Form SS-4 Walkthrough Line by Line - Anonymousllc.co's 2026 reference. Covers the rule, the controlling statute or regulation, common questions, and how Anonymousllc.co handles it in practice. Primary-source citations linked throughout.
Form SS-4 is the IRS application for an Employer Identification Number, the federal tax ID every US LLC needs to open a bank account, file taxes, and report BOI where required. This page walks through every line for both US-resident and non-resident founders. The form is one page, but small errors on it cause the largest downstream problems - a name that does not match the Articles, a wrong responsible party, or a mishandled non-resident entry. The EIN letter the IRS returns is the document banks check against the Articles. Anonymousllc.co files Form SS-4 for $99 standalone or included in the $397 formation package, listed as the Third-Party Designee so the IRS routes clarifications and the EIN letter directly to us.
Line 1 is the LLC's legal name exactly as it appears on the Articles of Organization - for example, "Acme Holdings LLC" - and it must match character for character. Line 2 is the trade name or DBA if different; leave it blank if there is none. A mismatch between Line 1 and the Articles is the leading reason an SS-4 is rejected or the resulting EIN letter fails at the bank. The bank compares the EIN letter against the stamped Articles, and any discrepancy blocks the account. Anonymousllc.co quality-checks the legal name against your Articles before submitting, so the EIN letter matches the first time and does not hold up banking.
Lines 3-6 are the mailing and physical address; a US address avoids the processing delays a non-US address can trigger, so Anonymousllc.co uses the registered agent's US address. Line 7a is the responsible party - the human who ultimately controls the LLC. Line 7b is the responsible party's SSN, ITIN, or EIN. A non-resident with none of these enters "Foreign," which is the standard entry that lets the IRS process the application by fax. The responsible party must be a natural person, not another entity, per IRS rules. For a single-member LLC, that person is the sole member. Anonymousllc.co completes these lines from your intake details.
Line 8a is "Yes" for an LLC, Line 8b is the number of members, and Line 8c is "Yes" if the LLC is organized in the US. Line 9a checks "Limited liability company" and specifies the federal tax classification - disregarded entity, partnership, S-corp, or C-corp. The classification on Line 9a follows the entity's default or its election: a single-member LLC is a disregarded entity by default, a multi-member LLC a partnership. Line 10 states the reason for applying, and "Started new business" is the standard entry for a new formation. Getting the member count and classification right here keeps the EIN aligned with how the LLC will actually file. Anonymousllc.co sets these from the ownership structure you provide.
Line 11 is the business start date, which is the formation date. Line 12 is the closing month of the accounting year, December for most LLCs. Line 13 is the highest number of employees expected in the next 12 months - "0" for a holding LLC. Line 14 indicates whether employment-tax liability is expected, which is "No" for an anonymous holding or single-owner LLC with no payroll. These lines set the IRS's expectations for what the LLC will file after the EIN issues. An anonymous LLC formed to hold assets or run a solo operation records zero employees and no employment tax. Anonymousllc.co completes these lines to match the entity's actual activity rather than guessing high.
Line 15 is the date wages were first paid, left blank when there is no payroll. Line 16a is the principal business activity - such as real estate holding, e-commerce, or consulting - and Line 16b names the principal product or service. Line 17 asks whether the applicant has applied for an EIN before, which prevents duplicate numbers being issued to the same entity. Accurate activity entries here help the IRS classify the business correctly. Anonymousllc.co fills the activity lines from the business purpose you give at intake, keeping them consistent with the operating agreement and the LLC's actual work.
The Third-Party Designee section names the person the IRS can speak to about the application. When Anonymousllc.co files for you, it is listed there, which authorizes the IRS to discuss and resolve the application with us during processing. Non-resident applicants benefit most. The IRS accepts clarifications and returns the EIN letter to the designee by fax, without bouncing questions back to an applicant abroad who has no US phone line or same-day mail. The designee authorization is limited to the EIN application and ends once the number issues. Anonymousllc.co uses it to keep non-resident processing moving on the fax track.
A non-resident without an SSN or ITIN enters "Foreign" on Line 7b and files the SS-4 by fax rather than online. No SSN is required at any point in the process. The online EIN tool is restricted to applicants with a US taxpayer ID, so the fax route is the standard path for founders abroad. Anonymousllc.co, listed as the Third-Party Designee, submits the fax and follows up with the IRS until the EIN letter issues. This is the same workflow Anonymousllc.co runs for founders in 80+ countries. The responsible party is still the controlling individual, entered on Line 7a, with "Foreign" standing in for the missing US ID on Line 7b.
An EIN is the tax ID for the LLC itself, applied for on Form SS-4; an ITIN is a personal tax ID for an individual who has no SSN, applied for on Form W-7. Form SS-4 never issues an ITIN - it can reference one on Line 7b. The two serve different parties. The EIN lets the LLC bank, file, and report; the ITIN lets a non-resident owner handle personal US tax matters. A non-resident can get the LLC's EIN without holding an ITIN by entering "Foreign" on Line 7b. Anonymousllc.co files the EIN for $99 and the ITIN separately for $299 when a founder's personal tax situation requires one. Conflating the two is a common error; the SS-4 is only ever the EIN application.
The EIN service is $99 standalone, or included at no extra charge in every $397 formation package. US-resident online filing can issue instantly; US-resident fax runs 4-7 business days, and non-resident fax takes longer. Anonymousllc.co's process averages 5-7 days for US residents and a longer window for non-residents on the fax track. The number is the tax ID that every downstream step - banking, tax filing, BOI where required - depends on. Anonymousllc.co quality-checks the legal name against your Articles before faxing so the EIN letter matches and does not block bank account opening 8-10 days later. If a mistake surfaces, corrections go through the IRS Business and Specialty line rather than a second SS-4.
Government, regulator, and primary-source documents underpinning this page.
5-minute WhatsApp intake. 5-10 day turnaround.