How to Get a Tax ID Number for a Trust After Death

To get a tax ID number for a trust after death, the trustee applies to the IRS for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) using Form SS-4. The online EIN Assistant is the fastest route and issues the number at the end of the session, usually in about ten minutes.1Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number Fax, mail, and phone options exist for anyone who cannot apply online.

Why the Trust Needs Its Own Number Now

While the grantor was alive, a revocable living trust used the grantor’s Social Security number and all its income flowed onto the grantor’s Form 1040. The IRS treated the grantor and the trust as the same taxpayer.2Internal Revenue Service. Abusive Trust Tax Evasion Schemes – Questions and Answers

Death ends that arrangement. The revocable trust typically becomes irrevocable because the person with power to change it is gone, and the trust is now its own taxable entity. It can no longer use the deceased grantor’s Social Security number. The trustee needs an EIN to file the trust’s own income tax return, Form 1041, for any year the trust has at least $600 in gross income or any nonresident alien beneficiary.3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1

Banks and brokerages will also ask for the EIN before letting the trustee retitle accounts, move funds, or transact on behalf of the trust. Getting the number early prevents a logjam when assets need to move.

What to Gather Before You Apply

Form SS-4 is short, but the online session times out after 15 minutes of inactivity and progress cannot be saved, so collect everything first.4National Taxpayer Advocate. When Taxpayers Struggle to Obtain an EIN, Everyone Loses You will need:5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)

  • The trust’s legal name, exactly as it appears in the trust document.
  • The date the trust became irrevocable, which for a revocable trust that converted at death is the grantor’s date of death.
  • The grantor’s date of death.
  • The trustee’s name and mailing address, where the IRS will send all trust correspondence.
  • The responsible party’s Social Security number or ITIN.

Who Is the Responsible Party

The IRS defines the responsible party as the individual who directly or indirectly controls the entity’s funds and assets. For a trust, that is typically the grantor, owner, or trustee.6Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees With the grantor gone, the acting trustee fills that role. The responsible party must be a person with a valid SSN or ITIN; another trust or business entity cannot be listed.

If the trustee later changes, the new trustee must file Form 8822-B with the IRS within 60 days to update the responsible party on file.7Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party

Which “Reason for Applying” Box to Check

Form SS-4 asks why you need an EIN. For a trust that became irrevocable at the grantor’s death, check “Created a trust” and specify the type, such as “irrevocable trust.”5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) A common mistake: certain grantor-type trusts that still report under the grantor’s SSN do not need an EIN at all. That exception does not apply once the grantor has died, because the trust is no longer a grantor trust.

Applying Online

The IRS online EIN Assistant walks you through a series of prompts and issues the EIN immediately at the end of the session if everything checks out.1Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number At the end you can download or print the CP 575 notice confirming the number. Save it with the trust documents; you will need the EIN for every future filing.

The online application is available during these Eastern Time windows:

  • 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.

Two requirements to use the online system: the trust’s principal place of business must be in the United States or a U.S. territory, and the responsible party’s SSN or ITIN must be on hand.1Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number Also note that the online tool allows only one EIN per responsible party per day.

Applying by Fax, Mail, or Phone

If the online route is not available, you have three alternatives. Each requires a completed and signed Form SS-4.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)

  • Fax the signed form to the number in the SS-4 instructions. The domestic fax number is 855-215-1627, and the IRS typically faxes the EIN back within four business days.
  • Mail the signed form to the address listed in the SS-4 instructions. Allow four to five weeks.
  • Phone, international applicants only: if the trust’s principal place of business is outside the United States, call 267-941-1099, Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The correct fax and mail addresses depend on where the trust is located, and the current ones are printed in the Form SS-4 instructions on the IRS website.9Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number

What to Do Once You Have the EIN

The number itself is only the first step. A few things need to happen quickly so trust administration does not stall.

  • Contact every bank, brokerage, and insurance company holding trust assets. They will need the new EIN to retitle accounts out of the deceased grantor’s Social Security number and into the trust.
  • Send a Form W-9 with the new EIN to any payer of interest, dividends, or other income to the trust, so future 1099s reflect the correct taxpayer.
  • Store the CP 575 confirmation notice with the trust instrument, the death certificate, and any letters of trusteeship.

Plan on filing Form 1041 for any year the trust has $600 or more in gross income or a nonresident alien beneficiary.3Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 If the trust holds any income-producing assets, that threshold is easy to cross.

When the Trust Splits Into Several Trusts

Many estate plans direct a revocable trust to divide at the grantor’s death into two or more separate trusts. A common example is an A/B plan that splits into a survivor’s trust and a bypass (or family) trust. Each new trust that becomes a separate taxable entity needs its own EIN. Read the trust document carefully to see how many sub-trusts are created and apply separately for each one. Because the online tool allows only one EIN per responsible party per day, plan to apply on consecutive days or use fax for the additional ones.

A Note on the Section 645 Election

If the deceased grantor also has a probate estate, the trustee and executor can jointly elect under Internal Revenue Code Section 645 to treat the trust as part of the estate for income tax purposes, which carries several tax advantages worth discussing with a CPA or estate attorney.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 645 – Certain Revocable Trusts Treated as Part of Estate The election is made on Form 8855 by the due date of the estate’s first Form 1041 and, once filed, is permanent.11Internal Revenue Service. Form 8855 (Rev. December 2020) Election to Treat a Qualified Revocable Trust as Part of an Estate The trust still needs its own EIN even when the election is made, so apply either way.