How Do I Get an EIN Number for an Estate? Online Filing, CP 575, and Form 1041

To get an EIN for an estate, the executor or administrator applies to the IRS using the estate’s legal name and the decedent’s Social Security Number. The fastest route is the IRS online EIN application, which issues the nine-digit number on screen as soon as you finish the session. It’s free, and in most cases it takes about 15 minutes.

Why the Estate Needs Its Own EIN

An estate is a separate taxpayer from the person who died. Income the decedent earned while alive goes on their final Form 1040 under their Social Security Number. Income the estate’s assets earn after the date of death — interest, dividends, rent — goes on Form 1041 under a new EIN.¹ Mixing the two is a common mistake that takes months to untangle with the IRS.

Any estate with more than $600 in gross income during a tax year must file Form 1041, and every Form 1041 filer needs an EIN.² That threshold is low. A single bank account’s interest or a few months of rental income clears it easily.³ Even below $600, banks and brokerages typically require the EIN before they will open an account in the estate’s name or retitle assets, so almost every estate with meaningful property ends up getting one.

Who Can Apply

The IRS calls the applicant the “responsible party.” For an estate with a will, that’s the executor named in the will and confirmed by the probate court through Letters Testamentary. For an estate without a will, it’s the administrator appointed by the court through Letters of Administration.

Not every estate goes through formal probate. When no personal representative has been appointed, the IRS allows anyone in charge of the decedent’s property to act as the personal representative and apply.⁴ If you’re handling a small estate through a state affidavit procedure, you can still get the EIN — the online application doesn’t ask you to upload court papers. Keep whatever legal authority you do have (the affidavit, the will, or a court order) in your records.

What To Have Ready Before You Start

The online session times out after 15 minutes of inactivity and starts over if you lose it, so pull everything together first.⁵ You’ll need:

The estate’s legal name, in the form “Estate of [Decedent’s Full Legal Name].” This exact wording will carry onto bank accounts and tax filings.
The decedent’s Social Security Number.
Your own SSN or ITIN as the responsible party.
A mailing address where the IRS should send estate correspondence.
The exact date of death, which legally starts the estate’s existence for tax purposes and sets its first tax year.⁶

Applying Online

The IRS Online EIN Application is free and issues the number at the end of the session. It runs on Eastern time during specific hours:⁵

Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. the next day.
Saturday, 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, 6:00 p.m. to midnight.

The IRS also limits the online system to one EIN per responsible party per day.⁵ If you’re handling more than one estate or make an error that requires a fresh application, you may have to wait a day or switch to fax.

Walking Through the Screens

Open the IRS EIN application page and choose “Estates” as the entity type. When the system asks the reason for applying, pick “Started new business.” It reads oddly for an estate, but that’s the option the IRS uses for any new entity getting its first EIN.

Enter your name, your title (executor or administrator), and your SSN or ITIN. Then enter the decedent’s full legal name and exact date of death, followed by the mailing address for IRS correspondence. The system asks you to confirm that you are the responsible party authorized to act for the estate. That confirmation stands in for your Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration — you don’t upload them.

Saving the CP 575

When you submit, the IRS validates your information and shows the EIN on screen. You’ll see an option to view, print, and save the assignment notice, officially the CP 575. Print it and save a digital copy. Banks and brokerages will ask to see it before opening an estate account, and the IRS does not reissue the original.⁷

Applying by Fax or Mail

If the online portal isn’t an option, use Form SS-4. On line 9a, check “Estate (SSN of decedent)” and enter the decedent’s Social Security Number.⁸

By fax, the IRS assigns the EIN in about four business days and faxes the confirmation back.⁹
By mail, allow four to five weeks. The CP 575 arrives at the address on the form.⁹

If You’re Outside the U.S.

Without a U.S.-based SSN or ITIN, the online application won’t work.⁵ You can file Form SS-4 by fax or mail, or call the IRS international line at 267-941-1099 (not toll-free), open Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.⁹

Letting an Attorney or CPA Apply for You

You don’t have to file personally. Line 18 of Form SS-4 lets you designate a third party, usually your attorney or CPA, to apply and receive the EIN on your behalf. You still sign the form. The designee’s authority ends automatically once the EIN is assigned, and the official CP 575 goes to you as the responsible party.⁹

One quirk: if the designee’s address or phone number matches yours, the IRS won’t process the application online or by phone. In that case the form has to go by fax or mail.⁹

Picking a Fiscal Year on the First Form 1041

Most executors overlook this, and it can save beneficiaries real money. Unlike individuals, an estate can adopt a fiscal year — any 12-month period ending on the last day of any month.⁶ You make the election when you file the estate’s first Form 1041.

Beneficiaries report distributed estate income on their personal returns for the year in which the estate’s tax year ends.¹⁰ So if someone dies in March 2026 and you choose a January 31 fiscal year-end, the estate’s first tax year runs from March 2026 through January 2027. Income distributed in that window doesn’t hit a beneficiary’s personal return until they file for tax year 2027, pushing the tax bill out by nearly a full year.

Telling the IRS You’re the Fiduciary

Getting the EIN is step one. You should also file Form 56 to notify the IRS that a fiduciary relationship exists and that you’re the person authorized to act for the estate and receive its confidential tax information. Check line 1a for a testate estate or line 1b for an intestate estate with court appointment, and file it with the IRS service center where the decedent was required to file.¹¹ Part II of the same form terminates the fiduciary relationship when the estate is fully settled, which keeps the IRS from contacting you about estate matters after your authority has ended.¹²

Closing the EIN After the Estate Is Settled

Once all assets are distributed, the final Form 1041 is filed (with the “Final Return” box checked), and any tax is paid, the estate is administratively closed. The EIN itself can never be canceled or reassigned, but you can ask the IRS to deactivate the account.¹³

Send a letter with the estate’s EIN, legal name, address, and reason for closing. Include a copy of the original CP 575 if you still have it. Mail it to either Internal Revenue Service, MS 6055, Kansas City, MO 64108, or Internal Revenue Service, MS 6273, Ogden, UT 84201.¹³ File your Form 56 termination at the same time.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Responsibilities of an Estate Administrator
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6012 – Persons Required To Make Returns of Income
3
Internal Revenue Service. File an Estate Tax Income Tax Return
4
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators
5
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 (2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. 21.7.13 Assigning Employer Identification Numbers (EINs)
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Internal Revenue Service. Form SS-4 Application for Employer Identification Number (Rev. December 2025)
9
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
10
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1
11
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56 (12/2024)
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56
13
Internal Revenue Service. If You No Longer Need Your EIN