Amazon.com, Inc EIN Information

If you are a U.S. taxpayer, you need an Employer Identification Account to create a seller account on Amazon . However, you can use your Social Security number (SSN) if you are a single proprietor without any employees.

Requiring an EIN for sellers is both an Amazon seller requirement and mandated by law. Amazon uses the EIN for purposes of identification. Amazon doesn’t allow multiple seller accounts, and having an EIN is the best way to ensure that all sellers only have one account. 

Amazon sellers also need an EIN to report their tax payments to the IRS at the end of the year. However, if you are a foreign seller and you don’t have an EIN, Amazon has a tax interview so it can determine the proper tax paperwork for your Amazon account. 

How Do You Get an Amazon EIN?

If you’re a U.S. citizen or citizen of U.S. territories, you can go online to the IRS website and apply. You can access this service from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time from Monday to Friday. To use, you need a valid Taxpayer Identification Number (your SSN or ITIN).

If you don’t want to go online, you can fill up an SS-4 form and mail it to this address:

Attn: EIN Operation

Cincinnati, OH  45999

If you go this route, you might have to wait up to four weeks to receive your EIN.

You can look up private companies through trusted EIN lookup services like EINSearch . For nonprofit organizations, you can locate their EIN through databases such as GuideStar .

If you want to find a publicly-traded  company’s EIN, you can look it up using the Security Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) database. You can use this service only to look up publicly traded companies.

If you need to find your own EIN for whatever reason, you can find it in your W-2 form or other paperwork like your bank account.

An Employee Identification Number (EIN) is a unique nine-digit number given by the Internal Revenue System (IRS) to identify businesses entities in the United States or its territories. An EIN is also known as a federal tax identification number (FEIN) or federal tax I.D. number.

To apply for an EIN, you need a taxpayer identification number, and this can come in different forms: 

• The government issues Social Security numbers (SSN) to U.S. citizens, residents, and other qualified individuals for tax and other purposes.

Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN)  is a number given by the IRS to individuals who need a U.S. taxpayer identification number but are not eligible for an SSN. These individuals are resident or nonresident aliens and their families. An ITIN can be used to operate a sole proprietorship or single-member LLC.

If you are a seller, whether in a brick-and-mortar store or online, getting an EIN should be one of your priorities. You need an EIN to:

• Hire employees and offer them a retirement plan. 
• Open business bank accounts and credit cards. 
• Pay your company’s taxes to the IRS.
• Buy or partner with another company.
• File for bankruptcy.

However, you can use your Social Security number (SSN) or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) instead of an EIN if you are going to open sole proprietorship companies without employees or a single-member limited liability company (LLC). For more information, you can go directly to the IRS website .

Do I Need A New EIN?

Generally, you need a new EIN for the following:

• When your business ownership changes.
• Your business changes its structure — for example, from sole ownership to a limited liability company.

For more detailed information about the specifics of getting a new EIN, you can go directly to the IRS website .