what is an employer identification number ein 
the term employer identification number ein refers to a unique identifier that is assigned to a business entity so that it can easily be identified by the internal revenue service irs eins are commonly used by employers for the purpose of reporting taxes the number is made up of nine digits and is formatted as xx xxxxxxx businesses can apply for eins directly through the irs which usually issues them immediately understanding the employer identification number ein employer identification numbers are issued to identify business entities in the united states the same way social security numbers ssns are used to identify individual residents of the country the ein is also known as a federal tax identification number as noted above eins are unique nine digit numbers that are formatted as xx xxxxxxx eins are issued by the irs and include information about the state in which the entity is registered the agency uses eins to identify taxpayers who are required to file various business tax returns you need an ein if you have employees operate as a corporation or partnership file certain tax returns withhold taxes on income other than wages paid to a non resident alien have a keogh plan or are involved with certain types of organizations including trusts and estates business entities must apply for an ein by phone online fax or mail before they can begin operations many types of businesses and other entities can be issued eins including the irs is not biased toward the size of the company this means even those with only one employee are just as eligible for an ein as multinational corporations the ein is not considered to be sensitive information the same way a social security number is and is freely distributed by businesses online and in print publications 