How to Get a Tax ID for a Deceased Person’s Estate

To get a tax ID for a deceased person’s estate, the executor or administrator applies for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) directly through the IRS. The application is free, takes about ten minutes online, and the number is issued on the spot. The estate needs its own EIN because the decedent’s Social Security Number covers only the final personal tax return; any income the estate earns after the date of death, and any account or asset held in the estate’s name, has to be tied to a separate nine-digit number.

Does the Estate Actually Need an EIN

The decedent’s SSN goes on one return only: the final Form 1040, which reports income earned up to the date of death.¹ Anything after that belongs to the estate.

Most estates need the EIN for two overlapping reasons. The first is income. Interest on a bank account, dividends, rent, or gains from selling assets after the date of death all get reported under the estate’s EIN. The IRS requires a fiduciary to file Form 1041, the estate’s income tax return, if the estate has gross income of $600 or more during any tax year, or if any beneficiary is a nonresident alien.² Every estate required to file Form 1041 must have an EIN.

The second reason is practical. Banks and brokerages will not open an account titled “Estate of [Name]” using only the decedent’s SSN. They need the estate’s own EIN so any 1099s for interest or dividends come out correctly. Title companies and transfer agents handling real estate or securities usually require the EIN before they will move ownership into the estate’s name.

One boundary worth naming: a very small estate where every asset passes directly to named beneficiaries through transfer-on-death or payable-on-death designations may not need an EIN at all. Those assets bypass probate and generate no income inside a formal estate. If anything goes through probate or has to be liquidated, expect to need the number.

What to Gather Before You Apply

The IRS online application times out after 15 minutes of inactivity and there is no way to save your progress. Have everything in front of you before you begin.

Legal name of the estate, typically formatted as “Estate of [Full Legal Name of Decedent]”
Date of death, which becomes the estate’s start date as a taxable entity
Your full legal name, SSN, mailing address, and title (Executor, Administrator, or Personal Representative)
Entity type: Estate
Number of employees: zero for a standard estate
Principal activity: Estate Administration

If the fiduciary is an institution such as a bank trust department, its existing EIN is used in place of an SSN.

The person listed as the “responsible party” must be the individual who has legal authority to manage and distribute the estate’s assets.³ That’s the executor named in the will, the administrator appointed by the court, or another fiduciary with legal standing. The IRS limits each responsible party to one EIN application per day, so if you’re handling multiple estates or entities, space them out.⁴

You can authorize a CPA, attorney, or other professional to file the application for you as a third-party designee on Line 18 of Form SS-4. That authorization ends the moment the EIN is issued, and the official confirmation notice still goes directly to you.³ One quirk: if the designee’s address or phone number matches yours, the IRS won’t process the application online. You’ll need to fax or mail it instead.

Applying Online

The fastest route is the IRS online application at irs.gov. It’s free, and the EIN is issued immediately after validation. The tool is available Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Eastern, Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sundays from 6:00 p.m. to midnight.⁴

To use it, the responsible party needs a valid SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Go to the IRS “Apply for an EIN Online” page, confirm your identity, and select “Estate” from the list of entity types. Enter the information you gathered and review carefully before submitting. The system checks your data against IRS and Social Security Administration records. If everything matches, the EIN appears on screen right away.

Save and print the confirmation page immediately. That page is your proof of the EIN until the IRS mails the official confirmation notice (CP 575), which typically arrives four to six weeks later. Losing both the printout and the notice means calling the IRS to get a replacement, which is not quick.

Applying by Fax or Mail

If the responsible party doesn’t have an SSN or ITIN, or the online tool is unavailable, you can submit a completed Form SS-4 by fax or mail. Fax is far faster.

For applicants in any of the 50 states or Washington, D.C., fax Form SS-4 to 855-641-6935. The IRS typically returns the EIN by fax within four business days.⁵ Applicants with no legal residence or principal place of business in any state fax to 855-215-1627 from within the United States or 304-707-9471 from outside.⁶

Mailing is the slowest option and can take four weeks or more. For domestic applicants, send Form SS-4 to:

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: EIN Operation
Cincinnati, OH 45999

For applicants with no principal place of business in any state, the address changes to “Attn: EIN International Operation” at the same Cincinnati address.⁶

Whichever method you use, the fiduciary must sign and date the form. An unsigned SS-4 gets rejected automatically.³

Common Mistakes and Paid Scam Sites

The most frequent cause of a rejected online application is a name mismatch. If the responsible party’s name and SSN don’t match Social Security Administration records, the system rejects the submission. Executors who changed their legal name at marriage or divorce should use whichever version the SSA currently has on file. A quick check with the SSA beforehand can save a frustrating round of troubleshooting.

Another common mistake is applying before you actually have legal authority. If a court appointment is still pending, wait until you have the official letters of administration or letters testamentary in hand. The IRS expects the responsible party to have existing legal authority at the time of application.

Applying for an EIN through the IRS is always free. You should never pay for it.⁴ A number of websites deliberately mimic the IRS with similar colors, seals, and layouts, and some put “IRS” in their domain names. These sites charge up to $300 for something you can do yourself in ten minutes at no cost.⁷ Confirm the URL in your browser is actually irs.gov before you enter any personal information.

What to Do With the EIN Once You Have It

The EIN becomes the estate’s identifier for everything that follows. Banks and brokerages use it to open estate accounts and to issue 1099s on interest and dividends. Title companies and transfer agents use it when retitling real estate or securities into the estate’s name. And the IRS uses it on Form 1041, the estate’s income tax return, which reports income, deductions, gains, and losses from the date of death until the estate closes. Form 1041 is a separate filing from the decedent’s final Form 1040, and separate again from Form 706, the federal estate tax return that applies only to very large estates.²

Keep the CP 575 notice with the rest of the estate’s permanent records. You’ll be asked for the EIN repeatedly over the course of administration, and every institution that requests it will want to see it in writing at least once.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
4
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
5
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
6
Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form SS-4
7
Federal Trade Commission. FTC Warns Operators of Websites that Charge for an Employer Identification Number and Claim Affiliation with the IRS