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OTHER NAMES Also known as the Tax Identification Number (TIN), '''Federal Employer Identification Number''' (FEIN) or the '''Federal Tax Identification Number''', it is a unique nine-digit number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to business entities operating in the United States for the purposes of identification. When the number is used for identification rather than employment tax reporting, it is usually referred to as a '''TIN''', and when used for the purposes of reporting employment taxes, it is usually referred to as an ''EIN''. This article will use the latter term. COMPARISON TO SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS Similar in purpose to the Social Security Number assigned to individuals, EINs are used by employers, sole proprietors, Corporation s, Partnership s, non-profit organizations, Trust s and Estates , government agencies, certain individuals and other business entities. The IRS uses this number to identify taxpayers that are required to file various business tax returns. Individuals who are employers may choose to either obtain an EIN or use their Social Security Number for the purpose of reporting taxes withheld on behalf of their employees. EIN FORMAT An EIN is usually written in the form 00-0000000 whereas a Social Security Number is usually written in the form 000-00-0000 in order to differentiate between the two. NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND EINS The issuance of an EIN to a non-profit organization is separate and distinct from the organization actually obtaining non-profit status with the IRS. Each Chapter of a National Non-profit Organization must have its own EIN but the central organization may file for a Group Exemption. EIN LOOKUP Melissadata provides free searches, by organization name or ZIP code, of a database of over 1.3 million nonprofits' EIN numbers. GuideStar maintains a free searchable database of more than one million nonprofits. The information returned used to include the EIN number, but a recent attempt to use this service indicates that the EIN is now only available to paid subscribers. Basic information such as the name and type of the non-profit is still available without charge, as well as copies of many filed IRS 990 forms. GuideStar National Directory of Nonprofit Organizations: Free access to basic information on the more than 1 million nonprofits in GuideStar database. Search by name, location, keyword, income, category, and type, bringing up listings that include program and financial information. KnowX provides a free lookup function, displaying company names and locations associated with a given EIN. Reports on those companies, however, are not free. GETTING AN EIN How to Apply Getting a NEW EIN EIN EXPIRY EINs do not expire but they are only numbers given to identify businesses. Nonprofit organizations need EINs to apply for an exemption from Federal Income Tax. Exemption is terminated if annual reports are not filed. To maintain a group exemption letter, the central organization must submit an annual report, at least 90 days before the close of its annual accounting period. SEE ALSO
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