How to check your EIN status with the IRS : Stripe: Help & Support

How to check your EIN status with the IRS

To retrieve your EIN from the IRS, Atlas account openers should retrieve your company’s SS-4 form from the Documents tab of your Dashboard and have it available when you call the IRS at (+1) 800-829-4933. There is currently no way to check EIN status online.

Overview

As part of forming your company using Stripe Atlas, you’ll complete a Form SS-4, which we send to the IRS to request an EIN for your new company. If the account opener for the company provides a US Social Security Number (SSN), US company address, and US phone number, Stripe Atlas can request an EIN for the company through an online expedited process. For all other users, the IRS can take several weeks to assign your EIN. Stripe Atlas will call the IRS to retrieve the EIN as quickly as possible, and we will email you when it’s available in your Dashboard. The IRS typically mails a physical copy of your EIN letter to your company address in about 8 weeks.

Do I need my EIN to open a bank account and accept payments through my company?

If you incorporated with Stripe Atlas, you can bank and accept payments prior to receiving your EIN.

Banking: You’ll be able to open a bank account with one of Atlas’ banking partners listed in your Atlas dashboard prior to receiving your EIN. You’ll still need to provide it to those partners within 60 days.
Payments: You’ll be able to accept Stripe payments before receiving your EIN, although you won’t be able to receive payouts until your EIN arrives. You can see the ETA for EIN in your Atlas dashboard.

If you didn’t incorporate your company with Stripe Atlas, you'll need to submit your EIN to before activating payments.

How Atlas calls the IRS on your behalf

When you use Atlas, you also sign IRS Form 8821. This form gives us permission to call the IRS to retrieve the EIN on your behalf. Using real-time data from the IRS, we call to retrieve the EIN as soon as we believe the IRS is processing applications from the time period we filed your request.

If your Stripe Atlas company was incorporated more than 10 business days ago, the IRS may have already issued your company’s EIN even if it’s not available in your Stripe dashboard yet.

Why it can take so long to get your EIN

The IRS requires us to fax your EIN filing to them, and they process these faxes manually. Sometimes when we call the IRS, they tell us that they can’t locate your company’s EIN filing and ask us to resubmit. This can happen multiple times, particularly in January and February when the IRS receives a large number of filings.

We'll continue to call the IRS on your behalf, no matter how long it takes to retrieve your EIN. There are two optional steps you can take that may help us retrieve your EIN faster:

Call the IRS: Sometimes the IRS processes filings faster when the company founder calls them directly (instead of Atlas calling). See the next section below for instructions on calling the IRS. Hold times are typically 30 minutes.
Provide a US company address: The IRS often processes filings with a US company address faster than those with a non-US address. If you have a US address you can use to receive IRS correspondence (you can get a US address from our partner Stable), email support@stripe.com and we’ll update your EIN filing with this new address.

How to call the IRS to get your EIN

Make sure you are the Responsible Party on your company’s SS-4 form. Atlas lists the account opener as the Responsible Party.
1. The IRS will only share the EIN directly with your company’s Responsible Party, which you can find by looking at the signer of the SS-4 form.
2. You can view your SS-4 form in the Stripe Atlas Dashboard.
Have your SS-4 available ahead of your call.
1. The IRS agent will ask you questions about the company information on your SS-4 to confirm they're authorized to give you the company's EIN.
Call the IRS.
1. The best number to call is (+1) 800-829-4933. When you hear the various menu options, select option 1 for English or 2 for Spanish, then option 1 for EIN inquiries, and then option 3.
2. You can call during IRS Business hours: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5).
3. The shortest wait times are typically from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m ET. The longest wait times are typically between 8:00 am - 2:00 pm ET. Keep in mind, call wait times can be up to 1 hour long during busy periods.
4. Depending on your phone service and where you are located, there may be fees when calling the IRS. As wait times may be long (and can get costly!), you may want to check out services such as Google Voice or Skype.
What to say when speaking to an IRS representative:
1. “I’m calling to obtain the EIN for my company, [your company name here]. The SS-4 was faxed on [your company formation date], and I have not received my EIN number or letter.”
2. Atlas faxes the request to 855-641-6935, per the IRS's instructions.
The IRS agent will ask some questions about your company. Have this information available when you call:
1. Be sure to use the exact information on the SS-4 form in your Stripe Atlas Dashboard.
2. Name of the company: Line 1 on SS-4
  1. Spell out the letters in the company name
  2. Be very clear on the company name
  3. Inform the IRS if there are any spaces between the words or punctuation
  4. The IRS system is extremely sensitive and will not locate your business if anything is incorrect
3. Responsible Party name: Line 7a on SS-4
4. Company address: Line 4a and 4b on SS-4
5. Date of formation: Line 11 on SS-4
6. Social Security Number (if you don’t have an SSN, say “Foreign”): Line 7b
7. Type of entity: Line 9a on SS-4
8. Title or position in the company: Inform the IRS you are the Responsible Party
The IRS will look up your company based on the information you’ve provided.
1. If the IRS has assigned the EIN, write down the number and request they fax the EIN to Legalinc (Stripe Atlas’s registered agent partner).
  1. Use the fax number: 323-446-8710, and let the IRS know that someone is by the fax machine and ready to receive the fax.
  2. If the IRS declines to fax it to Stripe Atlas, you can write the EIN number down and send it to atlas@stripe.com directly. We can then file it directly with your SS-4.
  3. EINs may take up to 3 weeks to be assigned after your company has been formed. If it has been more than 3 weeks and you still have not received your EIN, Atlas may need to file a second copy of the request to make sure the IRS assigns your EIN.