Form SS-4 Instructions to File

screenshot of Form SS-4 for the 2022 tax year

Contents

Personal information
Business information
Ending

Form SS-4, the EIN request tax form, is a simple document you can complete in one go. It doesn’t take much to complete SS-4 as it only asks you to detail your personal and business information. You can complete an adequate copy and mail it to the Internal Revenue Service to apply for an Employer Identification Number in about five to ten minutes.

Here are the line-by-line instructions to file Form SS-4 to get your EIN to enter on relevant tax forms.

Personal information

Line 1: Enter your business name. If you’re a sole proprietor, enter your full name.

Line 2: Enter your trade name if it’s different than what’s entered on Line 1.

Line 3: On this line, enter the trustee’s name if it’s a trust, executor’s name if it’s an estate, or the care of person’s name if the entity has a designated person to receive tax information.

Line 4, 5, and 6: Enter the mailing address.

Line 7: Enter the responsible party’s full name and taxpayer identification number (SSN, EIN, ITIN).

Line 8: Answer the questions if the tax classification is an LLC.

Business information

Line 9: If not an LLC, check the corresponding tax classification of the business.

Line 10: Check the box that corresponds to the reason for the EIN application.

Line 11: Enter the business establishment date or the date of acquisition.

Line 12: Enter the closing month of the account (fiscal) year.

Line 13: Enter the maximum number of employees you anticipate working for the business in the next 12 months.

Line 14: Check the box if you’re expecting your employment tax liability to be less than $1,000, in which Form 941 isn’t necessary to file. Instead, file Form 944.

Line 15: Enter the first day the wages are paid.

Line 16: Check the box that best describes the principal activity of the business. If none apply, describe it on other.

Line 17: State the principal line of merchandise sold, services provided, specific constructions done, and products made.

Line 18: Check the box if you applied for EIN in the past for this entity.