Getting an EIN for Your New Hampshire Corporation

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a nine-digit number the IRS assigns to identify a business entity for federal tax purposes. Think of it as a Social Security number for your corporation. Because a corporation is a separate legal entity from its owners, it needs its own federal identifier — you cannot run a corporation on your personal Social Security number.

What you need it for

• Opening a business bank account. Every bank will ask for the corporation's EIN and usually the filed Articles of Incorporation.
• Hiring employees. The EIN is how the corporation reports payroll and employment taxes.
• Filing federal tax returns. A corporation files its own return, and the EIN identifies it.
• Registering for New Hampshire state taxes. The Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax registrations reference the corporation and its federal EIN.
• Applying for licenses and credit. Many licenses, vendor accounts, and business credit applications require an EIN.

Because a corporation issues stock and has its own tax obligations from day one, essentially every corporation needs an EIN — there is no realistic scenario where you skip it.

Timing matters. Apply for the EIN after the New Hampshire Secretary of State has accepted your Articles of Incorporation and the corporation legally exists — not before.

The reason is that the EIN application asks for the entity's legal name and formation details. If you apply before the corporation is officially on the record, you risk a mismatch between what the IRS has and what the state has, which can create headaches when you open a bank account or file returns. Once your Articles are accepted, the corporation exists, and you can request its EIN with everything lined up.

There is no reason to rush the EIN ahead of formation. The application itself takes only minutes, so it is easy to do right after your Articles come back accepted.

The EIN is free. The IRS never charges for it. Be wary of any site that presents itself as the place to "get your EIN" for a fee — that is a third party charging for something the government provides at no cost.

The online application (fastest)

The quickest route is the IRS online EIN application at irs.gov. It is available during IRS business hours, and when you complete it, the EIN is issued immediately at the end of the session. You will need:

• The corporation's legal name and New Hampshire formation details.
• The name and taxpayer ID (SSN or ITIN) of the "responsible party" — typically a principal officer or controlling person of the corporation.
• The corporation's mailing address and basic information about its activity.

Complete the application in one sitting; the system does not save partway through. Download and save the confirmation notice (the CP 575) as soon as you get it — that is your official EIN record.

Other methods

If you cannot use the online tool — for example, the responsible party lacks a U.S. taxpayer ID — you can apply by fax or mail using Form SS-4, though those methods take longer. International applicants can also apply by phone. For most domestic corporations, the online application is by far the simplest.

The IRS requires every EIN application to name a "responsible party" — the individual who ultimately owns or controls the entity, or who exercises effective control over it. For a corporation, this is generally a principal officer.

Why it matters

• The responsible party must be a real person, not another entity (with narrow exceptions).
• Their SSN or ITIN goes on the application, tying the EIN to a real, identifiable controlling person.
• If the responsible party later changes, the IRS asks you to update it using Form 8822-B.

Choose the right person up front — usually the president or another principal officer of the corporation — so the IRS record accurately reflects who controls the entity.

Getting the federal EIN is a milestone, but it is federal. It does not register you for New Hampshire's state taxes, which are separate.

Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax

A corporation doing business in New Hampshire may owe the Business Profits Tax and the Business Enterprise Tax, both administered by the Department of Revenue Administration. The EIN identifies your corporation on these state filings, but obtaining the EIN does not by itself register or file anything at the state level. Your accountant, or the Department of Revenue Administration's guidance, will tell you what New Hampshire tax accounts your corporation needs.

Employer registrations

If the corporation will have employees, there are additional registrations — for state unemployment and related employer obligations — that go beyond the EIN. Again, the EIN is the federal identifier those registrations reference, but each is its own step.

Keeping these distinct in your mind saves confusion: the EIN is one free federal number, and New Hampshire's tax and employer registrations are separate obligations that use it.

A few recurring mistakes turn a five-minute task into a headache. Knowing them in advance keeps the process clean.

Applying too early or with the wrong name

The most common issue is a mismatch between the name on the EIN and the name the state has on file. This happens when you apply before your Articles are accepted, or when you enter the name slightly differently than it appears on the Articles. Enter the corporation's legal name exactly as it reads on your accepted Articles of Incorporation — same words, same punctuation.

Paying a third party for the number itself

Search results and ads sometimes make paid EIN services look like the official channel. They are not. The IRS is the only issuer, and it charges nothing. A legitimate formation package may bundle EIN assistance with other services, but you should never pay a standalone fee just to obtain the number.

Losing the confirmation notice

When the online application finishes, it produces the CP 575 confirmation notice with your EIN on it. Save a copy immediately — banks often want to see it, and the IRS does not casually reissue it. If you lose it, you can request a replacement (Form 147C), but that is an avoidable errand.

Getting more than one EIN

A corporation needs exactly one EIN. Do not reapply if you think you made a mistake — contact the IRS to correct information instead. Multiple EINs tied to the same entity create confusion on tax filings that is tedious to untangle.

Not updating the responsible party

If the person who controls the corporation changes — a new president, a change in ownership — the IRS expects you to update the responsible party using Form 8822-B. Keeping that record current avoids problems if the IRS ever needs to reach the entity's controlling person.