EIN Application Fee: How Much Does EIN Cost?

More than 21 million LLCs are registered and operating in the United States. The industries they operate, the way they are formed, and the number of people they employ might all be different. Still, they all have at least one thing in common — to open a business bank account, they all need to get an Employer Identification Number or EIN.

In this article, we’ll try to give you an answer to the question: How much does EIN cost? The answer is not that easy to formulate, as it will depend on whether or not you have a Social Security Number. If you do have one, the cost to obtain EIN will effectively be $0. But if you don’t have one, things can get a little bit complicated. 

Now, before we dive in deeper and discuss how much is an EIN number, let’s first review some basic information about EIN just to make sure we’re all on the same page.

What Is EIN?

EIN or an Employer Identification Number is a 9-digit tax identification number that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues to businesses and different entities (e.g., single-member LLCs, partnerships, etc.) for tax purposes. Just like the IRS uses Social Security Numbers (SSN) and Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) to identify individuals, they use EINs to identify and distinguish between different companies or legal entities.

EIN can be used for a number of different business needs, including the three major ones:

• Opening a business bank account in the US
• Starting a business in the US (you need EIN to finish the process of opening an LLC in the US)
• Filing different types of tax forms with the IRS
• Renting an apartment with your EIN

Want to open an LLC in the US? For a fixed fee of $1500, the NRI team will help you through the entire process of setting up an LLC in the US.

How Much Does EIN Cost?

First things first, if you have a Social Security Number (SSN), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) won’t charge you an EIN application fee. Also, with an SSN, you can finish the entire process of applying for EIN online. 

The process is similar if you have an ITIN (i.e., the cost of EIN is effectively $0), but the application might be a bit more difficult to complete as it has a couple of additional steps. 

However, you can’t apply for EIN online if you don’t have any of the two Individual Taxpayer Numbers (i.e., you don’t have an SSN or ITIN). The process of getting an EIN without SSN or ITIN is a lot more complicated than if the opposite was true. You need to get an official EIN application in paper form and complete it correctly. Afterward, you need to send that application via mail or fax or bring it to an official IRS location in person. 

If you choose to do it by yourself and go directly through the IRS, the process can take around four weeks (sometimes even longer). And, if you’ve made any mistakes in your application, you’ll have to start the process all over again, which means adding up another four weeks to the process (assuming you don’t make any mistakes again). 

Don’t have an SSN or ITIN and want to get an EIN? For a fixed $300 fee, NRI will help you get an EIN.

Why Do You Need EIN?

Foreigners who want to open an LLC in the US need an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Getting an EIN is one of the last steps of opening an LLC, and it allows them to open a business bank account in the US. The cost of EIN, if you have an SSN, is effectively $0, and you can complete the entire application process online. But, if you don’t have an SSN, you need to file additional forms and send them to the IRS via mail, fax, or deliver them in person. 

EIN can be used for various purposes, including:

• Opening a business bank account and getting a business credit card
• Filing taxes with the IRS
• Hiring employees 
• Accelerating the process of getting different types of loans in the US (e.g., DSCR loans, Investment loans, Foreign National Mortgage Loans, etc.)
• Building a business credit history and establishing creditworthiness
• Opening a US PayPal account for a business (opening US PayPal will require ITIN and EIN; this is especially useful for online-based businesses like E-stores, remote service providers, and similar)
• Signing up for and using the Amazon FBA fulfillment service that allows businesses worldwide to use Amazon for storing and shipping orders.
• Signing up and using a US Stripe account. Foreigners who don’t have an SSN will need to get an EIN to use Stripe.
• Importing goods and dealing with US customs