| AccountingWEB US - June 16,
2003 - The Internal Revenue Service now lets businesses obtain
identification numbers directly from its Web site. After the
taxpayer completes an application form online, the system issues an
employer identification number (EIN) that may be used immediately.
This
online process eliminates the need to send paperwork to the IRS
as well as the delay in issuing a number that may result from an
incomplete application form. Once a business has its EIN, it can
file tax returns and may enroll in the Electronic Federal Tax
Payment System to handle its payments most efficiently.
Businesses do not need to pre-register before
requesting an EIN. The number issued is the permanent EIN for the
business, unless the IRS finds that it has already issued an EIN for
that business or if the principal officer’s name and social security
number do not match Social Security records. In such cases, the IRS
will void the number issued through the Web site and notify the
business.
An accountant or tax preparer may use the Web site
to request EINs on behalf of clients. The taxpayer must sign a copy
of the Form SS-4 and a statement authorizing the representative to
receive the number online. The representative must keep both
documents on file. The Web site describes the
elements required for an authorization statement, which a
preparer may print out for the client to sign.
The online application process is not available to
some EIN requestors, including federal, state or local government
agencies, Indian tribal governments, real estate mortgage investment
conduits, and taxpayers with addresses outside the 50 States.
Businesses may still obtain EINs by telephone at
1-800-829-4933 from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (local time), or by
mailing or faxing
Form SS-4, as provided in the form’s
instructions. (You may download a
fill-in version of Form SS-4 to complete and print out, but
Acrobat Reader may not save your entries when you save the file to a
disk.) |
