Do I need an EIN if my US company has no employees yet?
The number is not tied to having staff. It is the employer identification number an entity uses to identify itself for US filing and withholding purposes, and a new US entity generally needs one before it can file anything at all. Payroll is only one of the uses. A bank will usually ask for it, and any withholding or information return the entity has to make is identified by it. If the entity exists and has US obligations, treat the number as a formation step rather than a hiring step.
Does a foreign company with no US office need Form SS-4?
It can. The test is the obligation, not the address. A foreign entity that has US withholding or filing duties needs a number to make those filings, and so does a foreign-owned limited liability company that has information returns to make. A nil position does not remove the requirement, because the duty is decided by what the entity does and receives rather than by tax owing. Work out which US filings the entity is on the hook for first, because the answer to the number question follows from that list.
Can I apply for an EIN without a US social security number?
Yes, but not by the fast route. The quick application that issues a number in one sitting expects the person responsible for the entity to hold a US social security number, so a foreign applicant is left with the slower channel. That matters for planning rather than for eligibility. The number is what the bank account, the payroll registration and the withholding filings all depend on, so for a foreign-owned structure it becomes the first scheduling constraint of the whole expansion. Start it before the dates that depend on it are promised to anyone.
Who is named as responsible for the entity on Form SS-4?
The application asks for an individual, not simply the corporate owner, and it wants someone with real authority over the entity's funds and assets. For a foreign-owned structure that is usually a director or officer of the parent rather than a local adviser. Two practical points follow. The person named needs identifying details the application will accept, and the name given should match what the bank later sees, because a mismatch between the number's own record and the account opening documents is a common source of delay.
Does a single-member LLC owned from abroad need its own EIN?
A foreign-owned limited liability company that has information returns to make needs a number of its own in order to make them, even where the company itself pays no tax. The point people miss is that the filing duty sits on the company as a separate filer, so the owner's own tax number does not stand in for it. If you are unsure which returns apply, list the payments the company makes and receives and who reports them. The number follows the filing obligation rather than the profit.
We already have an EIN, do we apply again after restructuring?
The application creates a number for an entity, so the question is whether the thing doing the filing is the same entity. A new US company formed in a restructuring is a new filer and needs its own number. A change of name, address or responsible person for a company that continues is a change to an existing record rather than a fresh application. Get this right early. Filings made under the wrong number are hard to unpick afterwards, and the bank and payroll records will both have been set up against whichever number you used.
Do I have to file in both countries?
Frequently yes, and the two filings do different jobs. The country where the income arises taxes it at source; the country where you are resident taxes your worldwide income and then gives credit for the tax already paid. Filing only one side is what leaves relief unclaimed — the credit has to be asked for on a return. We prepare both sides so the numbers agree. See dual filing.
What is a totalization agreement and how do I use one?
A social security agreement that stops you contributing to two systems for the same work, and lets periods in both count towards benefit eligibility in either. Which system you stay in depends on the agreement's rules for your situation — a seconded employee usually remains in the home system for a set period, a locally hired one usually joins the host system. You evidence it with a certificate of coverage obtained before or shortly after the assignment starts. See certificates of coverage.
