Get an EIN for Your Virginia LLC — Free at IRS.gov (2026)
Your EIN is your LLC's federal tax ID — required for banking, hiring, and Virginia Department of Taxation registration. It's 100% free at IRS.gov and takes about 15 minutes. Here's the Virginia sequence, including the no-SSN path.
Apply for your EIN free at IRS.gov — never pay a third party. With an SSN or ITIN, the online application takes about 15 minutes and issues your EIN immediately. Without one, file Form SS-4 by fax (≈4+ business days) or mail (≈4+ weeks). Apply after your Articles are approved so IRS records match your exact legal name and formation date. Then register with the Virginia Department of Taxation — for sales tax if selling taxable goods, or employer withholding if hiring.
- Cost
- $0 — always free
- Where
- IRS.gov only
- Online time
- ~15 minutes
- Online issuance
- Immediate
- No SSN? (SS-4 fax)
- ~4+ business days
- After EIN
- VA Dept. of Taxation (if applicable)
What an EIN Is (and Why Every Virginia LLC Needs One)
An EIN (Employer Identification Number) is the nine-digit federal tax ID the IRS assigns your business. You need one even with zero employees:
- Open a business bank account — every bank wants the EIN letter, your confirmed Articles, and your operating agreement.
- Register with the Virginia Department of Taxation — for sales tax if selling taxable goods, or withholding if hiring.
- File federal and Virginia taxes — including the graduated state income tax on pass-through profits.
- Protect your SSN — put your EIN on W-9s instead of your personal number.
Never pay for an EIN. The IRS charges nothing. Sites charging $50–$300 for "EIN filing" resell a free government form, often styled to look official. The only site you need is IRS.gov.
Which Application Method Should You Use?
EIN Path Picker — Virginia Edition
2 questions · your exact path, timeline, and Virginia next step
The IRS online assistant runs Mon–Fri during posted hours and issues one EIN per responsible party per day. All methods are free.
The Online Application, Step by Step
Wait for approval first
Your EIN must match your final legal name and formation date. File through the SCC first — processing typically takes a few business days.
Go to the IRS EIN Assistant
IRS.gov → "Apply for an Employer ID Number." Choose "Limited Liability Company," then Virginia.
Enter members and responsible party
Member count sets your default classification — disregarded entity for one member, partnership for two-plus — and the responsible party provides their SSN/ITIN.
Complete in one session
The application times out after 15 idle minutes with no save. Keep your confirmed Articles in front of you.
Download the CP 575 immediately
Your confirmation letter displays once. Banks will ask for it; a replacement means calling the IRS for Letter 147C.
No SSN? You Can Still Get an EIN
Non-US founders complete Form SS-4, write "Foreign" on line 7b, and submit by fax (~4+ business days) or mail (~4+ weeks). Line-by-line help in our guides to EINs without an SSN and foreign-owned LLCs. Foreign-owned single-member LLCs: remember Form 5472 — a $25,000 penalty applies even at zero income.
After You Get Your EIN — the Virginia Sequence
- Open your business bank account — CP 575, confirmed Articles, operating agreement.
- Register with the Virginia Department of Taxation — for sales tax if selling taxable goods, and withholding if hiring.
- Note your anniversary month for your Annual Registration Fee next year.
Ahmad Adil's Take: the EIN is the one step where "cheap" and "right" are the same thing — free, from the source, in fifteen minutes. If any site or upsell asks you to pay for it, that tells you exactly how they make money. Virginia's follow-up sequence is genuinely simple: bank account, then a check on whether you're hiring anyone or selling taxable goods. Nothing here trips people up the way the registered agent rule in Step 2 does — by the time you're at this step, the hard part of forming in Virginia is already behind you.
- ✓Forms your Virginia LLC for $39 + the $100 state fee
- ✓Files online with the State Corporation Commission
- ✓Free Virginia registered agent the first year
- ✓No upsells · No data selling · Privacy by Default
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Virginia LLC — FAQ
Ahmad Adil is the founder and CEO of LLC School. The figures here — the $100 Articles of Organization, the $50 annual registration fee due your anniversary month, and Virginia’s registered agent restrictions — reflect current Virginia State Corporation Commission guidance. This is educational content, not legal or tax advice.
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