EIN for a Single-Member LLC: Do You Need One? SSN or EIN on W-9

Do I need an EIN for my single-member LLC with no employees?

Not for federal income tax. A one-owner LLC that has made no corporate or S corporation election is a "disregarded entity": the IRS treats its income as yours. If it is owned by a US person and has no employees and no excise tax to file, it does not need its own employer identification number (EIN) and uses your name and number instead (IRS: Single member LLCs; IRS: Entities 2). The IRS's general EIN page lists LLCs among entities that need one, and its single-member LLC page says most new ones will need to obtain one, but that same page and the FAQ set out this exception (IRS: EIN).

Your case gets harder when you hire, elect S corporation status (an election with its own payroll and return), receive 1099s under different numbers, or the owner lives outside the US.

Gather before you decide: the state-approved formation document (for the exact legal name), your SSN or ITIN, the LLC's address, whether you plan to hire or elect, and a list of the clients and platforms that have your W-9.

Should I get an EIN anyway, for example to open a bank account?

Yes, if your bank or state asks for one. The IRS says a disregarded single-member LLC can get an EIN if it needs one to open a bank account or if state tax law requires one (IRS: Single member LLCs). An EIN is free from the IRS; the IRS warns against websites that charge for one (IRS: Get an EIN).

An EIN in the LLC's name does not replace your SSN on client W-9s or on your own return; only an EIN issued to you as a sole proprietor can stand in for your SSN on a W-9. The LLC's income still goes on your Form 1040, usually on Schedule C. What a bank asks for when you open the account is covered in business bank accounts for an LLC.

On a W-9, do I give my SSN or the LLC's EIN?

If you own the LLC alone and it has made no corporate or S election, give your SSN, or an EIN issued to you personally as a sole proprietor. Do not give the LLC's EIN, even if it has one. The IRS says a disregarded LLC owned by an individual provides "the owner's SSN or EIN, not the LLC's EIN" (IRS: Single member LLCs). Form W-9 adds that you may use either number, but the IRS encourages the SSN; a resident alien who cannot get an SSN enters an ITIN in the SSN space (IRS: Form W-9).

Failing to give a requester your correct number can cost $50 per failure, unless you had reasonable cause (IRS: Form W-9). For LLCs taxed as partnerships or corporations, see the W-9 table in how LLCs are taxed.

Are the LLC's EIN and my own EIN different numbers?

Yes. An EIN issued to you as a sole proprietor belongs to you, and a sole proprietor needs only one EIN however many businesses or trade names they run (IRS: Form SS-4 instructions). An EIN issued to the LLC is in the LLC's legal name. You may use your sole-proprietor EIN for a single-member LLC only while it has no employees, owes no excise tax and has not elected corporate or S status; after that, the LLC needs an EIN in its own name (IRS: Do you need a new EIN?; IRS: Entities 2).

Moving from a sole proprietorship with its own EIN into a new LLC is covered in sole proprietor to LLC.

A client or platform insists on the LLC's EIN, or a 1099 came under it: what now?

Send a W-9 with your name on line 1, the LLC's name on line 2 and your SSN or your own EIN; the IRS tells payers to report a one-owner LLC exactly this way. If a 1099 already shows the LLC's EIN, ask the payer for a corrected form; the IRS encourages payers to fix a wrong number but does not always require it (IRS: information return instructions). Either way, the income is yours and goes on your own return, usually on Schedule C.

A mismatch can cost you money. If the IRS tells a payer that the name and number it filed are wrong, for example your personal name with the LLC's EIN, your payments can become subject to backup withholding at 24% (IRS: Form W-9). The payer may then send you a "B" notice asking for a correct W-9 (IRS: Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9). Answering quickly may keep withholding from starting; after a first notice, the payer must stop it within 30 calendar days of receiving your signed, correct W-9. A second notice within three calendar years needs proof instead: IRS Letter 147C for an EIN, IRS Letter 685C for an ITIN, or your Social Security card for an SSN (IRS: Publication 1281).

Keep the W-9s you sent, each 1099, your invoices and deposit records, and a note of which number each payer holds. For a wrong 1099-K, see wrong or corrected platform tax forms; if a payer or bank says your name and number do not match, see EIN delayed, lost or not matching. The payer's side of backup withholding is in collecting tax IDs from contractors.

When does the LLC's own EIN become required?

When the LLC hires, owes certain excise taxes, elects corporate or S tax, gains a second member, or has a foreign owner (see the first table). For employment and those excise taxes, the IRS treats a single-member LLC as a separate entity even while its income stays on your return (IRS: Single member LLCs).

• First employee: payroll returns, deposits and W-2s use the LLC's name and EIN. Your profit still goes on your Schedule C under your SSN. If the LLC already has an EIN in its own name, from the bank for example, use it: the SS-4 instructions say not to apply if you already have an EIN and are only hiring, and an entity should have only one EIN (IRS: Form SS-4 instructions; IRS: EIN). If tax withheld from wages goes unpaid, the IRS can collect it from you personally when you were responsible for paying it and willfully did not (the trust fund recovery penalty, IRC section 6672; IRS: TFRP). Your own pay as owner is a separate question: see wages from your own single-member LLC and setting up payroll.
• Excise taxes: the LLC uses its name and EIN to register on Form 637, file Forms 720, 730, 2290 and 11-C, and claim refunds on Form 8849 (IRS: Single member LLCs).
• C or S corporation election: a single-member LLC that elects needs its own EIN, and Form 2553 asks for the entity's EIN (IRS: Entities 2; IRS: Form 2553 instructions). An LLC that already has one keeps it (IRS: Do you need a new EIN?). From the election date, the W-9 shows the LLC's name on line 1, the LLC box with code C or S, and the LLC's EIN; give payers a new W-9 when the name or number on file changes (IRS: Form W-9). Whether to elect is covered in should you elect S corporation status.
• Second member: a domestic LLC with two or more members is a partnership by default and needs its own EIN (IRS: Entities 2). See adding a member to your LLC.

How do I apply for an EIN for a one-member LLC on Form SS-4?

Form the LLC with the state first, then apply free on the IRS website. The online application works when the business's principal place is in the US and the responsible party has an SSN or ITIN; it must be finished in one session and expires after 15 minutes of inactivity. The IRS issues one EIN per responsible party per day (IRS: Get an EIN; IRS: Form SS-4 instructions). Online you answer questions rather than fill in lines; the table uses the paper form's line numbers.

A married couple who are the LLC's only owners, live in a community property state and choose disregarded treatment also enter 1 member; elsewhere a couple's LLC is a partnership (IRS: Form SS-4 instructions; IRS: Single member LLCs). You can use the new EIN right away to open a bank account; IRS TIN matching, e-filing and electronic deposits can take up to 2 weeks (IRS: EIN).

Report a change of responsible party on Form 8822-B within 60 days (IRS: About Form 8822-B). With no SSN or ITIN, see getting an EIN without an SSN; for a stuck application or a lost number, see EIN delayed, lost or not matching.

Does getting an EIN change how my LLC is taxed?

No. An EIN is an ID number, not a tax election. A one-owner LLC stays disregarded unless it files Form 8832 to be taxed as a corporation, or Form 2553 to be taxed as an S corporation; Form 2553 alone is enough for S status (IRS: Single member LLCs; IRS: Form SS-4 instructions).

Form 2553, with your signed consent as owner, is due within 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year it is to take effect, or any time in the tax year before (IRS: Form 2553 instructions). Form 8832 can take effect no more than 75 days before or 12 months after it is filed. Either election counts as your transfer of the LLC's assets and debts to a new corporation for its stock (IRS: Form 8832); if the debts exceed your tax basis in those assets, that transfer can create taxable gain (IRC section 357(c)).

The box ticked on Form SS-4 line 9a does not make the election: it tells the IRS which return you plan to file, and the election is a separate form. If you tick Corporation and write 1120-S, the IRS treats the LLC as a Form 1120 filer until it receives and approves Form 2553 (IRS: Form SS-4 instructions). To check what the IRS has on file, see how the IRS classifies your LLC.

Example

These examples are illustrative and use US dollars. They follow one photographer's single-member LLC over three years.

Year 1: no staff, and the bank asks for an EIN

The bank asks for the LLC's EIN, so the owner applies free online and checks Other, "Disregarded entity", on line 9a. Client W-9s still show her name on line 1, the LLC on line 2, the Individual/sole proprietor box and her SSN. Her $50,000 profit goes on Schedule C, and line D stays blank because the EIN was obtained only for the bank.

Year 2: the first employee

The LLC hires an assistant at $30,000 a year. Payroll returns, deposits and the assistant's W-2 use the LLC's name and the same EIN from Year 1; she does not apply again. Her profit still goes on Schedule C under her SSN, now with the LLC's EIN on line D because the LLC files employment returns under it, and client W-9s do not change.

Year 3: an S corporation election

The LLC files Form 2553 by March 15 of Year 3, effective January 1 of Year 3, and keeps its EIN. She sends every client a new W-9: the LLC's name on line 1, the LLC box with code S, and the LLC's EIN. The business now files Form 1120-S, and her own pay follows the S corporation rules in wages from your own single-member LLC.

Different for you?

• You are about to hire your first employee: set up the LLC's EIN and payroll accounts first with setting up payroll and business formation help.
• You are weighing an S corporation election: the W-9 and the return change on the election date, while an LLC that has its own EIN keeps it; see should you elect S corporation status and get business formation help.
• Your 1099s arrived under different numbers: match each form to your books with wrong or corrected platform tax forms and bookkeeping help.
• You already had a sole-proprietor EIN: see sole proprietor to LLC.
• The owner is not a US person: see foreign-owned single-member LLC filing.
• You have no SSN or ITIN: see getting an EIN without an SSN.
• You are not sure how the IRS has your LLC classified: see how the IRS classifies your LLC.
• Your spouse co-owns the LLC: see spouse and family LLCs.