EIN
- An EIN is an Employer Identification Number.
- It identifies a business for federal tax purposes.
- The IRS issues EINs.
- An EIN does not prove you have a real office.
- An EIN does not guarantee a bank account.
Tax identity is not business presence
Do you need an EIN, an ITIN, or both?
EIN, ITIN, formation, address, mail, and bank review are separate steps. Start with the role you actually need.
ITIN
- An ITIN is an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
- It is for a person, not the company.
- It is for federal tax purposes.
- It is used when a person is not eligible for an SSN but needs a U.S. taxpayer ID.
- An ITIN does not prove a company address is accepted.
Do not mix these up
LLC
The company filing. It creates or registers the business entity.
EIN
The business tax ID. It does not create the company by itself.
ITIN
A personal taxpayer ID. It is not a company address or registered agent.
Registered agent
The legal-notice role. It is not automatically a mailbox.
Mailbox
Mail receiving. It may involve CMRA and USPS Form 1583 rules.
Bank address
The address a bank or payment platform accepts. You must check its rule.
CAA document review
The ITIN document review process has IRS rules. A CAA video interview is not the same as a scan-only document review.
Direct answer for foreign founders
If a provider says it can help with an LLC and EIN, that does not automatically mean it solved your ITIN issue, bank account issue, mailbox issue, or U.S. business address issue.
If a provider says it gives you an address, ask which address role it provides: registered agent, mailing address, principal office, virtual office, CMRA mailbox, or something else.
If your bank, Amazon, Walmart, Stripe, PayPal, tax adviser, or customer needs an address, check that specific rule before relying on a bundled service.
If a payment platform asks for verification, do not assume the issue is only your EIN. The request may be about the business, the person, ownership, address, website, bank account, or risk review.
Official IRS starting points
Use the IRS for EIN and ITIN source information. Do not rely only on a formation vendor's summary.
Do not outsource an SS-4 blindly
If someone says they will get an EIN for you, separate the convenience pitch from the federal filing question. Ask who is preparing the SS-4, what addresses and names are being used, whether you will review the form before it is sent, and what authority the third party is claiming.
A portal login, registered-agent signup, or bundled formation package is not the same thing as automatic authority to fill in tax facts however the preparer wants.
Use the current IRS form instructions and responsible-party guidance before assuming a bundled service can submit the right SS-4 in your name without direct review.