EIN for non-residents
Non-residents can get an EIN. Here's how.
Your US company needs a federal tax ID to do almost anything useful — and not being a US resident doesn't stop you from getting one.
The short answer is yes.
A non-resident — and a company owned by one — can get an Employer Identification Number. The EIN is the company's tax ID, issued by the IRS, and eligibility turns on the company, not on your citizenship or where you live. Foreign founders form US companies every day and receive EINs for them.
What changes for a non-resident is the application path, not the outcome. The IRS accepts EIN applications from foreign applicants through its international process, which exists precisely because a foreign owner won't have a Social Security number to put on the form. The full walkthrough of that mechanic is on our EIN without an SSN page.
Why your company needs one.
- 01
Open a US bank account
Almost every US bank and fintech asks for an EIN when you open a business account. Without one, the account conversation usually ends before it starts.
- 02
Take payments and use payment processors
Stripe, PayPal, and similar processors identify your business by its EIN when you onboard. It is how they know which entity they are underwriting.
- 03
File US tax returns
Whether or not the company owes tax, its returns and information filings are tied to the EIN. For a foreign-owned entity, filings like Form 5472 hang off that number too.
- 04
Hire employees or contractors
The moment you have US payroll, the EIN becomes the identifier for withholding and reporting. Even before then, most vendors will ask for it.
Don't confuse it with an ITIN.
An EIN identifies your company. An ITIN identifies you, the individual, when you have a US tax obligation but can't get an SSN. A non-resident founder may end up with both: an EIN for the company, and an ITIN for their own filing. They are separate applications, separate forms, and separate purposes — we've laid the two side by side in ITIN vs EIN.
One more thing to keep in view: an EIN is not the end of your US tax picture. If your company is foreign-owned, you should understand whether Form 5472 applies to you — the EIN is the number those filings get attached to.
Your company and its EIN, handled together.
Formation and the EIN application as one step, so you're not left with a company but no way to open a bank account.
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