IRS Phone Number for EIN: 800-829-4933 and 267-941-1099

The IRS phone number for EIN questions is 800-829-4933, the Business and Specialty Tax Line, open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in your local time zone. International applicants who need a brand-new EIN use a different line: 267-941-1099, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025) Alaska and Hawaii callers follow Pacific time on the domestic line.2Internal Revenue Service. Let Us Help You

Hold times can run past an hour during busy stretches. February is the IRS’s heaviest call month, and the weeks around major filing deadlines are almost as bad.3Internal Revenue Service. Avoid the Rush Early mornings midweek tend to move faster. Interpreters are available in more than 350 languages at no charge.4Internal Revenue Service. Find Tax Help in Several Languages on IRS.gov

What to Have Ready Before You Call

IRS agents run through a verification script before they will discuss anything tied to a business account. Miss an answer and the call ends. Gather the following first:

  • The entity’s exact legal name as registered and its full physical address.
  • The responsible party’s full name and Social Security Number or ITIN. This is the person the IRS has on file as the individual who controls the entity’s funds and assets.
  • The entity type: corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, LLC, trust, or estate.
  • The reason for your call. If you’re applying, know which box on Form SS-4 fits your situation.

The responsible party requirement is where most callers get stuck. The IRS will not talk to someone who simply knows the business name. You must be the responsible party of record or a formally authorized representative. For estates, that means the executor or personal representative. For trusts, the grantor or trustee.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)

What the 800-829-4933 Line Handles

This is the number to use for most EIN matters as a domestic business: questions about an existing EIN, account discrepancies, retrieving a lost number, and general business tax issues including employer returns, excise taxes, and federal tax deposits.5Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers What it does not do for domestic callers is issue a new EIN. If your principal business location is in the United States, phone applications are not an option.6Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number

Retrieving a Lost EIN

Before you sit on hold, check your own records. Your EIN appears on any previously filed federal tax return, on quarterly payroll filings, and on the CP 575 confirmation notice the IRS mailed after the number was originally assigned.

If none of that turns it up, the responsible party can call 800-829-4933. The agent will verify identity using the entity’s legal name, address, and the responsible party’s SSN or ITIN, then read the EIN over the phone.5Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers No one other than the responsible party or an authorized representative can retrieve this.

Calling 267-941-1099 for a New EIN (International Applicants)

Phone applications for a new EIN are reserved for applicants with no legal residence, principal business location, or agency in the United States.6Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number The number is not toll-free, so expect international calling charges. Have a completed Form SS-4 in front of you. The agent walks through every field, verifies the responsible party, and assigns the EIN during the call if everything checks out.

The most common reason phone applications fail is a mismatch between the responsible party’s name and their SSN or ITIN. Even a small discrepancy, like a middle name present on one record but not the other, can stop the application and require additional IRS work to untangle.7Taxpayer Advocate Service. When Taxpayers Struggle to Obtain an EIN, Everyone Loses Confirm the name and number match Social Security Administration or IRS records exactly before you dial.

Domestic Applicants: Skip the Phone

If your principal business location is in the U.S., you have three ways to get a new EIN, and none of them run through a phone line:

  • Online through the IRS EIN assistant, available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next day, Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from 6 p.m. to midnight, Eastern time. Your EIN is issued at the end of the session. Limit: one EIN per responsible party per day.8Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
  • Fax a completed Form SS-4 to 855-641-6935. With a return fax number, the IRS returns your EIN in about four business days.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
  • Mail Form SS-4 to Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999. Expect roughly four weeks.6Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number

Need several EINs the same day? Apply for the first online and submit the rest by fax. The one-per-day cap applies only to the online tool.

Letting Someone Else Call for You

If an accountant, attorney, or partner needs to handle EIN matters on your behalf, the IRS requires formal authorization. The right form depends on how much authority you want to hand over.

  • The third-party designee section on Form SS-4 lets someone receive the EIN at issuance. That authority ends the moment the EIN is assigned and released.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
  • Form 2848 (Power of Attorney) grants a representative authority to act on your behalf for specific tax matters and periods, including receiving confidential information and signing documents.9Internal Revenue Service. Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 Online
  • Form 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) lets someone view your tax information without representing you or taking action on the account.

Both Form 2848 and Form 8821 can be filed online with electronic signatures or submitted by mail or fax with original signatures.9Internal Revenue Service. Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 Online

Reporting an EIN You Didn’t Request

If a CP 575 notice arrives for an EIN you never applied for, and you’ve ruled out a partner or accountant acting on your behalf, don’t call the general line. Use Form 14039-B, the Business Identity Theft Affidavit. Submit it online through an ID.me account, fax it to 855-807-5720, or mail it to Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201. If the IRS has already written to you about the fraudulent EIN, use the address or fax number in that letter instead.10Internal Revenue Service. If You Received an EIN You Didn’t Request Fraudulent EINs can be used to file fake returns and open credit under your entity’s name, so the sooner you report, the easier the cleanup.