By Mikal E. Belicove, Director - Community & Education, Doba
The IRS doesn't require certain small businesses to have a TIN (Tax Identification Number), but more and more businesses, some of which you may want to do business with, require a TIN.
What is a TIN or EIN?
A TIN is like an SSN (Social Security Number) for businesses. It identifies your business entity to the IRS and to any businesses or individuals who may want to do business with you. Like an SSN, a TIN is nine digits, but the nine digits are arranged a little differently. Instead of appearing as 000-00-0000, a TIN appears as 00-0000000.
The IRS officially refers to the TIN as the EIN (short for Employee Identification Number), because the number was originally intended and is still primarily used by companies who must process payroll taxes for employees. The number is usually referred to as a TIN when used to identify a business and as an EIN when used to report employment taxes, but TIN and EIN are just different names for the same thing.
Do I need a TIN?
Depending on how you've structured your business and whether you have employees on your payroll...
