How do I get a tax ID number and form a corporation?
Posted on October 14, 2008 by admin
Doughboy1993 asked:
I was told that it is beneficial to have a tax ID number included in a business plan. Can anyone give me information on doing this? Does anyone know a approxiate cost on doing this? Thank you in advance.
I was told that it is beneficial to have a tax ID number included in a business plan. Can anyone give me information on doing this? Does anyone know a approxiate cost on doing this? Thank you in advance.
I would contact an atty. It cost me about $500 to set up a LLC (limited liability company) which comes w/a tax ID #.
It’s called a DBA or “Doing Business As” – Go to your government web site by going to and typing in DBA or Tax ID in the search engine and click on the government tax site to do this.
Fill out the tax form online and you will get one instantly. Make sure you print it up so that you don’t lose the page. In a few weeks they mail you a copy as well.
It’s easy to do and you get one instantly, because the government wants your tax money.
First form the corporation. Depends on what type of business you are doing and how many people are involved you could form a C corp, S corp, or an LLC. An LLC is usually easier to form. This process is inexpensive and easy to do, but if you dont want to go trough the trouble you can always hire a lawyer at about $500-$700. If you decide to do the process your self I recomend you read a book on the issue. Price on doing process your self should be around $100- $150 including book (try “incorporating for dummies”). Once again depending on what you are doing, you can choose to incorporate in a state other than your own. Different states have different Corporate Guidelines.
If you just need a Tax ID for your business plan, you don’t need to incorporate. I got one for my sole proprietorship. They’re required if you plan to have employees.
Simply go to and search on “EIN”. That’s the acronym for Employee Identification Number, also known as a Federal Tax Id. Fill out the form online and hit submit. You’ll get your EIN immediately, and official confirmation a week or two later.
It’s free.
My advice is don’t incorporate until you’re prepared to pay an $800 franchise fee every year, do a lot more paperwork, and pay for somebody else do your taxes. There’s a bit of administration involved. It’s cheap to incorporate, but it there are recurring costs.
You can get a tax ID at city hall when you get a license for about $100. Or you can incorporate for about $800 through an attorney.