- quote -

We have used it a couple of times at work and it is
wonderful!!

Carol

What can one expect of a day that begins with getting out of bed.
Semper Gumby (Always Flexible)

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taxservice[at]aol.compliance (John H. Fisher) wrote:

- quote -

I recently had occasion to use this service. I was actually
surprised but it worked very well.

Stu

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IR-2003-136, Dec. 8, 2003

Businesses Using IRS.gov to Get Employer Identification Numbers

WASHINGTON - Businesses and tax professionals are turning
to an online application form on IRS.gov to get new employer
identification numbers. The Internal Revenue Service has
issued more than 498,081 of the numbers through its online
application since it became available in April.

The online application form immediately issues a new
employer identification number, or EIN, eliminating both
paperwork and the usual four-to-10 day wait to receive an
EIN through paper processes. The IRS assigns the nine-digit
numbers to identify taxpayers. The number is required for a
host of purposes and getting it quickly is important for
someone starting a business. A business cannot establish a
bank account, for instance, without a federal EIN.

Making EINs available to IRS customers on an immediate and
permanent basis is an important step in improving our
partnership with the business community, Commissioner Mark
W. Everson said. "We want to reduce burden for businesses
and tax professionals wherever possible."

By the end of November 2003, the IRS was receiving 37.5
percent of all EIN applications through the Internet. The
online application mimics the paper Form SS-4, Application
for Employer Identification Number. EIN applications can
also be submitted by phone, fax or by mail. Applications
faxed or mailed are often incomplete, contain errors and
frequently require additional contact with the applicant by
an IRS employee. The online application requires that all
information needed to process the application be submitted
before the EIN is assigned to the taxpayer.

The easiest way to get to the online EIN application is to
type EIN in the IRS Keyword search on the IRS.gov home page.

The online EIN application form joins several IRS Business
Systems Modernization products already working to reduce
taxpayer burden and improve IRS employee's service to
taxpayers. These new products and services include:

** Where's My Refund? - Provides taxpayers with their
refund status over the Internet. Taxpayers used the service
more than 17.6 million times in 2003.

** Where's My Advance Child Tax Credit? Gives taxpayers
the status of their Advance Child Tax Credit checks over the
Internet. So far, taxpayers have used the service nearly 15
million times.

** e-services - A suite of products that provide tax
professionals and those who file select information returns,
such as banks and other financial institutions, with new
choices for working electronically with the IRS.

** Customer Communications Modernized call systems cut by
half taxpayers call-waiting time and the number of abandoned
calls. It also introduced bilingual voice recognition
capabilities, which helped double the number of Spanish
calls.

** Customer Relationship Management Provided nearly 4,000
revenue agents with direct laptop access to tax computation
software.

** HR Connect Allows 73,000 IRS users to perform many
personnel actions online.

Links on IRS.gov:

** Online EIN Application:
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/...102767,00.html

** SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf (PDF 28K)

** Instructions for Form SS-4 -
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iss4.pdf (PDF 71K)

"Jack" - John H. Fisher - TaxService[at]aol.com
Philadelphia, Pa - Atlantic City, NJ - West Wildwood, NJ
My Newsgroups & Boards at: http://members.aol.com/TaxService/index.html

Where Ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise!=

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