How to open a business and get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online

 

 Business owners don't be fooled by irs-ein-tax-id.com websites look for a website that has the .gov (meaning government) at the end not .com

 

I was trying today to get a new EIN for my new business. I knew the IRS is providing that for free so I did a quick online search and I came across this website IRS EIN TAX ID| Online forms & application for Federal Tax ID (irs-ein-tax-id.com 

 I have to recognize that I was in a rush and didn't pay enough attention to the fact that they were not the official IRS website, but a 3rd party who's trying to ripoff new businesses of hundreds of dollars for a service that is free! So I filled the information on their application and I was just about to submitted when at the end they were asking to pay $245. First I was shocked to see that the IRS will charge such an amount to get that number. I was still not aware of the fact that I was on a wrong website. Their use of IRS EIN TAX ID names were deceiving enough to make me believe they are the IRS. I did some extra research online just to finally figure out it was not the official IRS website but a greedy money hungry third party website trying to charge a lot of money for a service that is free! What a ripoff!

I closed their website, went to the real IRS.gov website and got my new EIN within minutes. FREE of charge! Then surprise. I get an email from the fake website telling me that I have not completed the submission and I should do so, and they will give me a surprising $85 discount! Just like that.  The interesting part  is that they gave me a link were I only had to pay, because all the other personal info like Social Security, address, contact info etc. were already saved on their website. I emailed them immediately then called them requesting them to erase all those personal information. Plus I told the lady named Sarah, who answered the phone, that they should be ashamed of themselves for charging that ridiculous amount for something that's free. 

There are multiple similar websites that are trying to make quick money for something that's free of charge. Some exemples: einfilingassist.com also ein-tax-id-form.com

So remember that EIN (Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online can be obtain for free at IRS.gov website.

How to open a business in Illinois

So in order to start a new business you have to apply for one at the Secretary of State where you live. I live in Illinois so their website is
The Official Website for the Illinois Secretary of State (cyberdriveillinois.com) then click to the link Articles of Incorporation and you go from there. Chose the name of your business/company and fill out the required info. It's not complicated. You have to figure out before you apply what kind of company you want to set up based on your business. For small companies, the most popular are S Corporation, so you can avoid the double taxation. For S Corporation you will have to fill an additional form with the IRS called Form 2553. If you are not in the rush with your Secretary of State business application, you can avoid paying the extra 100 dollar fee for your application to be expedited. I got it approved without the extra fee in couple of hours via email.  If you want to pay, you can chose to do so. The next step after setting up your corporation is to get the EIN. It's like a personal Social Security but for the business.  That you can apply on the IRS.gov website I mention above. You can have your company and EIN ready within 20 minutes. With those two you can open a bank account and you are ready to get your business started. It's always good to have an accountant to help you out with your business. You will need one for tax purposes anyway so make sure you find a good one, they are very important for your business in the long run, because they can help you with deductions and savings when it come to paying your taxes. 

Good luck with your business and hopefully this was useful to you.