How to Get an EIN for an Estate, for Free, in About Ten Minutes

If you’ve recently been appointed executor or administrator of a loved one’s estate, somewhere on your to-do list (probably handed to you by the bank, the probate court, or your lawyer) is “get an EIN for the estate.” Good news: this is one of the easier jobs on that list. It takes all of about ten minutes (or more often, less), it happens entirely on the IRS website, and it costs nothing.

If a website wants to charge you to get an estate EIN, it’s a scam. The IRS issues EINs for free. Attorneys will often obtain the EIN as part of a probate representation, and that’s a normal part of the package when we’re already handling the estate. But a standalone online service charging you $100 to fill in this form is charging you $100 for a free government document that you could’ve gotten yourself with very minimal effort. In the video above I walk through the whole application on screen; here’s the written version with some added context about why the estate needs its own tax ID in the first place.

When someone dies, their Social Security number essentially dies with them for most go-forward purposes. But their affairs don’t wrap up instantly. The estate (the legal entity that holds the person’s assets while they’re being collected, managed, and distributed) often needs to function in the financial world for months or years: opening an estate bank account, depositing checks payable to the decedent, selling property, collecting rent or dividends, eventually filing tax returns.

For all of that, the estate needs its own taxpayer identification number, an EIN. Practically speaking, the two most common triggers are:

• The bank. To open an estate account (which you should do; running estate money through a personal account is how executors create problems for themselves), the bank will require an EIN for the estate. You cannot use the decedent’s SSN, and you should not use your own.
• The tax return. If the estate earns income during administration (interest, dividends, rent, gains on sales, business income, royalties, contract payments), it may need to file its own fiduciary income tax return, IRS Form 1041. The general trigger is $600 or more of gross income in a tax year. Filing the 1041 requires an EIN.

To clarify one point of frequent confusion: the estate’s EIN has nothing to do with whether the estate owes federal estate tax. The overwhelming majority of estates owe no estate tax at all. The EIN is just an identification number; getting one doesn’t create any tax, and it’s needed for garden-variety administration even in modest estates.

First, have your estate paperwork on your desk, ready to go. That means the death certificate and your letters testamentary (or letters of administration), plus the decedent’s Social Security number. Not “in the other room.” On the desk.

The reason is the IRS website itself: the online application times out after roughly 15 minutes of inactivity, and it can’t be saved and resumed. You have to complete it in one session. If you leave the page to go dig through a file box for the letters, you may come back to find your session expired and your progress gone. If you don’t have your documents yet, pause here and go get them.

Second, make sure you’re actually the right person to apply. The application is meant to be completed by the estate’s fiduciary: the executor, administrator, or personal representative. If the court hasn’t appointed anyone yet, that’s usually the step that comes first.

Go to your search engine and search “IRS EIN application.” Now slow down before clicking, because the top results will often include paid services designed to look official. They will charge you a meaningful amount of money to submit a free form. Check the web address: you want irs.gov, actually spelled out in the URL, not a lookalike with an eagle logo. Click through to the IRS’s online EIN Assistant.

Read the “how it works” page while you’re there. It confirms the two constraints I already warned you about: one session, no saving, and the 15-minute inactivity timeout. Then click “apply for an EIN” and begin the application. (One scheduling note: the online assistant is only available during certain weekday hours, Eastern time. It’s not a middle-of-the-night task.)

Entity type: Estate. The first substantive question asks what kind of entity needs the EIN. Select “Estate” — since you’re applying for an EIN for an estate. The page describes what that means; read it and confirm it fits.

Information about the deceased person. Enter the decedent’s legal name and Social Security number. This is exactly why the death certificate is on your desk: names, dates, and the SSN, all in one place. Enter the name precisely; this application ties the estate’s new EIN to the decedent’s SSN in IRS records.

Information about the fiduciary (that’s you). Next the application asks about the person applying. Enter your own name, and pay attention to the fiduciary title question, because it should match your actual court appointment. For example, in Texas the choice is usually:

• If there was a will and the court appointed you as the executor named in it, and you hold letters testamentary, you likely will select executor (but confirm with your lawyer).
• If there was no will (an intestacy), or if you’re running an administration with will annexed, and you hold letters of administration, you likely will select administrator (but confirm with your lawyer).

This isn’t just vocabulary. Your letters are the court document proving your authority, and the label you choose here should line up with what those letters say. You’ll also confirm your role: that you are the executor, administrator, or personal representative acting on behalf of the estate.

Address and phone. The application asks for the estate’s mailing address, which as a practical matter is usually (but not always!) the fiduciary’s address. Enter the appropriate street address, city, state, zip, and phone number. If you have a separate address where you want estate mail sent, the application lets you say so.

Additional details. A few more questions:

• County and state where the estate is probated. For my San Antonio clients, that’s Bexar County, Texas. Yours is wherever the probate case is pending.
• Date the estate was created or funded. Again, refer to the documents already on your desk.
• Closing month of the accounting year. Estates can elect a fiscal year rather than a calendar year, which in some estates is a useful tax-planning lever (it can shift when beneficiaries pick up estate income). That said, most people select December and run the estate on a calendar year, and if you don’t have a tax professional advising otherwise, December is the conventional answer.
• Employees. The application asks whether the estate has or expects to have employees in the next 12 months. For nearly every estate, the answer is no. To be clear about what counts: lawyers, accountants, and contractors you hire are not employees for this purpose. This question is about actual W-2 employees. If that’s your situation, answer yes, and also call a lawyer immediately, because operating a sole-proprietorship business in administration (usually the place that this arises) has its own set of issues.

Review and submit. Two important choices at the end.

Choose to receive your confirmation letter digitally. If you elect the mailed letter, you’ll wait around a month. The digital option delivers the letter (IRS letter CP 575) immediately as a PDF.

Then actually scroll through the review screen and check every field: names, the SSN, the dates. Typos here mean IRS correspondence later. When everything’s right, click submit, and the EIN is issued immediately.

Once the EIN letter comes through: save multiple copies. Print it, save the PDF in at least two places, take a photo with your phone. I’m telling you this as someone who has watched people lose it: getting a replacement means calling the IRS, sitting on hold, verifying your authority as fiduciary, and waiting for a verification letter. It is a serious pain. The bank will want this letter to open the estate account, the accountant will want it for the 1041, and you’ll be asked for the number repeatedly for as long as the administration runs. Thirty seconds of backing it up now buys you out of all of that.

Getting the EIN is one early step in a longer administration process: opening the estate account, marshaling assets, dealing with creditors (I’ve written separately about how estate debts actually work, and why heirs generally don’t inherit them), and ultimately distributing and closing.

Does every estate need an EIN?

Not necessarily. The usual triggers are opening an estate bank account or the estate earning enough income to file a return. Whether your particular estate needs one is a good question for the probate attorney handling the case.

How much does it cost to get an EIN for an estate?

Nothing. The IRS issues EINs for free. Websites that charge for this are, at best, charging you for a free government document, at worst, outright scams.

Can I use the deceased person’s Social Security number instead of an estate EIN?

Generally, no. For most post-death purposes (like the estate’s bank account and tax filings), the estate needs its own taxpayer identification number.

How long does it take to get an estate EIN?

The online application typically takes around ten minutes, and if you choose digital delivery, the confirmation letter (CP 575) usually arrives immediately as a PDF.

Do I need letters testamentary before applying for an estate EIN?

As a practical matter, the application is designed for the estate’s court-appointed fiduciary, and you’ll want your letters and the death certificate in front of you when you apply. If no one has been appointed yet, talk to a probate attorney about sequencing.

Is an estate EIN the same as an EIN for a trust?

No — estates and trusts are different entity types on the IRS application, and which one you need (or whether you need both) depends on the situation. Ask the lawyer handling the administration.

Does getting an EIN mean the estate owes estate tax?

No! The EIN is just an identification number for banks, the IRS, and so forth. Whether any estate tax is owed is a separate question that depends on the estate’s size and income — the vast majority of estates owe no federal estate tax at all. That being said, the estate may still owe income tax.