As a restaurant, you need to be sure you are doing everything by the book when it comes to running your business. One of the key steps to take into account when running a restaurant complies with the Internal Revenue Service. As a restaurant, this means making sure that you get what is as a Tax ID (EIN) number. Do the right thing out of the gate for your initial filings. Obtaining a Tax ID (EIN) number is the first step down this path. The restaurant industry is competitive enough and you don’t need to over-complicate your path to success by stumbling with failed filings from day one.
Steps to Obtaining a Restaurant Business’ Tax ID (EIN) Number
- Gather Information on the Business
- Applying for the Restaurant Tax ID Number Online
- Applying Via a Telephone, Mail, or Fax Machine
- Getting Your Official Restaurant Tax ID Number
- Why is it Necessary to Obtain a Tax ID Number?
1. Gather Information on the Business
The first step towards obtaining a Tax ID (EIN) number for a restaurant is to gather all the required documentation. You need to begin the process by naming the responsible party of the business or restaurant. This is most likely going to be the owner of the restaurant. Part of this will include you obtaining their name, address, date of birth, as well as either Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
On top of the information on the responsible party, you are also going to gather information on the business itself. The business information will include the principal address of the restaurant or its headquarters, as well as the first day of operation.
2. Applying for the Restaurant Tax ID Number Online
You have a lot going on when you are running a restaurant. For this reason, anything you can do to take work off of your plate, literally and figuratively, is a great thing. The online application method is going to take the least amount of time for you to complete start to finish.
When you go through the online application process to obtain a Tax ID number for your restaurant, you can expect the employer identification number to be back to you within an hour. It is that quick and it makes for an efficient process. When you submit, you will get a response and see if you sent everything in accurately right away.
A tax ID service can take care of the whole process for you. With all the information on the business available, he or she is going to be able to complete the online application and do the full submission in minimal time.
Sure there, are other options to apply for an EIN such as the fax, mail, or telephone methods, but the online process is by far the quickest and easiest.
3. Applying Via a Telephone, Mail, or Fax Machine
You do have options when it comes to obtaining a Tax ID number for your restaurant. The online application process is going to be the easiest, but you can go through a few other mechanisms to obtain the unique identifier for the restaurant.
One of the more classic ways of obtaining the Tax ID numbers for your restaurant is to apply via the mail or through a fax machine. Both of these methods will require you to have the physical form in-hand to fill out completely. A tax ID service provider will have these forms, or you can also print them online. You want to be sure you have the most up to date form you are using. You can submit by mailing to the IRS or faxing to them. When you use these two methods, the mail can take several weeks for processing, while the fax could take five or more business days.
You also can apply over the phone. You will still need to submit some forms or documents through the application process, but the phone method can help you alleviate some of the paperwork along the way. While the online method is the easiest, these options exist.
4. Getting Your Official Restaurant Tax ID Number
When the time comes to obtain your official restaurant Tax ID number, you need to know the firm process to follow. First and foremost, you need to gather up all of the important information, the mandatory information from your business. This will include the first date that the restaurant opened, the headquarters’ address, as well as details on the business owner or responsible party.
All this information then needs submission to a tax ID service provider. The provider will review the information to be sure it is complete and ready for processing by the Internal Revenue Service. The final step is to simply wait. If you applied via the online method, you could have your employer identification number back to you in less than one hour!
5. Why is it Necessary to Obtain a Tax ID Number?
As a restaurant, why is it necessary to obtain a Tax ID number? As most states processes are similar, even obtaining a tax ID in California is almost the same process as obtaining a federal EIN, just depends on what you need. Every business type needs a federal EIN to do a variety of things. If you want to hire employees, open bank accounts in the name of the business, or file tax returns, you need an EIN. It is the one single number that for tax administration purposes, your business activity ties against. You want to be in compliance with the Internal Revenue Service from day one forward as a restaurant and making sure you have your Tax ID number is the first step.
As a restaurant, you have a variety of rules and regulations you will have to follow. You need to be sure the restaurant is clean, food preparation is following expectations, etc. On the pure business side of the house, though, everything you do as a restaurant needs to flow through one unique identifying number. The number is going to be the Tax ID (EIN) number for a restaurant. Work through the process of obtaining the Tax ID (EIN) number to comply with the IRS before you even think of serving your first client.