| We meet again. Small Business and the IRS always | | | | organizations: |
| clash. You have small, middle class Americans in the | | | | · Estates |
| right corner, and the biggest collection agency there is | | | | · Real estate mortgage investment conduits |
| in the left corner. Who do you think has the clear size | | | | · Non-profit organizations |
| advantage? The only way to get ahead is to arm | | | | · Farmers' cooperatives |
| yourself with knowledge and make sure you don't | | | | · Plan administrators |
| make a small mistake. | | | | If anything above applies to you, apply for an |
| Employment ID Numbers: The IRS uses Employment | | | | Employment ID Number. |
| ID numbers to identify a small business. With few | | | | A New EIN: If the ownership or structure of your |
| exceptions, all businesses need one. | | | | business has changed, you have to apply for a new |
| The Checklist: Here's a quick checklist the IRS provides | | | | Employment Identification Number. This doesn't apply |
| to help you determine if your business needs an | | | | to small changes like changing your company's location |
| Employment ID number. | | | | or name. It also doesn't apply if you open another |
| | | | business in addition to the one you have. But if you |
| 1. Do You Have Employees? | | | | incorporate, inherit the business, or take on a partner, |
| 2. Do you operate the business as either a partnership | | | | you need to get a new EIN. |
| or a corporation? | | | | Getting it Done: Applying for an EIN requires you to fill |
| 3. Do you file Excise, Employment, Alcohol, Tobacco, | | | | out form SS-4 "Application for Employer Identification |
| or Firearm taxes? | | | | Number." The IRS also offers services for applying for |
| 4. Do you withhold taxes on income, other than wages, | | | | an EIN on their official website. Applying for an EIN will |
| paid to a non-resident alien? | | | | prevent you from getting into IRS trouble in the long |
| 5. Are you involved with any of the following types of | | | | run, so make sure you get to it! |