What Happens to Old EIN Numbers?

An employer identification number is important for nearly any type of business. The number lends credibility to your company and allows you to open bank accounts or perform other financial transaction in your company’s name. Unfortunately, some companies never get off the ground or end up closing their doors. This may have you wondering what happens to your old EIN number.

Inactive Federal Tax ID Numbers

To put it simply, nothing really happens to your EIN if your business never opens or closes its doors after a while. Once you have a federal tax ID number, it’s yours forever. If you’d like, you can contact the IRS to close your account, which requires sending a letter explaining why you want to deactivate the account as well as providing some information about your business. Even if you close the account, the number doesn’t go back into the queue. It is simply marked as inactive. If you were to ever re-open the same business under the same entity, the number would reactivate.

How to Apply for an EIN

You can apply for an EIN online. The IRS-EIN-Tax-ID website provides an easy-to-understand application that is available 24 hours a day. It takes just a few minutes to fill out with information about you and your company, and many people receive an email with their employer identification number the very same day. Should you submit your application after 3:00 p.m. PST, you’ll receive a response the next business day.

Businesses That Require an EIN

You need an EIN if your business falls into any of the following categories.

• You have employees
• Your business is a corporation or partnership
• You file tax returns for employment, alcohol, firearms, tobacco or excise
• You withhold non-wage income paid to a non-resident alien
• You have Keogh plan
• You have a trust or estate
• You work in real estate mortgage investments
• You run a non-profit organization or farmers’ cooperative
• You are a plan administrator

Find out more about the benefit of EINs and how to apply for one from IRS EIN Tax ID Filing Service. Contact the company to start the application process.