IRS EIN for an Estate: When Needed and How to Apply

To get an EIN for an estate, the executor or administrator files IRS Form SS-4, most easily through the free online application on IRS.gov, which issues the number immediately in about 15 minutes. The estate needs its own tax ID because it becomes a separate legal entity at the date of death, and the deceased person’s Social Security Number can no longer be used for income the estate earns going forward.

When the Estate Actually Needs One

Federal law requires an EIN whenever the estate must file Form 1041, the income tax return for estates and trusts. That obligation is triggered by any of the following: the estate earns $600 or more in gross income in a tax year, any beneficiary is a nonresident alien, or the estate holds a qualified investment in a Qualified Opportunity Fund.1Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 – Section: Who Must File

Even a small estate that falls below the $600 threshold usually ends up needing an EIN anyway. Banks and brokerages will not open an account in the estate’s name or retitle the decedent’s assets without one.2Internal Revenue Service. File an Estate Tax Income Tax Return If the estate continues to run a business the decedent owned, the IRS requires a separate EIN for that business too.3Internal Revenue Service. Responsibilities of an Estate Administrator

One boundary worth being clear on: the decedent’s Social Security Number is still used for their final Form 1040, which covers income earned up through the date of death. Everything the estate earns after that date runs through the new EIN.

What to Gather Before You Apply

The online application must be completed in a single session with no way to save partial progress, so have your information in front of you before starting. You’ll need:

  • The estate’s legal name, typically written as “Estate of [Decedent’s Full Legal Name]”
  • A mailing address where the IRS should send correspondence
  • The decedent’s Social Security Number and date of death, both entered on line 9a of Form SS-4 when you select “Estate” as the entity type4Internal Revenue Service. Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
  • Your own name and SSN or ITIN as the responsible party on line 7b; the IRS requires this to be an individual, not a law firm or company5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025) – Section: Responsible Party
  • The closing month of the estate’s tax year (calendar or fiscal — see below)

Two lines on the form get confused often. Line 9a asks for the type of entity, where you check “Estate.” Line 10 asks for the reason you’re applying, and for a new estate you check “Other” and write something like “death of individual” or “newly created estate.”6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) – Section: Line 10

You must already be legally appointed as the fiduciary before you apply. In most cases that means holding letters testamentary or letters of administration from the probate court.

How to Apply

Online

The IRS online EIN application is free and issues the number as soon as you finish. It’s open to applicants whose principal place of business or legal residence is in the United States or a U.S. territory.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025) – Section: Apply for an EIN Online The system 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., and Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to midnight.8Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number

Download or print the confirmation notice the moment the EIN is assigned. Getting a replacement copy later is more difficult than it should be, and banks routinely ask to see it.

Fax

Fax the completed Form SS-4 to 855-641-6935 if you’re applying from within the 50 states or D.C. International applicants use 855-215-1627 from inside the U.S. or 304-707-9471 from abroad.9Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form SS-4 Include a return fax number, and the IRS will typically fax the EIN back within four business days.10Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number – Section: Ways to Apply for an EIN

Mail

Mail Form SS-4 to Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999, and expect roughly four to five weeks for a response.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025) – Section: Apply by Mail If the estate needs to open accounts or file returns on any kind of schedule, this method will hold you up.

Pick one method and use it only once. Submitting duplicate applications creates processing delays and can leave the estate with two different EINs assigned to the same entity.

Authorizing an Attorney or CPA

You can let an attorney, CPA, or other representative receive the EIN for you by filling in the Third Party Designee section of Form SS-4. That authority ends as soon as the IRS issues the EIN to the designee.12Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) – Section: Third Party Designee You remain the legally responsible party for the estate’s tax obligations no matter who receives the notice.

Calendar Year or Fiscal Year

Estates get a planning option that individuals don’t: you can choose a fiscal year rather than a calendar year. On line 12 of the SS-4, you enter the closing month of the estate’s accounting year.13Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) – Section: Line 12

The choice matters because a fiscal year can defer income tax for beneficiaries. If the decedent died in March and you elect a fiscal year ending in February, the estate’s first tax year covers nearly 12 months, and income distributed to beneficiaries during that period doesn’t hit their personal returns until the year the estate’s fiscal year closes. For larger estates with significant income, this is worth talking through with a tax professional before you lock in a year-end.

Form 1041 is due by the 15th day of the fourth month after the estate’s tax year closes. A calendar-year estate files by April 15; a fiscal year ending June 30 pushes the deadline to October 15.14Internal Revenue Service. Forms 1041 and 1041-A: When to File

Using the EIN Once You Have It

The first practical use is opening accounts. Bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and money market funds get set up in the estate’s name using the EIN, and financial institutions will not move or retitle assets without it.

Any income the estate earns after the date of death — interest, dividends, rent, gains from selling the decedent’s property — is reported under the EIN on Form 1041.2Internal Revenue Service. File an Estate Tax Income Tax Return When the estate distributes income to beneficiaries, you issue each one a Schedule K-1 showing their share. The estate’s EIN appears on every K-1, and beneficiaries use it to report the income on their personal returns.15Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule K-1 (Form 1041) for a Beneficiary Filing Form 1040 or 1040-SR

Treat the EIN like sensitive financial information. It’s tied to the estate’s tax accounts, and someone with the number and a few other details could potentially file fraudulent returns or open accounts in the estate’s name.

Related IRS Filings the EIN Doesn’t Cover

Getting the EIN registers the estate; it doesn’t tell the IRS you are the one running it. That’s done with Form 56, which notifies the IRS of your fiduciary relationship and is filed with the service center where the decedent was required to file returns.16Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56 (12/2024) You’ll attach proof of your appointment, such as letters testamentary, and you’ll file Form 56 again to terminate the relationship when the estate closes.

If the executor or responsible party later changes — a co-executor steps down, or the court appoints a replacement administrator — the IRS must be notified within 60 days on Form 8822-B.17Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business Miss that window and IRS notices keep going to the wrong person, which the new fiduciary will eventually have to unwind.

One special case affects which EIN you use: if the decedent had a revocable trust alongside the probate estate, the executor and trustee can jointly elect under Section 645 to treat the trust as part of the estate for income tax purposes, filing a single Form 1041 under the estate’s name and EIN during the election period.18GovInfo. 26 CFR 1.645-1 Election by Certain Revocable Trusts to Be Treated as Part of Estate The election is made on Form 8855 by the due date of the estate’s first Form 1041, so flag it early if it applies.

Closing the Account When the Estate Wraps Up

After the estate has paid its debts, distributed its assets, and filed its final returns, you can close out the tax account. The IRS does not cancel EINs — once issued, the number stays permanently associated with the estate — but it will deactivate the account so no future filings are expected.19Internal Revenue Service. If You No Longer Need Your EIN

Three steps, in order:

Skipping the deactivation letter isn’t catastrophic, but the account stays open in IRS systems and can generate automated notices years later asking why the estate hasn’t filed.