Getting an EIN for Your Maryland Nonprofit

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to organizations. Think of it as a Social Security number for your nonprofit — the unique identifier the federal government, banks, and other institutions use to recognize the entity.

Despite the word "Employer," you need an EIN even if you'll never hire anyone. For a nonprofit corporation, the EIN is foundational, because almost everything downstream requires it:

• Opening a bank account — no bank will open a business account for the corporation without an EIN.
• Applying for 501(c)(3) status — Form 1023 and 1023-EZ both require the EIN.
• Filing federal returns — your annual Form 990 series is filed under the EIN.
• Hiring and payroll — if you do hire, the EIN is the account payroll taxes run through.
• Grants and contracts — funders identify your organization by its EIN.

The EIN is also permanent. It stays with the corporation for its entire life and generally doesn't change even as your board, address, or name evolve.

Timing matters more than people expect. The right moment to apply for an EIN is after the state has approved your Articles of Incorporation — once the nonprofit corporation legally exists — and before you open a bank account or file for exemption.

Why after formation, not before

When you apply for the EIN, the IRS asks for the corporation's legal name and the state and date it was formed. If you apply before SDAT has approved your Articles, you risk a mismatch between the IRS record and the state record — the corporation's name or formation details might not line up, which can create headaches when you later apply for exemption or open accounts. Wait until the corporation is officially on file with SDAT, then apply.

Why before the bank and the exemption

The bank needs the EIN to open your account, and the IRS needs it on your Form 1023 or 1023-EZ. So the EIN sits in the middle of the sequence: state formation, then EIN, then bank account and exemption application. Getting it out of order is one of the most common self-inflicted delays in nonprofit formation.

The EIN is issued by the IRS at no cost, and for most nonprofits with a US-based responsible party, the online application is the fastest route.

Online (the fast path)

1. Go to the IRS EIN Assistant at IRS.gov (search "IRS apply for EIN online").
2. Select that you're applying for an EIN and choose the entity type that fits — a nonprofit or "other nonprofit/tax-exempt organization" as prompted.
3. Provide the responsible party — usually a principal officer (president, treasurer) — along with their SSN or ITIN.
4. Enter the corporation's legal name and formation details exactly as they appear on your SDAT filing.
5. Submit. The EIN is issued immediately, and you can download the confirmation notice right away.

The online session must be completed in one sitting (it times out), and it's available during the IRS's posted hours. Have your filed Articles in front of you so the name and date match precisely.

By fax or mail (Form SS-4)

If your responsible party doesn't have a US SSN or ITIN, the online tool won't work. In that case you complete Form SS-4 and submit it by fax or mail. Fax turnaround is typically a few business days; mail takes longer. International applicants without a taxpayer ID follow this route.

A few recurring errors trip up nonprofit founders. None are hard to avoid once you know them.

• Applying before the state approves the Articles. This causes name and date mismatches. Wait until the corporation legally exists.
• Paying a fee for the EIN. The IRS charges nothing. If a site charges you "for the EIN" as though it were a government fee, that's a service fee, not a cost the IRS imposes. You can apply directly for free.
• Getting the legal name slightly wrong. The name on the EIN application should match your SDAT filing exactly — punctuation and all. Mismatches cause friction with banks and the IRS later.
• Naming the wrong responsible party. The responsible party should be a real individual with authority over the organization — typically a principal officer — not a service provider or a placeholder.
• Losing the confirmation notice. Download and save the CP 575 (or equivalent) confirmation immediately. You'll be asked for it by banks and on the exemption application, and reissuing it later is a hassle.

Requesting a replacement

If you do lose your EIN confirmation, you can contact the IRS to request a confirmation of the number (a 147C letter). It's recoverable, but saving the original the first time is far simpler.

With the EIN in hand, the rest of the formation sequence opens up:

• Open the nonprofit's bank account using the EIN, your filed Articles, and your bylaws/board authorization.
• File for 501(c)(3) status — the EIN goes on your Form 1023 or 1023-EZ.
• Set up for the Form 990 series — your annual IRS information return is filed under the EIN.
• Handle Maryland tax accounts — after you have your IRS determination letter, use the EIN when applying to the Comptroller of Maryland for sales and use tax exemption and any other state tax accounts.

The EIN is a small step that everything else hangs on. Get it right — at the right time, with the right details, for free from the IRS — and the path to a funded, exempt, fully operational Maryland nonprofit stays clear.