What is an EIN in Florida?
As an individual, you are liable to pay taxes on state and federal levels. To do this, you use your SSN. When you register an LLC, you create an entity that has the power to sue and be sued, which is pretty much like a person. As such, it is also liable to pay taxes. But given that this is not a human being, it cannot get an SSN but instead, the government issues you with an EIN number Florida which you can use to represent your business operations. This EIN Florida is thus a means to keep up with your regulatory compliance requirements.
Why does an LLC need an EIN in Florida?
Not every Florida business needs to have one and it depends on the structure of your operations. Generally, you need to get an EIN for free from the IRS if:
- You are planning to employ people to help in the carrying out of your business operations. Any business with employees must have this Florida state EIN number to help with the payroll.
- You are creating an entity that falls under a corporation or a partnership.
- You are liable to pay taxes that fall under employment, excise, tobacco, firearms, and alcohol. These will relate to your nature of operations.
- You have a Keogh plan (this is a form of retirement fund).
- Your operations are involved in withholding taxes on income which are paid to a nonresident alien. These monies are those other than wages.
- Your business is involved with estates, trusts, real estate mortgage investments, plan administrators, and categories that fall in this line.
- You do not own the business alone and instead, have other members sharing in the profits and losses.
Where your company does not fall into any of these categories, you do not have to obtain an EIN. However, you may find that your choice of financial institution requires you to have this ID. In this case, your need for ID will be for purposes other than regulatory compliance. You may also want to get one to enjoy ease in:
- Opening a bank account. Among the documents you will need to provide to a financial institution to open an account with them is your tax ID. Banks often ask for this to confirm some details such as what you do, how much revenue generate, what tax classification you under, how many employees you have, and other details that can help them assess the legitimacy of your operations.
- Regulatory compliance. Depending on what you do, you might find yourself paying taxes at both levels, and having an ID would enable you to move through these processes smoothly. For example, if you have people working for you, the authorities require that you pay specific amounts to cater to these persons’ needs. Doing so ensures that you can keep up with your other operations without being in danger of penalization.
- Licensing. You will need to get some licenses for you to conduct business in the state. For some of these permits, the authorities will want to have a look at your ID and may request that you get one before they can complete the approval.
- Acquiring loans or credit cards. Your financial institution may look upon your application more kindly if you have an ID as this points to your professionalism. If you want to enjoy loan facilities in the future, you might want to consider making an ID application from the onset.
How To Find the EIN for your Business
If you cannot seem to locate your ID, there are a few ways you can use to find a Florida EIN. They include:
- Accessing your online account and looking for a notice of confirmation. Generally, if you make your application through online means, you will receive a notification in a similar manner.
- Calling your bank to check if they have the information. When opening an account, most financial providers request that you provide them with your ID which they will have on record.
- Calling an agency you used to procure a license for a Name EIN Lookup. Say for example you needed a permit and had to go through a given authority to get the same. You can call the person who handled this on your behalf and they will likely have the required details. Or the filing agency you used such as Sunshine Corporate Filings.
- Looking through your previous filing documents. When filing your returns, you will include your ID at some point, and if you have such documents lying around the office or house, you can easily scour them and find what you looking for.
- Calling the IRS for an EIN lookup Florida. If push comes to shove and you’ve still not found what you looking for, the authorities are your last resort. The lines are open from 7 a.m. Until 7 p.m. local time during weekdays. As long as you’re the authorized person to receive such information, the agent on the other side will not have any problem helping you out with this issue.
How to get an EIN number in Florida
Before making an application, you should make sure that you have gotten approval to operate your business. While you can always get an ID beforehand, you will get one that will not be attached to any business if your application does not bear fruit. Wait until you get registration documents then you can think about contacting the IRS.
You can file:
- Online: directly on the IRS site
- Mail:
Internal Revenue Service
Attn: EIN Operation
Cincinnati, OH 45999
- FAX: 859-669-5760
- Toll-free number: 800-829-4933.
What Form Do I File?
For all applications, you will need to fill and submit Form SS-4
You will not incur any charges to apply for an EIN for your LLC. The waiting time depends on the method you use. If you do it online, you can expect to have your response immediately after you’re done with the application, although the hard copy will come out a while later. For physical copies, you will have to wait much longer with some taking up to 8 weeks before you can get a response. While online means would be the most convenient, you might not have the opportunity to use them because you may lack some of the documentation required.