Are there laws against using an EIN instead of SSN?

Answer by  Att4372 (1704)

An EIN is required for employers who take withholding from their employees and submit these to the government. If you have a household employee, you can use a SSN to pay your share of FICA, but you can't withhold money from them. If you withhold, you need an EIN and file a 941 (quarterly) or 944 (annually).

Answer by  swaash (37)

A legal credit counseling agency never asks for an advanced payment prior to providing service since that is an infringement of the laws stipulated in the Credit Repair Organizations Act.

Answer by  ryan0731 (17)

I do not believe there are any laws against using either numbers. Ususally the EIN number is used for corporations, LLC and Partnerships and the Social Security number is used for sole proprietors. You can submit documentation to gov't agencies using your social security number before receiving your EIN number

Answer by  Chaneygirl (1755)

EIN is employer identification number. If your business had one, you should use that vs your SSN when transacting business. The IRS would rather have you use the EIN number when filing out employment related forms.

Answer by  jlwilson6 (1098)

This all depends. You will actually need to contact the Internal Revenue Service to find the information from them. They are the people who issue the EIN number and they are under specifc guidelines as to whether the number is needed or not. It all depends on the kind of business you're doing.

Answer by  TJenkins602 (656)

There are no laws against using EIN as opposed to SSN. If your company has EIN, IRS prefers you use that instead in fact.

Answer by  Businesslady85 (32)

A social security number is used to identify a person, an EIN, which stands for employer identification number, is used to identify a company, specifically a corporation or a partnership.