When you submit a tax ID application to apply for EIN, you will be provided an EIN verification letter, also known as a CP 575 form. If you apply online, you may receive this right away after you submit your application; if not, the Internal Revenue Service will mail it to you.
After you complete your EIN number application, you will receive the CP 575 form within eight to 10 weeks. This form will include tax information related to your business. The information you receive on the CP 575 will include the following:
• Your employer identification number, a nine-digit number that will identify you and your business accounts
• Important reminders, such as to use your name and EIN exactly as they appear on the CP 575 when filling out tax forms
• Instructions to keep the CP 575 as part of your permanent records, as duplicates cannot be generated
• A schedule of when you will need to submit certain tax forms related to your business, which will vary based on the kind of business you own
The most obvious reason is that you need to know your EIN in order to report your income and file paperwork at tax time. In addition, if you need to obtain a business loan, a lender will sometimes ask to see the verfication letter.
The letter may become lost through no fault of your own; it may get lost in the mail and never reach you in the first place. Or you may accidentally misplace it; things like this happen to even the most organized business owners. The important thing is not to panic; even though the letter says that it cannot be duplicated, you can contact the IRS by phone and ask for a 147C letter, which is a replacement letter that the IRS can fax to you right away.
If your business experiences a change in ownership or structure, you may need to obtain a different business EIN number. IRS-EIN-Tax-ID.com can assist you through the complicated application process.