Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Re: Small Business

When applying for an EIN you will have to give the name of the business, including the state it is located in. Therefore, you should incorporate (if a corporation is the business entity you wish to use) your business first. States have the authority to reject your business name for a number of reasons and until you know the name is approved it is not worth getting an EIN number. Please feel free to contact my office if we may provide any assistance in this matter.

Re: Small Business

You should have your business entity formed before you ask the IRS for an EIN. An EIN is your business' tax ID number, and it functions in a way that's similar to a social security number's function for an individual. Just like you don't apply for a SSN for an unborn child, you don't apply for an EIN for an unformed entity.

You can, however, apply for your EIN online at www.irs.gov and receive it immediately rather than waiting the weeks on end that used to be the norm.

Be sure you file for S-corp status both on the federal AND THE STATE levels. A federal S-corp is not automatically a state S-corp.

THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT INTENDED, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED, AS LEGAL ADVICE. THIS POSTING DOES NOT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.