Hey, it’s Amber from ExpressTruckTax, and today we are going to talk about EIN, which is the Employer Identification Number.
So, we’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about how long does it take a new EIN to become active in the IRS system, and that is a super, super good question because sometimes it can take two weeks, sometimes it can take four weeks.
It really just depends on how quickly the IRS is batching those applications and entering them into their system. So, when you apply for a new EIN, you enter in the information on the IRS website, and you automatically get the EIN, right? You get a PDF, and it shows you your new EIN. Your SS4 is the actual documentation, and for several things, you can use that number right away.
So, for example, if you’re going to go open a bank account for your business, you can use that new EIN right away. However, in order to e-file, you have to wait until the IRS puts that number into their system because when you e-file a tax form, the form that you fill out on ExpressTruckTax gets sent to the IRS, and they have to have something to match that up to you, and they use the EIN for that.
So, if they haven’t put it into their system yet, your return basically gets rejected because there’s nothing to match it in the IRS system. When you’re filing your 2290 on ExpressTruckTax.com, you can go ahead and file the return. It’s going to be rejected, and the reason it’s rejected is it says your business name and the EIN don’t match. That is the IRS code to say the EIN is not in the system yet.
So, what we encourage you to do is to re-transmit that return. You don’t have to pay again for it. You just come back into your account and re-transmit it to the IRS once a day. And if it’s rejected one time, it’s going to be rejected all day that day because the IRS doesn’t update their system but one time a day.
So, when you re-transmit your return, it’ll be rejected until the number is in their system. However, once the number is in their system, your return will be either accepted or rejected again. If there’s something else wrong with it, it might be rejected again. You might have to fix something else on it, but if everything matches, your return will be accepted, and you’ll receive your stamped schedule one in the future. Once your EIN is active, your 2290s will go through the system and will be accepted within minutes.
So, this waiting period is only once, only for new EINs, or if you go and you change the information on your EIN again. You’ve got to kind of go through that waiting period again, but once it’s in the IRS system, and you transmit your 2290, you get your answer back within minutes, which is again why we suggest for you to use ExpressTruckTax because we have been in the industry for over 13 years, and we work directly with the IRS.
We’re US-based, and so your information is secure with ExpressTruckTax, and we get your stamp schedule one accepted quickly. And then again, if you are leased to a company, I know a lot of times we hear questions about, “Oh, I’m going to orientation, and they want me to bring my 2290,” yet you don’t even have an EIN yet.
So, that kind of throws a wrench into your schedule when you have to get an EIN, and then you have to wait 10-15 business days (two weeks-four weeks, just depends) to get your 2290 to take with you to orientation.
So, if you are new to trucking and you’re watching this video, first of all, welcome to a wonderful industry. I love the trucking industry. Number two, go get your EIN now. I don’t care if you’re leasing onto a company, I don’t care if you’re going to be a company driver. It’s free to get. And then if you ever change your mind and you want to go lease onto a company or you want to go out on your own, you already have it. You don’t have to wait for it to be put into the IRS system when you’re wasting valuable time.
So, if you’re new to the industry, go get your EIN. We have videos about that. You can also look on the IRS website of how to set up an EIN, but you want to make sure you’re setting it up correctly because you don’t want to have to go back and change it later. But go get an EIN now so that if you do change how you want to do business, you don’t have to wait on this piece of paperwork.
Basically, again, go file your Form 2290 with ExpressTruckTax. We are the number one IRS-authorized e-file provider for the trucking industry for over 13 years, and if you do have any further questions, we have a full support team Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. You can email us at support@ExpressTruckTax.com or give us a call at 704-234-6005.
