Do EIN Numbers Expire? Closing the Account and Penalties

No, EINs do not expire. Once the IRS assigns a nine-digit Employer Identification Number to a business, that number belongs to that entity permanently and is never reused or reassigned, even if the business closes, dissolves, goes through bankruptcy, or never files a single return.¹ If you no longer need yours, though, there are steps to take so the IRS stops expecting returns under it.

Why the Number Is Permanent

The IRS treats an EIN the way it treats a Social Security number: as a permanent federal taxpayer identifier tied to one specific entity. The number stays in federal records indefinitely and is never recycled to another organization.¹ Because it is permanent, the IRS cannot cancel it. What the IRS can do is close the business account associated with the number so no future filing obligations attach to it. The EIN itself remains on file as a historical record.

How to Close the Business Account Tied to Your EIN

When you stop operating, you should formally ask the IRS to close the account. Skipping this step can leave the file open and generate notices about missing returns. Before the IRS will close the account, you have to file all outstanding returns and pay any tax owed.¹

Send a letter to the IRS that includes:

The entity’s complete legal name as it appears on federal records
The EIN
The business’s current mailing address
A brief reason for closing the account
A copy of the original EIN assignment notice (CP 575) if you still have it

Mail the letter to either Internal Revenue Service, MS 6055, Kansas City, MO 64108, or Internal Revenue Service, MS 6273, Ogden, UT 84201.¹

Final Returns You Have to File First

The IRS will not close the account until every required return is in and any balance is paid. Which returns you owe depends on your structure.²

Income Tax Returns

Partnerships filing Form 1065 and corporations filing Form 1120 or 1120-S check the “final return” box near the top of the first page for the year the business closes. Partnerships and S corporations also check the “final K-1” box on each Schedule K-1 issued to partners or shareholders.² Sole proprietors file a final Schedule C with their individual Form 1040 for the year operations end.

A corporation that adopts a plan to dissolve or liquidate stock must also file Form 966 within 30 days of adopting the resolution, and file another Form 966 within 30 days of any later amendment.³

Employment Tax Returns

If the business had employees, file a final Form 941 (or the applicable annual equivalent) for the quarter in which wages were last paid. Check the box on line 17, enter the final wage date, and attach a statement giving the name of the person keeping payroll records and the address where those records will be stored.⁴ Form 941 is generally due by the last day of the month following the end of the quarter.

What It Costs to Leave the Account Open

Failing to file final returns or make required tax deposits triggers penalties that keep growing after you have stopped operating.

Failure-to-File Penalties

For most business income tax returns, including Form 1120, the penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month the return is late, up to a maximum of 25%. If a return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty for returns due after December 31, 2025, is $525 or 100% of the unpaid tax, whichever is less.⁵

Partnership and S corporation returns carry a per-person penalty. For returns due after December 31, 2025, the penalty is $255 per partner or shareholder for each month or partial month the return is late, up to 12 months.⁵ A four-partner LLC that files its final Form 1065 six months late would face a penalty of $6,120.

Failure-to-Deposit Penalties

If you owed employment taxes in your final quarter and did not deposit them on time, the penalty scales with how late the deposit is:⁶

1–5 calendar days late: 2% of the unpaid deposit
6–15 calendar days late: 5% of the unpaid deposit
More than 15 calendar days late: 10% of the unpaid deposit
More than 10 days after a first notice, or upon receiving an immediate-payment notice: 15% of the unpaid deposit

Interest accrues on these penalties and keeps running until the balance is paid.⁶

When You Actually Need a New EIN

Some changes to a business’s legal structure mean the original entity no longer exists for IRS purposes, so a new EIN is required. The IRS looks at the underlying legal foundation of the business, not its name, address, or day-to-day operations.⁷

A sole proprietor needs a new EIN when incorporating or forming a partnership.⁸ A merger that creates an entirely new entity also requires a fresh number, even if the merged company operates just as the predecessor did. Bankruptcy proceedings and the creation of a trust often trigger the same requirement because they change who legally controls the entity.

For LLCs, a new EIN is required when the existing LLC terminates and a new corporation or partnership takes its place. A single-member LLC owner who has been using a sole proprietor EIN also needs a new one if the LLC starts owing excise or employment taxes.⁸

Routine changes do not require a new EIN. Moving to a new address, changing the business name, or opening additional locations all continue under the existing number.

Finding an EIN You Have Misplaced

Start with the original CP 575 confirmation notice the IRS sent when the number was assigned, or check prior-year tax returns. Your business bank likely has it on file from when the account was opened.

If none of that works, call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.⁹ Only an authorized person — a sole proprietor, corporate officer, partner, or someone with a valid power of attorney — can receive the number by phone, and the IRS will verify the caller’s identity before releasing it.¹⁰

State Accounts Are Separate

Closing the federal account does not close state-level tax accounts. Most states require you to separately cancel state tax identification numbers, sales tax permits, and employer withholding accounts, and some charge a filing fee for articles of dissolution. Check with your state’s department of revenue or secretary of state before assuming the federal closure handles everything.²

1
Internal Revenue Service. If You No Longer Need Your EIN
2
Internal Revenue Service. Closing a Business
3
Internal Revenue Service. Form 966 Corporate Dissolution or Liquidation
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 941
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Internal Revenue Service. Failure to File Penalty
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Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Deposit Penalty
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eCFR. 26 CFR 301.6109-1 – Identifying Numbers
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Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN
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Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers
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Internal Revenue Service. Power of Attorney and Other Authorizations