Does an Amazon seller need an EIN?
An LLC, a corporation, or a partnership selling on Amazon needs 1 EIN, because those entities hold no other federal tax ID. A US sole proprietor with 0 employees sells under an SSN. The EIN costs $0.
The requirement comes from the tax interview rather than from Amazon policy. Seller Central has to collect a Form W-9 from every US person it pays, and Form W-9 has exactly 1 field for a taxpayer identification number. An LLC has no SSN to put there, so the EIN is the only number that fits. The same logic applies to a corporation filing Form 1120 and a partnership filing Form 1065.
A sole proprietor is the 1 case with a genuine choice. Selling under an SSN is permitted and the interview accepts it. The reason to take an EIN anyway is that the SSN then sits in a marketplace database and on every Form 1099-K issued. Compare the two numbers on the EIN vs SSN page, and read the sole-proprietor rules on the EIN for a sole proprietorship page.
Which entity type should an Amazon seller register?
The entity decides the tax ID, not the reverse. A single-member LLC files Form SS-4 and gets 1 EIN. A sole proprietor may skip the EIN. Both sell on the same marketplace under the same rules.
A single-member LLC is a disregarded entity by default under 26 CFR § 301.7701-3(b)(1), so its profit lands on the owner's Schedule C exactly as a sole proprietorship's does. The EIN changes which number appears on the paperwork, not the tax outcome. A multi-member LLC defaults to a partnership and files Form 1065, which requires the EIN outright.
Read the full entity walkthrough on the EIN for an LLC page, check the account requirements on the EIN for a bank account page, and see the contractor rules on the EIN for an independent contractor page.
What does the Seller Central tax interview ask for?
Three things: a legal name, an address, and 1 taxpayer identification number. The interview then generates a Form W-9 for a US person, or a Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E for a foreign one. Listing stays blocked until it completes.
The legal name is the field that fails most often. It has to be the name the IRS holds against the tax ID, not the storefront name and not the brand. For an LLC that is the name on the state formation certificate, copied character for character, including the LLC suffix and any comma before it.
The address is the entity address the IRS holds. When it drifts from IRS records, the fix is Form 8822-B, which updates the business address and the responsible party at $0. Walk it through on the Form 8822-B page.
How does an Amazon seller apply for an EIN?
Five steps on Form SS-4. Form the entity, name the responsible party on line 7a, enter the tax ID on line 7b, check the entity type on line 9a, then file and record the 9-digit number.
Form the entity first
The IRS matches line 1 of Form SS-4 against the state formation certificate. Apply for the EIN after the LLC or corporation exists, not before, or reference code 101 fires on the name comparison.
Name the responsible party on line 7a
The responsible party is a natural person who controls the entity, and the IRS has required a natural person there since May 2019. A holding company on line 7a is rejected.
Enter the tax ID on line 7b
A responsible party with an SSN or ITIN enters it. A responsible party with neither writes the word Foreign, which moves the application off the online route and onto fax.
Check the entity type on line 9a
Line 9a records what the entity is. A single-member LLC checks Other and writes Disregarded entity. A corporation checks Corporation and names the return it files.
File and record the EIN
Online issues the 9-digit number in 15 minutes. Fax returns it in 4 business days. Enter that number in the Seller Central tax interview exactly as the IRS assigned it.
Source: Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025), verified August 2026.
Three further lines matter for a marketplace seller. Line 13 asks for the highest number of employees expected over the next 12 months, and 0 is a valid entry for a solo seller. Line 16 takes 1 checkbox for the principal activity, which for a reseller is Retail. Line 17 takes a plain description of what the account actually sells, and a vague entry there is a common cause of follow-up correspondence.
Read the line-by-line walkthrough on the Form SS-4 page, compare the 4 filing routes on the how to apply for an EIN page, or fill the fields with the SS-4 form helper.
How does a seller with no SSN get an EIN?
Line 7b of Form SS-4 accepts the word Foreign. The application then moves off the online route and onto fax: 855-215-1627 from inside the US, or 304-707-9471 from outside it, at $0.
The IRS online EIN Assistant validates the responsible party's SSN or ITIN against Social Security Administration records in real time, so a blank line 7b has nothing to validate and the tool refuses the application. Fax carries no such check. The IRS returns the EIN in 4 business days, and a phone route on 267-941-1099 serves applicants with no US legal residence, Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time.
An ITIN is a separate application on Form W-7 and is not a prerequisite for the EIN. Compare the two on the EIN vs ITIN page, read the no-SSN route on the EIN without an SSN page, and see the entity rules on the EIN for a foreign company page.
Why does the Seller Central name have to match the IRS?
The IRS name control is the first 4 characters of the legal name, and every validation compares it against the tax ID. A storefront name in the legal-name field fails that comparison and the interview rejects the submission.
The name control is computed once, when the EIN is assigned from line 1 of Form SS-4, and it does not change afterwards unless the business name is formally updated with the IRS. Every downstream check uses it: the tax interview, the annual information return, and the payer matching that sits behind Form 1099-K.
See how the 4 characters are derived on the IRS name control page, and correct a wrong name through the change business name with the IRS page.
What does an Amazon seller EIN cost in 2026?
The IRS charges $0 on all 4 routes, and the EIN never renews, so it stays $0 in year 2. ein-number.com charges $69 or $99 for preparation and a second review.
| Route | IRS fee | Turnaround | Needs an SSN or ITIN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online EIN Assistant | $0 | 15 minutes | Yes |
| Fax, US address | $0 | 4 business days | No |
| Fax, no US residence | $0 | 4 business days | No |
| Mail, Cincinnati | $0 | about 4 weeks | No |
Source: Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025), How To Apply.
Read the full fee breakdown on the EIN cost page, and see why the IRS route is free on the free EIN number page.