Docket 03 · EIN
The nine digits everything else waits for — applied for properly, tracked to the letter.
Banks, marketplaces, payment processors, and the IRS itself all key your company to its Employer Identification Number. For founders with a US Social Security number the application is straightforward. For founders without one — most of our clients — it runs through a specific IRS workflow that punishes shortcuts. We run it the slow, correct way.
Included in Launch, $499 — take the intake quiz or go to checkout.
The two routes
- With an SSN or ITIN: the responsible party’s taxpayer number goes on Form SS-4 and the application moves through the standard IRS channels.
- Without an SSN: the SS-4 is completed with the foreign responsible party’s details and submitted by fax to the IRS unit that handles foreign applicants. The typical wait is 15–25 business days. The IRS sets that pace; anyone who quotes you a faster guaranteed date is selling you a number obtained some other way.
What we do, exactly
We prepare the SS-4 from your intake facts, have you confirm the responsible-party details before submission (a mismatch between the SS-4 and your formation documents is the most common cause of delay), submit through the correct channel, and track the application until the IRS assignment letter arrives. The letter is mirrored into your portal documents, because you will be asked for it for years.
The honest edges
An EIN is not a tax clearance, a visa fact, or a bank approval. A foreign-owned single-member LLC with an EIN also acquires a yearly federal reporting obligation — Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 — which your compliance calendar carries from day one with a plain-language explanation, so it is never discovered at penalty time. The full mechanics of the no-SSN route are in our EIN without an SSN guide.
Filing processing fee: 3% of the total order amount, charged by our fulfillment provider, CorpNet, where it applies to your order, including on pass-through charges within the order. It is shown as its own itemized line at checkout and is not Sethhost revenue.
Questions on this filing
Can I apply myself for free?
Yes — the IRS charges nothing, and our guide explains the fax workflow step by step for founders who would rather run it themselves. Launch includes it because most founders would rather not debug an IRS fax rejection across time zones.
Why does the EIN take longer than the formation?
Because it is a different government. The state stamps your articles on its own queue; the IRS foreign-applicant unit works on its own. We track both in the same portal so the wait is visible, not mysterious.
Do I need an EIN before opening a US bank account?
In practice, yes — and the account itself remains the bank’s decision. We supply the formation documents and EIN letter banks ask for; we never promise an approval.