How to Get an EIN Number for a Deceased Person

To get an EIN for a deceased person’s estate, the executor or administrator files IRS Form SS-4. The fastest route is the free online application at IRS.gov, which issues the number immediately once the questions are answered. The estate is a new taxpayer, separate from the person who died, so the decedent’s Social Security Number cannot stand in for it.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators

Apply early. The IRS recommends getting the EIN as your first step after being appointed personal representative, because you’ll need it on almost every document that follows, including any bank account opened in the estate’s name.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators

When the Estate Actually Needs an EIN

Not every death creates the need. If everything the person owned passed jointly to a surviving spouse or directly to named beneficiaries through pay-on-death accounts and life insurance, there may be no estate to administer. An EIN becomes necessary once a formal estate exists and has financial activity to report.

Three things typically drive the requirement:

  • The estate earns $600 or more in gross income during a tax year, which triggers a Form 1041 filing, and every Form 1041 filer must have an EIN. Post-death interest on bank accounts, rent, dividends, and wages the decedent had earned but not received all count toward that threshold.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 (2025) – Section: C. Employer Identification Number
  • You need to open a bank account in the estate’s name. Every bank will ask for the EIN before opening it.
  • The decedent had a revocable living trust. When the grantor dies, that trust becomes irrevocable, and the IRS treats it as its own taxpayer needing its own EIN.3Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your EIN

What to Have Ready Before You Start

The application takes ten to fifteen minutes online, and there’s no way to save your progress mid-session, so gather everything first. Form SS-4 for a decedent’s estate asks for:

  • The estate’s legal name, entered as “Estate of [Full Legal Name of Deceased].” A trust uses the name from the trust document.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
  • The responsible party, meaning the executor, administrator, or trustee, along with that person’s full name and Social Security Number. For an estate, this is whoever the court appointed as personal representative.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
  • A mailing address where the estate will receive correspondence, usually the executor’s home or office.
  • The entity type. Select “Estate” and enter the decedent’s Social Security Number in the space provided. If you’re applying for a trust, select the trust checkbox instead.
  • The date established. For an estate, that’s the date of death. For a trust, it’s the date the trust was created or became irrevocable.
  • The reason for applying. Check “Estate” for a decedent’s estate, or “Created a trust” for a trust.
  • The number of employees, which is zero unless the estate runs a business that employs people.

Keep the death certificate and your court appointment documents nearby in case a question surfaces during the process.

How to Apply

Online

The IRS online EIN tool is free and issues the number the moment the application is accepted. You reach it on the IRS website under “Get an Employer Identification Number,” and it walks through each question in order.5Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number

A few practical limits: the tool is not available around the clock. It runs 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. Eastern, and Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to midnight Eastern. Sessions time out after 15 minutes of inactivity with no way to resume. The IRS also limits you to one EIN per responsible party per day, so if you need one for an estate and another for a trust, plan on two separate days.5Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number

Print or save the confirmation notice the instant the EIN appears. That notice is your official record, and the IRS does not automatically mail a copy when you apply online.

Fax

If the online tool won’t work for your situation, complete a paper Form SS-4 and fax it to 855-641-6935. Include a return fax number, and the IRS will fax back a confirmation with your EIN in about four business days.6Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number – Section: Ways to Apply for an EIN

Mail

Mailing is the slowest option. Send the completed SS-4 to Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999, and expect roughly four weeks for the EIN to arrive by mail.6Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number – Section: Ways to Apply for an EIN If you need the number to open a bank account or meet a deadline, choose online or fax.

When You May Need Two EINs

If the decedent left both a will (creating an estate) and a revocable living trust, the executor may end up applying for two EINs: one for the estate and one for the now-irrevocable trust.3Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your EIN

There is a workaround. Under a Section 645 election, the executor and the trustee can agree to treat the revocable trust as part of the estate for income tax purposes. When that election is made, only the estate needs an EIN and a single Form 1041 covers both. The election is made by filing Form 8855 with the estate’s first Form 1041, and both the executor and trustee have to agree to it.

What to Do Right After You Get the EIN

The EIN is only half of what the IRS wants on file. Form 56 (Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship) tells the IRS that you are authorized to act on the estate’s behalf, and without it the IRS may not correspond with you about the estate’s tax matters.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56 (12/2024)

In most cases you file Form 56 twice: once for the decedent’s individual tax account (because a final personal return is usually still coming) and once for the estate’s tax account tied to the new EIN. Attach a copy of your letters testamentary or court certificate showing your appointment.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56 (12/2024) – Section: Testate Estates

What the EIN Is Not For

The estate’s new EIN belongs on Form 1041, which reports income the estate earns after the date of death (interest, rent, dividends, and similar items) and is required whenever the estate collects $600 or more in gross income during its tax year.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 (2025) – Section: Who Must File

Two other returns you might file for a deceased person do not use the estate’s EIN:

  • The decedent’s final Form 1040 covers income through the date of death and is filed under the decedent’s own Social Security Number, not the estate’s EIN.10Internal Revenue Service. File the Final Income Tax Returns of a Deceased Person
  • Form 706, the federal estate tax return, also uses the decedent’s Social Security Number. For 2026, estates valued at $15,000,000 or less generally do not owe federal estate tax and do not need to file Form 706, and most estates fall well below that threshold.11Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax

Once the EIN is in hand, keep the confirmation notice with the estate’s permanent records. You’ll reference the number on every Form 1041, every Schedule K-1 to beneficiaries, and every bank or brokerage form the estate touches until administration is complete.