How do you get an EIN in the United States in 2026?

The IRS says you generally need an EIN if you hire employees, operate a partnership or corporation, withhold taxes on certain payments to nonresident aliens, file employment or excise returns, or administer certain trusts and retirement plans. Corporations and partnerships use an EIN even when they have no employees.

A sole proprietor with no employees often reports business income on Schedule C of a personal Form 1040 using an SSN. You can still request an EIN for banking or state tax purposes when a US bank or state agency will not open a business account on an SSN alone. The IRS is clear that an EIN does not replace your personal SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) on personal returns. People who cannot get an SSN may need an ITIN for personal filing, which is a different product from an EIN.

If you form a corporation or LLC, form the entity with the state secretary of state (or equivalent) before you apply for the EIN. Applying before the state filing exists can delay the IRS application.

For a domestic organization with a principal place of business in the United States or its territories, the fastest route is the free IRS online EIN assistant. You must finish in one session. The tool times out after inactivity. The responsible party (the person who controls the entity) needs an SSN or ITIN for the online flow. If approved, the IRS issues the EIN immediately and lets you print the confirmation letter.

You cannot use the online tool if your principal place of business is outside the United States. International applicants use phone, fax, or mail options described in the Form SS-4 instructions. Fax and mail use Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number). Fax often returns an EIN in a few business days; mail takes longer.

Apply only once per entity. Multiple methods for the same business create duplicate-EIN headaches. Save the confirmation letter, then use the EIN on business bank applications, payroll setup, and information returns. After issue, it can take a short IRS processing lag before some e-file and electronic deposit systems fully recognize the new number.

Keep personal and business IDs separate when you file federal taxes. Open a US bank account only after you know whether the bank wants the EIN or will accept an SSN for a sole-prop DBA.