Getting an EIN for Your Minnesota Nonprofit

An Employer Identification Number, or EIN, is the nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to a business. It functions as the business equivalent of a Social Security number, identifying your organization on federal filings, bank paperwork, and official documents. Despite the word "Employer," you need an EIN whether or not you ever hire anyone — for a nonprofit, it's essential regardless of staffing.

Where a nonprofit uses its EIN

• On the 501(c)(3) exemption application: the IRS requires an EIN before you can apply for tax-exempt status, so it's a prerequisite, not an afterthought.
• To open a bank account: banks won't open an account for your nonprofit without its EIN.
• On the annual Form 990: your yearly information return is filed under the EIN.
• To hire employees or pay contractors: payroll and information reporting run through the EIN.

For a nonprofit, the EIN isn't optional in any practical sense. Nearly everything the organization needs to do — bank, fundraise, become exempt, report to the IRS — depends on having one.

Timing matters, and getting it right keeps the whole formation process moving smoothly.

After the Articles, before the bank and the exemption

The right moment to get your EIN is after the Minnesota Secretary of State has accepted your Articles of Incorporation and before you open a bank account or apply for 501(c)(3) status. There's a reason for that order: the EIN application asks for your legal entity information, and having the corporation officially formed first makes the application clean and consistent with the public record.

Why not before incorporating

You can technically obtain an EIN before the state approves your Articles, but it's cleaner to incorporate first so the EIN attaches to a corporation that actually exists on Minnesota's record. Getting the sequence right — incorporate, then EIN, then bank account and exemption application — avoids mismatches between what the IRS has and what the state has.

It's needed before the exemption application

Because Form 1023 and 1023-EZ both require an EIN, you can't apply for federal tax exemption without one. So the EIN sits squarely in the middle of your launch checklist: it comes after formation and gates everything financial that follows.

The application itself is quick and, importantly, free directly from the IRS.

Apply online at IRS.gov

The fastest route is the IRS EIN Assistant on IRS.gov. The online application takes about ten minutes, and the IRS issues the EIN immediately upon completion — you can download and print the confirmation and start using the number the same day. For most Minnesota nonprofits with a US-based responsible party, this is the way to go.

The responsible party

The application asks for a "responsible party" — the individual who controls or manages the organization, typically a director or officer. That person provides their name and Social Security number or ITIN to complete the online application. The responsible party is a real person, not the organization itself; the IRS wants a human being accountable for the entity.

When you can't apply online

If the responsible party doesn't have an SSN or ITIN, or you otherwise can't use the online tool, you apply using Form SS-4 submitted by fax or mail. This is slower — days to weeks rather than minutes — so plan ahead if the online route isn't available to you.

Never pay a separate fee for the EIN itself

The IRS charges nothing for an EIN. Any website or service that charges a standalone fee just to obtain the EIN is charging you for something free. It's fine to have a formation service handle the EIN as part of a package, but you should never be billed a separate line item for the number itself.

A nonprofit's EIN application has a few wrinkles that differ from a for-profit's, and getting them right avoids confusion later.

Choosing the right entity type

When the application asks what type of entity you are, you'll indicate that you're a nonprofit or church-controlled organization rather than an LLC, partnership, or corporation formed for profit. Selecting the correct type keeps the IRS record consistent with the nonprofit you actually formed and the exemption you'll seek.

The EIN doesn't grant exemption

Getting an EIN is a common point of confusion: it does not make your organization tax-exempt. The EIN just identifies the entity. Tax-exempt status is a separate determination the IRS makes only after you file Form 1023 or 1023-EZ and it approves your application. Plenty of new founders think "I got my EIN, so we're a 501(c)(3) now" — you're not. The EIN is a prerequisite for applying, not the approval itself.

Keep the confirmation safe

The EIN confirmation notice (the CP 575 the IRS issues) is an important document. Banks may ask for it, and you'll reference the EIN repeatedly. Store the confirmation with your Articles, bylaws, and other formation records so it's easy to produce when a bank or funder asks.

When Mainstay Filing forms your Minnesota nonprofit, we can help make sure the EIN step happens in the right place in the sequence — after your Articles of Incorporation are on record and before you open a bank account or file for exemption. Because the IRS issues the number at no charge, we don't treat the EIN as a profit center; getting it should be a routine part of standing up your nonprofit, not an upsell.

Our role is to keep your formation moving in the correct order so nothing gets stuck: the corporation formed with the state, the EIN in hand, and your records organized for the exemption application that comes next. For the exemption application itself — Form 1023 or 1023-EZ — you'll want a nonprofit attorney or CPA, but the EIN that gates it is straightforward, and we make sure it doesn't become a bottleneck.

What we don't do

We don't prepare your 501(c)(3) exemption application or give tax advice about your specific programs. What we handle is making the Minnesota formation clean and keeping the EIN step in its proper place, so that by the time you sit down to apply for exemption, the foundational pieces are already in order.