Registering for a US EIN & state nexus — can I handle this myself?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: the identifier is applied for centrally and, for a foreign applicant with no US personal tax number, cannot use the fast route.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
How do I get a US EIN with no US tax number?
The employer identification number is a federal identifier, applied for centrally. A foreign applicant with no US personal tax number cannot use the expedited self-service route that domestic applicants use, so the application goes through the slower channel and the responsible party details have to be completed carefully, because an inconsistency there is the usual reason an application comes back. Plan the timing around that. Bank accounts, payroll providers and marketplace registrations often ask for the number before they will proceed, so a company that leaves the application until it is needed can find the whole launch waiting on it.
Is an EIN the same thing as registering in a state?
No, and treating them as one step is the common error. The identifier is federal and says nothing about where you owe anything; it simply gives the tax system a way to refer to your business. State registration is an obligation, tested state by state against economic activity, the presence of employees and the location of inventory. You can hold an identifier and owe no state anything, and you can owe a state a registration before you have ever applied for the identifier. They answer different questions and they are not sequential in the way most guidance implies.
Do I need to register in a state before I have any sales there?
Usually not, and registering early has a cost. A registration generally starts a filing obligation that continues whether or not there is anything to report, including zero returns and, in some states, annual reports and minimum charges. The sequence that causes trouble is registering everywhere as a precaution and then discovering the compliance burden is permanent. The sequence that works is to establish where activity has genuinely created an obligation, register there, and keep a measurement routine that tells you when another state is approaching its threshold, so the next registration is a decision rather than a discovery.
Does having an EIN create a filing obligation on its own?
The identifier itself is not the obligation, but it makes you visible, and it is frequently issued to entities that then acquire filing duties without noticing. A foreign-owned entity may have information reporting duties in years with no activity at all, and a payroll or withholding registration attached to the number carries returns for every period once it exists. The practical point is that an identifier obtained for one purpose, such as opening an account, does not stay confined to that purpose. Establish which filings sit behind it before the first period closes rather than after a notice arrives.
Which state should I register in first as a foreign seller?
Ask instead which state you already owe something to. Registration order is decided by the facts: a state where employees work, where stock is held, or where your own sales have crossed an economic threshold has a claim now, whatever the order of formation. Choosing a state of incorporation is a separate decision driven by company law and cost, and it does not remove obligations elsewhere. Registering in a chosen state first and letting the others follow later leaves the earliest exposure unaddressed, which is the one that carries back-period filings.
I got an EIN months ago and never filed anything — what now?
Establish what the number is attached to before anything else: an entity type, a formation state, and possibly a payroll or withholding registration made when the account was opened. Each of those carries its own returns, and some of them are due whether or not the business traded. Then work out the periods actually missed, separate federal from state, and deal with them in that order. Voluntary correction generally offers better outcomes than waiting, and several states operate arrangements for sellers coming forward before they are contacted, which are not available once an enquiry has started.
What is a permanent establishment?
The threshold at which a country may tax a foreign company's business profits. It is met by a fixed place of business — an office, a branch, a workshop — and also by a dependent agent habitually concluding contracts on your behalf, with separate rules for construction sites and, in some treaties, for services performed over a period. Cross it unnoticed and you owe returns and tax in a country you never registered in. See permanent establishment risk.
Branch or subsidiary — which should we use to expand?
A branch keeps one taxpayer: results consolidate at home, losses are usable sooner, and the exposure is that the branch is a permanent establishment whose profit the host country taxes, sometimes with a branch tax on repatriation. A subsidiary is a separate taxpayer with limited liability and local rates, at the cost of withholding on dividends home and transfer pricing on everything between them. The deciding facts are usually expected losses, liability and exit plans. See branch against subsidiary.
