Question:  I am a not a U.S. citizen and I live outside the U.S., aka a “nonresident alien.”  I formed a limited liability company in the U.S.  How do I get a federal employer id number (EIN) for my LLC?

Answer:  You can get the EIN one of two ways:  the easy way or the not so easy way. Before January of 2014 we could get an EIN for an LLC we formed for a nonresident alien if the nonresident alien completed and signed an IRS form SS-4 that designated my legal assistant as a third party designee authorized to contact the IRS and get the EIN.  My legal assistant would call the IRS international EIN number, fax the SS-4 to the IRS agent and spend about 45 minutes on the phone, but at the end of the call the IRS would give my legal assistant the EIN.

Beginning in January of 2014, the IRS canned that procedure.  Now a company of any type owned by a nonresident alien gets an EIN for the company by one of the following two methods:

You should be able to get the EIN for the new LLC by using the IRS’ online wizard here:

Easy Way: If the nonresident alien has an IRS issued International Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), the nonresident alien can obtain the EIN in a 5 – 10 minute data entry session using the IRS’ online EIN wizard.  After submitting all of the information the website will display the EIN.  Be sure to print the page with the EIN and keep it in a safe place.

Hard Way:  If the nonresident alien does not have an ITIN then he or she must complete and sign an IRS form SS-4 and fax or mail it to the IRS.  Faxing the SS-4 to the IRS is the better method because the IRS will fax the EIN to the applicant in approximately four business days vs. three to four weeks if the SS-4 is mailed to the IRS.  Prepare, sign and fax the IRS form SS-4 to the IRS at 859-669-5760.

To get a partially completed IRS form SS-4 for an LLC and my detailed instructions on how to fill out the form read my article called “How to Complete IRS Form SS-4.”  Be sure to delete all the text at the bottom of the form in the Third Party Designee Fields and insert your name, phone number and fax number at the bottom of the form.