EIN

Business Tax ID Number – FEIN and EIN Explained

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fein ein difference ssn

There is an unfortunate amount of confusion surrounding the concept of the Federal Tax Identification Number. It is ironic, because the whole Tax ID, FEIN, and EIN thing is actually very simple, mostly because they are generally all the same thing. However, it isn’t surprising that this concept confused many personal finance students because when it comes to things like laws and taxes, tiny variations in terms usually mean very different things. What is a Tax ID Number? Tax ID Number, or Tax Identification Number (TID), and the like, all refer to the same thing. When taxes are filed, whether they are personal income taxes, or business income taxes, there must be a unique identifier used on the tax return. Likewise, if income is reported, that income must be reported to the IRS with a unique number identifying who it was paid to. In the case of Federal Income Taxes, the tax ID number is a Social Security Number. However, businesses do not have SSN, so they need a different unique number to use for identification purposes on tax documents. FEIN stands for Federal Employer Identification Number. It’s “brother” is the EIN which stands for Employer Identification Number. What Is …

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IRS Tax ID Number ITIN

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It seems that more than a few readers end up here on FinanceGourmet because they are searching for information about taxpayer identification numbers. As a result, they end up here where I discuss IRS tax id numbers for businesses, specifically, the EIN and FEIN numbers. While that article is a good discussion of business tax numbers, it leaves out an important tax identification number for individuals. ITIN Individual Taxpayer Identification Number For most people, your taxpayer id number is your Social Security number. The IRS requires to use your SSN for tax filing purposes if you have one. However, there are some people who need a tax id number to file documents or forms with the IRS, who do not have a Social Security number, and who cannot get one. For these people, the IRS offers a special Taxpayer Identification Number or ITIN. An ITIN is a faux Social Security number generated by the IRS specifically for the purposes of filing required tax documents. It is not a Social Security number and is not supposed to be used as one. Obviously, as a pseudo-SSN, it cannot be used for employment purposes or for filing for Social Security benefits. Likewise, is …

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