Some businesses operating as limited liability companies (LLCs) may need a new employer identification number (EIN) for 2009. This new rule applies to your LLC if you have been paying and reporting your employment taxes under your own Taxpayer ID number (your social security number). In the past, the IRS has permitted LLC owners who report their business income on Schedule C of their personal return, Form 1040, to also handle their employment taxes under their own names and taxpayer ID numbers. Effective January 1, 2009, the IRS now requires that these LLCs to pay and report employment taxes using the name of the LLC and its associated EIN.

The new requirement pertains to employment taxes (FICA, FUTA and income tax withholding), not income taxes. If you have been reporting your LLC’s income and expenses on Schedule C of your Form 1040, you can continue to do so. Also, you don’t need a new EIN if you have been paying and reporting employment taxes under your LLC’s name all along.

If you need an EIN for your LLC, the quickest and easiest way to get one is to apply online at the IRS Internet website, http://www.irs.gov. Once the application is completed, the information is validated during the online session, and an EIN is issued immediately. Taxpayers can also quickly obtain an EIN by calling the IRS’s Business & Specialty Tax Line at (800) 829-4933. An IRS employee takes the information, assigns the EIN, and provides you with the number over the telephone.