9 Best Online Services for US Tax ID Applications (EIN and ITIN) in 2026
Both numbers are free from the IRS. What you are really paying for is process management on the EIN side and a Certifying Acceptance Agent on the ITIN side. Here is where the money is worth spending, and where it is not.
Most people arrive at this problem sideways. You did not set out to learn US tax administration. You wanted a Stripe account, or a Seller Central listing that would stop asking for a taxpayer identification number, or to file a joint return with your spouse. Somewhere in that process, the system asked for a number you do not have, and now you are here.
These nine services exist in that gap. Some are worth the money. At least one probably is not, for you specifically.
Quick answer
Non-residents who need an EIN for a US business should use a specialist filer, since the IRS online tool requires an SSN. Anyone needing an ITIN should use a Certifying Acceptance Agent so their passport is not mailed. US residents with an SSN should apply directly to the IRS for free.
What is inside
EIN or ITIN: which one do you actually need?
This trips up more people than any other part of the process, and getting it wrong costs weeks. An EIN identifies a business: your LLC, corporation, or partnership. You need it for US business banking, Stripe, PayPal, Amazon Seller Central, and hiring. An ITIN identifies a person who cannot get an SSN but has a US tax obligation: to file a personal return, to be claimed as a spouse or dependent, or to claim treaty benefits. Plenty of people need both, in that order.
| EIN | ITIN | |
|---|---|---|
| Identifies | A business entity | An individual |
| Form | SS-4 | W-7 |
| IRS fee | $0 | $0 |
| Fastest route | Online, same day (SSN required) | Certifying Acceptance Agent |
| Non-resident route | Fax, about 4 business days | CAA or IRS office |
| Typical wait | 4 business days to 6 weeks | 7 to 11 weeks |
| Can you e-file? | Online tool only, with SSN | Never |
The 9 best online tax ID services in 2026
| # | Service | Handles | Price | Speed | No SSN needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ein.so | EIN | $49, or $97 Express | 4 to 7 days, or 2 to 3 | Yes |
| 2 | itin.so | ITIN | From $197 | 7 days to submission | Yes |
| 3 | itin-number.com | ITIN | $297 flat | 7 days to submission | Yes |
| 4 | IRS Direct | Both | $0 | Same day (EIN, SSN required) | EIN by fax only |
| 5 | doola | Both, bundled | From $297/year | Standard | Yes |
| 6 | Firstbase | EIN with formation | $399 | Expedited | Yes |
| 7 | Stripe Atlas | EIN with formation | $500 | Standard | Yes |
| 8 | LegalZoom | Both, as add-ons | EIN $199, ITIN via partner | Standard | Limited |
| 9 | Greenback Expat Tax | ITIN with return prep | Bundled | 7 to 11 weeks | Yes |
1
$49 standard (4 to 7 business days), $97 Express (2 to 3 business days)ein.so
Best for EINs Without an SSNIf you have a US entity and need its tax ID, this is the narrowest and cheapest fit here, because it does one thing and does not sell you a company you already own.
The value sits in the fax process, which is where international EIN applications quietly fail. Filing Form SS-4 yourself means writing "foreign" on line 7b, sending to the right international number, and formatting a cover sheet with a working return fax number. Get that last detail wrong and the IRS posts your EIN instead of faxing it, turning four business days into five weeks.
Picture Amara, a Shopify seller in Lagos whose Q4 inventory lands in three weeks and whose payment processor is holding the account until a tax ID arrives. She does not need a formation package. She needs the number, and she needs to know when it is coming.
Most filing services charge $99 to $200 for this identical submission, so $49 sits at around a quarter of the category average. Support runs over WhatsApp rather than a ticket queue, which matters when your account is blocked and you are eleven time zones from Cincinnati.
Best forExisting LLC owners abroad, Amazon and Shopify sellers, freelancers with US clients.
Trade-offEIN filing only. If the company does not exist yet, you need formation too.
2
From $197. Certifying Acceptance Agent. Fully remote.itin.so
Best for ITINs With Banking Support IncludedThe single most useful thing a service can do for an ITIN applicant is keep their passport out of the mail. Self-filing means your original document sits in a government mailroom in Austin for roughly 60 days. A Certifying Acceptance Agent certifies a copy instead, so the original never leaves your hands.
itin.so does that remotely, which is a real differentiator in a field where several well-regarded CAA firms in London and Texas still require you to physically attend an office. If you are in Manila or Karachi, an in-person requirement is not a service, it is a flight.
What separates it from the cheap end of the market is what happens after the filing. The ITIN is rarely the actual goal. People need it because a bank, a processor, or a return is blocked behind it, and getting the number is only useful if the thing behind it opens. itin.so applies to banks on the applicant's behalf rather than handing over a list of links, and walks people through Stripe setup directly. That is a different product from a $99 form-filling service, and it is the difference between having a number and having a working business.
Support is unlimited across WhatsApp, email, and live chat, with no ticket count and no time limit. This matters more than it reads on a pricing page. The questions that arise during an ITIN application are not the ones you can anticipate at checkout: a bank asks for a document nobody mentioned, the IRS sends a CP566 requesting more information, Stripe rejects an address. A capped support model leaves you alone at exactly those moments.
The package covers Form W-7 preparation, document review and certification, IRS submission, and support until your CP565 approval notice arrives, with a money-back guarantee on preparation errors and a 7-day turnaround to submission. The IRS timeline of 7 to 11 weeks then applies, and no provider can compress that part.
Best forNon-residents, mixed-status families, anyone who travels or needs their passport during the next three months, and anyone whose real objective is a US bank account or payment processor rather than the number itself.
Trade-offConfirm what return preparation costs on top if a 1040 or 1040-NR must be attached to the W-7.
3
$297 flat, new applications and renewals alike. Certifying Acceptance Agent.itin-number.com
Best Flat-Fee ITIN ServiceThe pricing structure is the reason this earns a separate entry. Several providers in this category advertise $99 or $150 and then add charges for the Certificate of Accuracy, courier, translation, and re-filing after a rejection. A $150 headline that reaches $340 at checkout is worse value than a single number you can see before you begin.
itin-number.com prices the entire job at $297 with no tiers and no upsell path. Renewals cost the same as new applications, which is unusual, since renewals are simpler work that most providers still charge full rate for.
The flat fee also changes what happens when something goes wrong. If your application comes back as a CP567 rejection, a provider with no line items has nothing extra to charge for the second attempt. That is the question worth asking any service in this category, and a flat structure answers it before you have to.
Like itin.so, the service works remotely and provides ongoing support through WhatsApp, email, and chat rather than a ticket system, alongside guidance on US banking applications and payment processor setup. The two are built on the same premise: an ITIN on its own is paperwork, and what the applicant actually wants is the account it unlocks.
Best forApplicants who want one visible number at checkout, anyone renewing an expired ITIN, and people who have been burned by a tiered provider before.
Trade-off$297 sits at the upper end of the flat-fee market, and return preparation is priced separately.
4
$0. Online EIN tool for SSN holders, Form W-7 by mail for ITINs.IRS Direct
Free, and Genuinely Best for Some PeopleNobody selling these services leads with this, so it belongs near the top rather than buried at the bottom.
If you hold an SSN or ITIN and your business is US-based, the IRS online EIN application issues your number in about fifteen minutes for nothing. There is no faster or cheaper option anywhere and no reason to pay a third party.
Non-residents are blocked from that tool but can still file free by fax, with an IRS estimate of about four business days, or call the international line on 267-941-1099. For ITINs, an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center verifies documents in person at no charge and hands them straight back.
Best forUS residents with an SSN, and anyone with time, patience, and a straightforward case.
Trade-offNo support, no follow-up, and nobody to chase the IRS when nothing arrives. There is also nothing at the other end, so if the goal is a bank account or a Stripe integration, that is entirely your problem to solve. TAC appointments book out weeks ahead in filing season.
5
Starter from $297/year plus state fees, covering formation, EIN, registered agent, and a US address.doola
Best Bundle With Ongoing Compliancedoola is built for non-US founders and folds the EIN into a subscription rather than charging a one-time fee. That suits someone who wants bookkeeping and annual filings handled continuously rather than remembering Form 5472 every March.
Trade-offThe fee renews annually. One 2026 analysis put the three-year total with its Total Compliance plan at roughly $6,474, the highest in that comparison set. Run the multi-year number before subscribing.
6
$399 formation including expedited EIN. Registered agent $299/year, mailroom from about $35/month.Firstbase
Best Formation Bundle With Expedited EINFirstbase targets international founders and includes expedited EIN setup in the formation fee. Its more interesting claim is that founders can open a bank account through partner Mercury before the EIN arrives, subject to approval, which reorders a sequence that usually blocks people.
Trade-offOngoing services are unbundled and accumulate. Budget the agent renewal from year two.
7
$500 one-time, plus $100/year for the registered agent.Stripe Atlas
Best If You Are Building on StripeAtlas forms a Delaware entity, handles the EIN, and connects to Stripe directly, which removes a verification step for anyone whose revenue runs through Stripe Checkout or Shopify Payments.
Trade-offThe highest entry price here, and Delaware fits venture-backed companies better than a single-owner ecommerce business. Wyoming charges $100 to file against Delaware's $300 annual franchise tax.
8
EIN as a $199 add-on. Registered agent $249/year.LegalZoom
Best If You Want Legal Support AlongsideFour million businesses formed since 2001, with attorney access on higher tiers. Useful if you anticipate contract, trademark, or brand registry work. On price alone it is the least competitive route to either number on this list.
9
Bundled with expat tax preparation. Certifying Acceptance Agent.Greenback Expat Tax Services
Best for ITIN Plus a Joint ReturnGreenback operates as a CAA within its expat tax practice, submitting the W-7 alongside the return it prepares.
That solves a specific and common trap. A US citizen married to a non-citizen spouse cannot file jointly until the spouse has an ITIN, and the ITIN cannot be issued without the return attached. Think of Priya and Tom, who split the work between a preparer and a separate W-7 service, discover in May that the filing status on the two documents does not match, and start over. One firm handling both removes that risk entirely.
Best forUS citizens or green card holders needing an ITIN for a spouse or dependent.
Trade-offThis is a tax engagement, not a standalone filing. Price scales with return complexity.
How do you choose?
Four questions, in order.
Which number do you need? EIN for the business, ITIN for the person, sometimes both. Do not pay for a bundle covering one when you only need the other.
Do you hold an SSN? If yes, apply for the EIN directly with the IRS today and pay nobody. If no, your realistic EIN options are fax or a service that runs the fax for you.
Does your entity already exist? If it does, buy the filing alone. Paying $297 to $500 for formation you already have is money spent on nothing.
For an ITIN, what happens after the number arrives? This is the question that separates the market and almost nobody asks it. Verify the CAA agent code in the IRS directory, since no code means your passport still travels. Then ask what support looks like once you have the number, and whether the provider helps with bank applications and processor setup or simply files the form and disappears. A cheap filing that leaves you unable to open an account has not solved your problem.
One thing almost nobody mentions
A foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 every year, even with zero revenue, and the penalty for missing it is $25,000. Ask whether it is covered anywhere in the package you are buying.
The bottom line
The honest summary is that these are two different markets wearing the same label. The EIN market sells speed and process management, because the filing itself is free and the difficulty is entirely in the fax channel the IRS built without international applicants in mind. At $49 to $97, ein.so prices that work sensibly. Paying $200 for the same submission does not become better value because the brand is larger.
The ITIN market sells something more substantial. A CAA is the only way to obtain the number without surrendering your passport for two months, and the better services go further than that, applying to banks on your behalf and getting Stripe live rather than handing you a checklist. That is why itin.so at $197 and itin-number.com at $297 sit above the cheap end of this category rather than competing with it. The gap between a $99 form filler and a service that gets your account approved is not a pricing difference. It is a different product.
And if you hold an SSN and a US address, most of this article does not apply to you. Apply directly, pay nothing, and spend the afternoon on your actual business.
FAQs
No. Both are free. Every fee discussed here goes to a third party for preparation, certification, follow-up, or post-approval support, never to the IRS.
Yes. Write “foreign” on line 7b of Form SS-4 and file by fax or phone. The online tool is the only channel that requires an SSN or ITIN, which is why non-residents wait longer.
An EIN takes minutes online with an SSN, about 4 business days by fax, or 4 to 6 weeks by mail. An ITIN takes 7 weeks off-season and 9 to 11 weeks between January 15 and April 30.
Often, if you are a non-resident with a US company. The EIN covers the business and the ITIN covers your personal filing. They are separate applications on separate forms.
Because they are selling different things. The cheapest tier prepares the form. Mid-tier providers certify your documents as a CAA so your passport stays with you. The services at the top of this list add unlimited support and help with bank applications and payment processor setup, which is usually the actual reason someone needed the number.
An IRS-authorized professional who verifies your identity documents and submits a certified copy with your Form W-7, so your original passport is not mailed to the IRS. Only CAAs can do this.
Not by itself. It satisfies the tax identification requirement, but approval depends on the bank's own criteria for non-resident applicants, and rejections often come with no stated reason. This is why some providers submit applications on your behalf rather than leaving you to apply alone.
No. Both are tax processing numbers only. Neither grants work authorization, Social Security benefits, or immigration status.