Originally Posted by
ACEIV
Hi,
For some reason, businesses think if you have an EIN or employer identification number, you are much more likely to be a real business. It is IRS form SS-4, and is a simple one page form. If you don't have employees, you can tell them you are planning to get some next quarter...
You don't need to have employees or even be planning to get some. You need one to have a Keogh retirement plan (or for any of several other less common reasons, such as filing an Alcohol/Tobacco/Firearms tax return). You don't need to have the Keogh plan to get the EIN: it's the other way around, you need an EIN to set up the plan. Once you have the EIN, nobody is going to force you to set one up.