The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that, starting May 13, 2019, only natural persons with a Social Security number or an individual taxpayer identification number may request an EIN as the “responsible party” on the application. Entities will no longer be able to use their own EINs to obtain additional EINs.
The IRS explains a “responsible party” as “the person who ultimately owns or controls the entity or who exercises ultimate effective control over the entity. In cases where more than one person meets that definition, the entity may decide which individual should be the responsible party.”
This measure is being introduced to boost security and transparency in the EIN process. Entities can update the responsible party designation, if needed, by completing Form 8822-B. For more information, click here.