Last updated
The answer is yes: a foreign owner with no Social Security number and no ITIN can get an EIN. What changes is the route. The IRS online application is not open to you, so you file a paper or faxed Form SS-4, or phone the IRS from abroad. Everything below comes from the Instructions for Form SS-4, with the exact words quoted.
Form the company first. See EIN for an LLC for when you need the number at all. Our LLC for non-residents guide covers the state side, and state guides such as Wyoming and Delaware list each filing fee with its source.
Why the online application will not take you
The instructions set two limits. The first is location: you can apply "online (only for applicants in the United States or U.S. territories), by telephone (only for applicants outside of the United States or U.S. territories), by fax, or by mail." The second is the tax number. The principal officer or owner "must have a valid taxpayer identification number (SSN, EIN, or ITIN) in order to use the online application."
The line that worries most foreign owners
Line 7b asks for the responsible party's SSN, ITIN or EIN. The instructions answer the no-number case directly: "Enter “foreign” or N/A on line 7b if the responsible party doesn’t have and is ineligible to obtain an SSN or ITIN. An entry is required."
The responsible party has to be a real person: "the responsible party must be an individual (that is, a natural person), not an entity," unless the applicant is a government body. For an LLC, that is normally the owner or the member who runs it. It is not your registered agent or a formation service.
Other lines to get right
- Lines 4a and 4b, mailing address. If it is outside the US, "you must enter the city, province or state, postal code, and the name of the country. Don’t abbreviate the country name."
- Line 9a, type of entity. A single-member LLC wholly owned by a foreign person that needs the EIN for Form 5472 should check Other and write "Foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity-Form 5472."
- Line 11, start date. "For foreign applicants, this is the date you began or acquired a business in the United States."
- Signature. For an LLC, a "responsible and duly authorized member or officer having knowledge of its affairs" signs. The instructions add that "Foreign applicants may have any duly authorized person (for example, division manager) sign Form SS-4."
Fax, mail or phone
Fax. "Under the Fax-TIN program, you can receive your EIN by fax generally within 4 business days." The instructions give separate fax numbers, one for use inside the US and one from abroad, for applicants with no legal residence, principal place of business or office in any state or DC. Add your own fax number, because the IRS asks you to "provide your fax number so the IRS can fax the EIN back to you."
Mail. Send the signed form to the EIN International Operation address in Cincinnati given in the instructions. Plan ahead: "Complete Form SS-4 at least 4 to 5 weeks before you will need an EIN." The IRS says "You will receive your EIN in the mail in approximately 4 weeks."
Phone. If you have no legal residence, principal place of business or office in the US or its territories, you may call the number in the instructions during the hours listed there. "The person making the call must be authorized to receive the EIN and answer questions concerning Form SS-4." Fill in the form before you call. If the IRS representative asks, you must "mail or fax the signed Form SS-4 (including any third-party designee authorization) within 24 hours."
Use one method only. The instructions warn you to "Use only one method for each entity so you don’t receive more than one EIN for an entity." EINs are also "limited to one per responsible party, per day."
Using a third party designee
The designee box lets you name someone, such as an accountant, to deal with the IRS. Complete it "only if you want to authorize the named individual to answer questions about the completion of Form SS-4 and receive the entity’s newly assigned EIN." The authorization only counts if you sign: "You must complete the signature area for the authorization to be valid."
The designee's role is short. "The designee’s authority terminates at the time the EIN is assigned and released to the designee." The number goes to them by the method they used, "however, the EIN notice will be mailed to the taxpayer." One more catch: if the designee's address or phone number matches yours, "the application must be mailed or faxed."
After the EIN arrives
Keep the IRS notice with the company papers. A bank will ask for it, which our non-resident LLC bank account guide covers. If the owner or controller changes later, the instructions say the change "must be reported to the IRS within 60 days" on Form 8822-B. And keep the number for business use. The IRS says "Don’t use your EIN in place of your social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN)."
The standard route for owners with an SSN or ITIN is in how to get an EIN.