Do I Need a Tax ID Number to Open an Estate Account?

Yes. To open an estate account, you need a tax ID number for the estate, and the specific number banks and the IRS want is an Employer Identification Number (EIN). The EIN is free, the online application takes a few minutes, and the IRS issues the number at the end of the session.¹

Why the Estate Needs Its Own Number

When someone dies, their Social Security Number stops being the identifier for income their assets keep generating. Interest, dividends, rent, and similar earnings after the date of death belong to a new legal entity: the estate. The IRS tracks that post-death income under the EIN, and the executor uses the EIN on every tax document filed for the estate.²

The decedent’s SSN is used one last time, on the final Form 1040 covering income from January 1 through the date of death. Everything earned after that date goes on the estate’s fiduciary return, Form 1041, under the EIN. Estates with more than $600 in gross income for the tax year have to file that return, a threshold most estates cross once bank interest or investment income is in play.³

The bank needs the EIN for a related reason. The estate account is not the decedent’s account and not yours; it belongs to the estate, and the bank has to report interest under the estate’s identifier. Without an EIN, the account cannot be opened in the estate’s name.

How to Apply for the EIN

The IRS offers three ways to get an EIN, all free. If a site charges you, it is not the IRS.¹

Online

Use the online application if you can. You answer a series of questions on the IRS website and receive the EIN immediately at the end. The tool is available Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Eastern, Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to midnight.¹ An error at 3 a.m. on a Sunday is a schedule issue, not an application issue.

Fax

Complete Form SS-4 and fax it to 855-641-6935. Put your own fax number on the form and the IRS will fax the EIN back in about four business days.⁴

Mail

Mailing Form SS-4 to the IRS EIN Operation in Cincinnati is the slowest option, at roughly four to five weeks for a response.⁵ If probate is moving, that delay stalls bill-paying and tax filing, so treat mail as a last resort.

Information to Have Ready Before You Start

Gather everything before you open the application. The online tool does not save partial progress well, and the same fields appear on Form SS-4.

The decedent’s full legal name and Social Security Number. On Form SS-4 the entity name (Line 1) is typically the decedent’s name followed by “Estate,” and the SSN goes on Line 9a.⁵
Your own name and SSN or ITIN as the responsible party (Lines 7a and 7b), with your name also on Line 3 as the care-of contact.
A mailing address for the estate, often the executor’s own address (Lines 4a and 4b).
The county and state where probate is taking place (Line 6).
The date of death, which the IRS uses as the estate’s start date.

If you are serving as executor and have no SSN, you can enter an ITIN instead. If you have neither and are ineligible for one, the SS-4 instructions say to enter “foreign” or “N/A” on Line 7b, and in that case the online application is not available to you.⁵

What to Bring to the Bank

The EIN clears the first hurdle. Banks then want to see the paperwork that proves the estate exists and that you have authority to act for it. Expect to bring:

A certified copy of the death certificate. Most banks want an original certified copy, not a photocopy.
Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court. Letters Testamentary are issued when there is a will admitted to probate; Letters of Administration are issued when there is no will. Some jurisdictions call these fiduciary letters or letters of personal representative.⁶
Your own government-issued photo ID.
The IRS notice or printout showing the assigned EIN.⁶

Requirements vary slightly by institution, and some banks route estate accounts through a specialist rather than a regular teller. A quick call to the branch before you go saves a wasted trip.

Why the Separate Account Matters

Depositing estate checks into your personal account and tracking the split on a spreadsheet is a bad idea, even when the amounts are small. Mixing estate money with personal money is commingling, and it is one of the most common ways an executor ends up personally liable for losses. Beneficiaries or the court can hold you responsible for unclear accounting even if nothing was taken.

An account in the estate’s name, under the estate’s EIN, creates a clean record. Every deposit and withdrawal ties to the estate. If a transaction is later questioned, the bank statements answer for themselves, which protects the beneficiaries from mismanagement and protects you from accusations of it.

What Happens to the EIN When the Estate Closes

Once debts are paid, returns are filed, and assets are distributed, the bank will close the account after the balance reaches zero. The EIN, however, does not get canceled. The IRS deactivates EINs rather than canceling them. To deactivate, send a letter to the IRS that includes the estate’s EIN, legal name, and address, the original EIN assignment notice if you still have it, and the reason for closing. Mail it to the IRS in Kansas City, MO 64108 or Ogden, UT 84201, and make sure all required returns are filed and any tax owed is paid first. The IRS will not process the deactivation until those obligations are clear.⁷

1
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. File an Estate Tax Income Tax Return
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1
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Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
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Wells Fargo. Estate Care Center – Section: What Information Is Needed to Open an Estate Account?
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Internal Revenue Service. If You No Longer Need Your EIN