Getting an EIN for Your Massachusetts Nonprofit

The IRS assigns each entity a nine-digit federal tax ID known as an Employer Identification Number. It identifies your nonprofit to the federal government the way a Social Security number identifies an individual. Despite the word "Employer" in the name, you need one even if you'll never have a single employee — the name is a historical artifact, not a description of who needs it.

Why a nonprofit can't function without one

• You can't open a bank account without it. Banks require an EIN to open an account in the organization's name, and a nonprofit needs its own account to keep its finances separate from any individual's.
• You can't apply for tax exemption without it. The IRS Form 1023 or 1023-EZ requires your EIN. Since exemption is the whole point for most nonprofits, this alone makes the EIN mandatory.
• You'll use it on every federal filing. Your annual Form 990 and any payroll filings are tied to the EIN.

The EIN isn't optional infrastructure — it's the number that makes the organization real to the federal government and to every institution you'll deal with.

Timing matters more than people expect. The right sequence is: incorporate first, then get the EIN.

Incorporate before you apply

Wait until the Secretary of the Commonwealth has accepted your Articles of Organization before applying for the EIN. Here's why: the IRS record will carry your organization's exact legal name, and that name needs to match your incorporated name precisely. If you get the EIN under a slightly different name — before the state finalized your exact corporate name — you create a mismatch between your IRS record and your state record that causes friction with banks, grantmakers, and your exemption application down the road.

Get it before the bank and the IRS application

Once you're incorporated, get the EIN right away — you'll need it for the very next steps. You can't open the organization's bank account without it, and you can't file for tax exemption without it. So the EIN sits neatly between incorporation and everything that follows. It's immediate to obtain, so there's no reason to delay once your Articles are accepted.

Getting an EIN is genuinely simple and completely free directly from the IRS. Be wary of any third-party site that charges a fee to "get" your EIN — the IRS issues it at no cost.

The online application

Apply through the IRS EIN Assistant at IRS.gov. The online application is the fastest route and issues your EIN immediately on completion — you can download the confirmation and use the number the same day.

What you'll provide

• The organization's exact legal name and Massachusetts address.
• The entity type — you'll indicate that you're a nonprofit or other tax-exempt organization type.
• The responsible party — a principal officer of the nonprofit, typically the president. This person provides their name and taxpayer identification number (SSN or ITIN).
• The reason you're applying — starting a new organization.

The responsible party

The IRS requires a responsible party — a real person who controls or manages the organization, usually a principal officer. For a nonprofit, this is generally the president or another board officer. The responsible party isn't an owner (nonprofits have no owners); they're simply the individual the IRS holds accountable as the organization's point of contact.

If you can't apply online

The online application requires the responsible party to have a U.S. SSN or ITIN. If your responsible party doesn't have one, you can apply by fax or mail using Form SS-4, which takes longer than the immediate online issuance.

Getting the number is quick; using it correctly is what matters next.

Save the confirmation permanently

When the IRS issues your EIN online, you receive a confirmation notice (the CP 575 or the online equivalent). Save it in your permanent corporate records alongside your Articles of Organization and, later, your determination letter. Banks and grantmakers often ask for it, and it's the official proof of your EIN. Reissuing a lost confirmation is a hassle, so store it carefully the first time.

Use it to open the bank account

With the EIN and your filed Articles, you can open the organization's bank account. Keeping the nonprofit's money in its own account — never commingled with any individual's — is essential to the liability protection incorporation provides and to clean financial records for your 990 and Attorney General filings.

Use it for the exemption application

Your EIN goes on your IRS Form 1023 or 1023-EZ application for 501(c)(3) status. Since you can't apply for exemption without it, the EIN is the bridge between incorporating and becoming tax-exempt.

A few predictable mistakes cause most of the EIN trouble new nonprofits run into. All are easy to avoid once you know them.

Applying before the name is final

The biggest one: getting the EIN before the state has finalized your exact corporate name, creating a name mismatch. Incorporate first, then apply, so the IRS and state records agree.

Paying a third party for a free service

The IRS issues EINs at no cost. Sites that charge a fee to "obtain" your EIN are charging you for something free. If you use a formation service, an EIN may be bundled into a broader package, but the number itself has no IRS fee.

Getting more than one

An organization needs exactly one EIN. Applying multiple times — because you weren't sure the first one went through, for instance — creates duplicate records that are a headache to untangle. If you're unsure whether you already have one, check your records before reapplying.

Choosing the wrong responsible party

The responsible party should be a genuine principal officer who actually controls the organization — typically the president. Don't list someone who isn't really in a governing role, and update the IRS if the responsible party later changes.

How Mainstay Filing fits in

When we form your Massachusetts nonprofit, we make sure the incorporation is done first and your exact corporate name is settled, which is the foundation for getting the EIN cleanly. We can guide you to the free IRS EIN application so you get the number under the right name and move on to your bank account and exemption application without the common missteps.