How to Obtain or Re-establish an EIN for a Retirement Plan or an IRA Trust

 

Retirement plan trustees shouldn't use the plan sponsor's EIN for their retirement plan trust. IRA trustees/custodians should not use the IRA owner's social security number for the IRA to report unrelated business taxable income on Form 990-T. See the EIN application page for further information.

To obtain an EIN for a retirement trust or for an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) trust, the plan trustee or practitioner can either apply online, or mail or fax Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number to the IRS.

Apply online

  • IRS issues the EIN immediately once the information on the application is validated.
  • At "What type of legal structure is applying for an EIN," check "View Additional types, including Tax-Exempt and Governmental Organizations" and click "Continue."
  • On the "Additional Types" page, select "Employee Plan (401(k), Money Purchase Plan, etc). Do not select "Other Non-profit/Tax Exempt Organization" because this will generate an EIN for a tax-exempt organization, such as a 501(c)(3) organization. If you applied for an EIN for a retirement trust by selecting "Other Non-profit/Tax Exempt Organization" and received a CP 575E Notice, you may contact Employee Plans Customer Account Services for help.

For paper Form SS-4 applications only, check "Other" on Line 9a and indicate that the EIN is for a retirement trust.

Deactivated EINs

If your retirement trust EIN has been deactivated, you can re-establish the EIN by sending a fax request (855-214-7520) to the EP Entity Control Unit in Ogden, Utah, and include the:

  • EIN in question
  • trust name
  • sponsor's or trustee's mailing address
  • name, address and telephone number of the person who can answer additional questions

Or you can mail the request to:

USPS Address

Internal Revenue Service
Attn. EP Entity, M/S 6273
Ogden, UT 84201

Private Delivery Service Address

Internal Revenue Service
1973 N Rulon White Blvd.
Attn. EP Entity, M/S 6273
Ogden, UT 84404

A retirement plan trustee should apply for an EIN for the plan's trust in order to properly:

  • report Form 945 for deposits and other income tax withholding information,
  • provide Form W-9 to requesters of tax identification number certifications,
  • report Form 990-T for exempt organization business income, and
  • report retirement plan trust information

An IRA trustee/custodian should apply for an EIN for the IRA to report unrelated business taxable income on Form 990-T.