How can I look up a tax ID for a business?

Back to FAQs

The Internal Revenue Service issues employers a Tax ID for their business. The Business Tax ID is also known as an Employer I.D. Number, or EIN. Businesses, local or state government agencies, and Non-Profit organizations have to apply for an EIN for IRS tax purposes. EINs are used by the IRS, the government, and other companies, agencies, and systems, to identify the entity. Employer ID Numbers (EIN/Tax ID) are located on the tax return forms you file every year. 

Apply for a new EIN

If you have obtained an EIN (Tax ID Number) from the IRS in the past, but do not remember your Business Tax ID, you can call the IRS EIN Department directly at 1-800-829-4933 to speak with an IRS EIN representative. The Managing Member of the EIN needs to be the one to call, and you will need to verify your information and your social security number with the IRS EIN representative. Once this is done, you will also be able to request the IRS EIN Department to fax you a copy of your EIN Letter.

To apply for a NEW EIN/Business Tax ID Number for an entity, such as an estate tax id number or a trust tax id number, select your entity type below and you can immediately start the EIN Online Application form. Before you apply for a new EIN, it is necessary to keep all your documents ready. Upon approval you will receive your TAX ID from the IRS same day via e-mail. 

Select Your Entity Type to Apply for a Federal Tax ID Today

Resources to Look up a Business Tax ID and Verify an EIN Number for a Business That Is Not Your Own Business:

  1. If you want to look up employer’s IRS EIN Number, you can locate it on one of your W-2 Tax forms.
  2. If the company in question is publicly traded, then you can go to the Investor Relations website to look up its Business Tax ID. The majority of publicly traded companies have a Filings page.
  3. Use the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR online Forms and Filings database. On the Securities and Exchange Commissions Filing’s page, you can search for the company, and click on SEC filing documents, and you can find the EIN on the first page, the Business Tax ID number is titles “IRS No” and is a 9 digit number.

If you plan to look up EIN/Business Tax ID numbers regularly, it may be worthwhile to subscribe to an online commercial database service. Commercial Employer Identification Number database providers sometimes have special offers that allow you to look up a few Business Tax ID numbers for free before you sign up for their service.