The EIN and IRS forms · A term for founders abroad
What is an SSN?
Social Security Number. The US personal tax and benefits number for citizens and people authorised to work; not something a founder abroad has or needs to own a US company.
Checked against the IRS's instructions and the states' own rules. Reviewed by Saais Patel, compliance reviewer.
Term 94 of 105 in the glossary, filed under S.IRS: instructions for Form SS-4
SSN, for a founder abroad.
A Social Security Number is issued to US citizens, permanent residents and people authorised to work in the US. A founder living abroad usually can't get one and doesn't need one: the company gets an EIN without it, and the owner's own tax number comes from their home country.
Where a US form asks for an SSN, a founder abroad usually has three answers: the company's EIN, if the form is about the company; "foreign" or N/A, as Form SS-4 allows; or an ITIN, on the rare occasions you need a US number of your own.
Putting someone else's SSN on an EIN application to speed it up misstates who controls the company. We won't file that way.
Sources: IRS: instructions for Form SS-4.
Read next · guide · 6 minHow to get an EIN without a Social Security NumberWhat founders ask next.
- Do I need an SSN to start a US LLC?
- No. No state asks for one, and the company's EIN is issued without it, by fax, post or the IRS's international phone line.
- Can a non-resident get an SSN?
- Generally only with permission to work in the US. A founder who owns a US company from abroad doesn't qualify for that reason alone.
- What do I enter when a bank or platform asks for my SSN?
- If the account is the company's, its EIN. If they want a number for you personally, say you're a non-resident; most accept a passport and your home country's tax number, and some ask for an ITIN.
03 · See also
- The EIN and IRS formsEINThe nine-digit tax number the IRS assigns to a business, and the first thing every US bank, payment processor and marketplace asks for.Read the term
- The EIN and IRS formsITINA personal US tax number for people who must file a US return but can't get an SSN; not needed to form a company or to get its EIN.Read the term
- The EIN and IRS formsForm SS-4The IRS application for an Employer Identification Number, sent by fax or post, or made by phone, when the responsible party has no SSN or ITIN.Read the term
- The EIN and IRS formsCP 575 letterThe IRS notice confirming a newly assigned EIN, posted once to the address on the application; the document banks usually ask to see.Read the term
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