EIN (Employer Identification Number)
An EIN is the nine-digit federal tax ID the IRS issues to a business entity. Despite the name, you don't need employees to need one: it's required to open a US business bank account, complete marketplace tax interviews, file entity returns and hire later. For ecommerce sellers it's also the number your 1099-Ks are matched against. Foreign owners can get an EIN without a Social Security Number by filing Form SS-4 by fax or mail.
For US-based sellers the EIN is a ten-minute online application and rarely causes trouble. The friction is on the international side. A foreign owner can't use the online tool, so the path is Form SS-4 with "Foreign" on line 7b, faxed to the IRS, with a response that typically takes one to two weeks by fax and considerably longer by mail. Every downstream step, bank account, Amazon tax interview, payment processor onboarding, queues behind that number, so it's the first thing to file after forming the entity.
One recurring mix-up: the EIN identifies the entity, while an ITIN identifies a foreign individual. A foreign-owned LLC often needs the first and not the second. We walk through who needs what, and the exact SS-4 mechanics, in our EIN guide for sellers, and handle the whole setup sequence for international sellers.
Where this shows up in our work
This isn’t textbook material for us; it’s the day-to-day of keeping seller books right. See how we handle it in practice:
International Sellers→