer tax ID number (EIN), or federal tax identification number (TIN), is one of the first steps in incorporating a new business. Even if you don’t have employees, it is a basic step in separating your liability from your company’s. For example, you’d want to use your EIN instead of your own Social Security number when applying for credit or committing to any contractual promising to help preserve the personal protection that incorporating affords you. You’ll also need the EIN for banking. Select a business name that has not been incorporated yet in the state you want to incorporate. You can check with a lawyer or with the office of your state’s secretary of state to see if a name is already taken. Then decide what type of company you want to be: sole proprietorship, LLC, S corporation, etc. You’ll be asked for both of these on the EIN application form. Fill out the SS-4 form (see Resources), including the third-party designee information, so the IRS has someone to send t
