If you are worried about how to fill out the SS-4 form to apply for an Employer Identification Number So, don’t worry, I will help you.
I’m going to walk you through how to fill out the SS-4 form to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) step by step.
Every business that has employees, whether it is a corporation or a multi-member LLC needs an Employer Identification Number for tax filing purposes.
You can download the SS-4 form from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website and the good news is that it’s a pretty short and straightforward process.
Related: Difference between SSN EIN & ITIN
How to Fill Out the SS-4 Form to Apply for an EIN: Step by Step Guide
How to Fill Out the SS-4 Form
In this comprehensive guide, I will help you to fill out the SS-4 form to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) step by step.
Line 1 and 2: Legal & Trade Name of Your Business
In lines 1 and 2, the form asks for the legal and trade name of your business.
I line 1 you want to put down your official business name if you’re a sole proprietor you would put in your first name middle name if you have one and the last name followed by a trade name or doing business as a name in line two in this case I have a fictional business that’s an LLC called Lafrine Bakery LLC I’m going to put that down in line one and there’s no separate trade name so I leave line two blank.
Line 3: Executor, administrator, trustee, “care of” name
In line 3, you can put down the executor of an estate if you’re applying for an EIN for an estate a trustee of a trust, or care of name if there’s a designated person to receive business tax information.
In this case, I’m going to leave that blank because the owner of Lafrine Bakery LLC does not have a designated tax preparer but if you do fill out a person’s name in line 3.
Line 4a and 4b: Mailing address
In lines 4a and 4b, you have to put your mailing business address. in this case, I am going to put down the primary business address for mailing in lines 4a and 4b.
Line 5a and 5b: Street address
If you have a physical business address that is different from a mailing address, you should fill it out in lines 5a and 5b but make sure not to enter a peal box in line 5a.
Line 6: County and state where the business is located
In Line 6, you have to tell in which country and state your business is located. For example, I put the Delaware United States because my business is located in Delaware.
Line 7a and 7b: Name of a responsible party
In lines 7a and 7b, you have to provide the information of the responsible party that’s filling out this form the responsible party must be an individual for almost all non-government entities.
For example, the responsible party could be the owner officer or partner of the business for trusts you would put in the grantor or owner in line 7b you would put in the social security number or ITIN for certain foreign nationals or non-residents of the responsible party.
In this case, I am going to put in the name of the owner of Lafrine Bakery LLC as the responsible party and his social security number in line 7b lines.
Line 8a, 8b, and 8c: Application for a limited liability company
From Line 8a to 8c, you have to provide information about your limited liability company.
If you have a business and have formed an LLC or limited liability company, list the name of your business, the number of members, where it was formed, and when.
If the LLC is owned solely by you and your spouse in a community property state and you’re lousy is taxed as a disregarded entity you can enter one on line 8b.
In this example, I’m going to choose Yes in line 8a because lafrine bakery is an LLC and I am going to enter One in line 8B.
After all, lafrine bakery is a single-member LLC and I’m going to choose Yes and line 8C since the LLC was organized in Delaware.
Line 9a: Type of Entity
In line 9a, you want to specify by the types of business entity this is pretty straightforward if you have a sole proprietor you would simply check off that box and type in the owner social security number similarly if you have a partnership you check off that box and same for the other entities.
Line 9b: If a corporation, name the state or foreign country where incorporated
In line 9b, you have to put the state or country where your corporation is incorporated. In this case, I am gonna leave that blank since the Lafrine bakery LLC is an LLC.
Line 10: Reason for applying
In line 10, you have to indicate your reason for applying for an EIN in most cases the reason is to start a new business or for banking purposes.
Line 11: Date business started or acquired
In line 11, you have to enter the date when your business was started or acquired. If you have a corporation or LLC this is easy to find from state documents that you would have received when you launched your business.
Line 12: Closing month of an accounting year
In line 12, the form asks for the closing month of your accounting year most businesses follow a calendar year so you would write down December in this blank depending on the type of business you might have a different fiscal year in which case you’d put the closing month of your fiscal year.
Line 13: Highest number of employees expected in next 12 months
Line 13 asks for the highest number of employees you expect to have in the next year this includes employees who are already on your payroll in this box you want to enter 0 if you don’t have any employees.
Line 14: Employment tax liability
If you have no employees so yan can skip line 14 because line 14 is all about employment taxes which are Social Security Medicare taxes and withheld income taxes
Line 15: First date salaries or annuities were paid
In line 15, You have to note down the date of your first payroll or put down non-applicable if you don’t have any employees let’s say that my business or in our first payroll on the 1st of January.
Line 16: Principal activity of a business
in line 16, You have to note down the type of business you have you have some categories that you can already choose from, or if these don’t apply to you.
You can click other and specify the type of business. ideally, you should write a description that describes your business.
Line 17: Principal line of merchandise sold, construction work done, products produced
In line 17, You have to provide a bit of additional business description about products or services you sell. In this example, we could say so custom and ready-made cakes.
Line 18: Has the applicant or entity ever applied and received an EIN
Line 18 applies to businesses that already have an EIN and are applying for a new EIN.
For example, if you change your organizational structure you might need a new EIN. In this case, since lafrine bakery LLC is a brand new business so I’m going to check off.
Third-Party Designee
The third-party designee is an important section if you want to authorize someone like your business lawyer or tax preparer to answer questions about form SS-4 or receive the EIN on the behalf of your business.
Applicant Signature and Date
At the bottom of the forum don’t forget to note down your information and sign and date the form or it won’t valid I won’t be able to sign and date until I print out the form so I’ll leave those blank for now and that’s all we finished filling out form SS-4 for there is no fee to file this form it’s free you can either send it by mail or fax if you mail it in you can expect to receive your EIN back in about four weeks if you fax it in you can expect to receive it back in about four business days.
Online EIN Application
The IRS also offers an online application form for us-based taxpayers who need an EIN more quickly this is also free of charge and accessible at irs.gov.
The questions on form SS-4 for PDF but you would just get the EIN instantly and be able to print out your EIN confirmation as soon as you answer the questions this is often the fastest and best way to get an EIN number for a business.
There are also legal services that you can pay a fee to and have them file your SS-4 for application for you for example Micahguru Formation has a questionnaire where you would answer the SS-4 for questions and they will submit the form on your behalf and send you your EIN.
Conclusion
It is one of the complete guides on the internet about fill out the SS-4 form to apply for an Employer Identification Number. I hope this guide will help you to fill out the SS-4 form.
