If you are a Canadian resident without a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN), the fax channel is usually the most predictable way to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for your U.S. LLC. The IRS publishes a 4-business-day target for fax filings of Form SS-4. That target can drift to two or three weeks during peak periods, so the steps below focus on getting the form correct the first time.
Why fax beats phone for Canadian applicants
The IRS Specialty Tax Line accepts EIN applications by phone, but only between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern Time on weekdays. Wait times routinely run 30 to 60 minutes, the call must be in English, and the agent reads back every SS-4 field for verbal confirmation. A single misread field can require restarting the call.
Fax avoids the language pressure and the time-zone pressure. You complete Form SS-4 in writing, fax it once, and wait for the IRS to fax back the EIN confirmation. If a field is wrong, you receive a written rejection or a CP-575 with corrections, not a 45-minute phone retry.
Mail is the third channel. Processing takes 4 to 6 weeks, occasionally longer. For most Canadian LLC owners trying to open a U.S. business bank account, mail is too slow.
The fax number for international applicants
International applicants, including Canadian residents without an SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), fax Form SS-4 to (855) 641-6935. This is the dedicated international line and is published in the IRS SS-4 instructions.
Do not use the domestic fax number. Domestic submissions route differently and can stall for weeks before being redirected.
Line-by-line SS-4 fields Canadian applicants get wrong
Most rejections cluster around three lines. The other fields are mechanical.
| Line | What goes here | Common Canadian mistake |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Legal name of entity | Using a trade name instead of the LLC name on Articles of Organization |
| 4a-4b | Mailing address | Using a Registered Agent address; should be your real receiving address |
| 7a | Name of responsible party | Must be a real human, not the LLC itself |
| 7b | SSN, ITIN, or EIN of responsible party | Write "Foreign" if you have none. Leaving blank or writing "N/A" is a common rejection cause |
| 9a | Type of entity | LLC owners typically check "Other (specify)" and write Disregarded entity for single-member, or check Partnership for multi-member |
| 10 | Reason for applying | Usually "Started new business" with a short specification |
| 18 | Has the applicant ever applied for an EIN? | Answer "No" unless you genuinely held one before |
Sign and date. The IRS rejects unsigned faxes without exception.
How to send a fax from Canada
You probably do not have a fax machine. Several online fax services work for IRS submissions.
| Service | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HelloFax | Free tier limited to 5 pages | Adequate for SS-4 only; unreliable for retries |
| eFax | Around USD 17/month | Stable, can receive the IRS confirmation back |
| RingCentral Fax | Around USD 19/month | Stable, Canadian-friendly billing |
| FaxBurner | Pay-per-page | Workable for one-shot use |
The IRS does not return faxes to email gateways reliably. If you use a free service that does not assign you a real fax number, you may need to follow up by phone to retrieve the EIN.
Real processing times you should plan around
The IRS publishes a 4-business-day target for international fax SS-4 submissions. In practice, processing time reflects volume:
- January to April: target often holds
- May to July: 1 to 2 weeks is more typical
- October to November: occasional 3-week delays around year-end form revisions
If you have not received the EIN within 10 business days of fax confirmation, treat it as worth a follow-up rather than a refax.
What to do when you don't hear back
Two channels exist for follow-up.
Refax is appropriate only if you have evidence the original fax did not deliver (failed transmission report, no confirmation page from the fax service). Sending a duplicate fax while the original is being processed creates two parallel applications and routinely causes delays.
Phone follow-up to the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at (800) 829-4933 can confirm whether your application is in process. Have the entity legal name and the responsible party's full name ready. The agent will not give the EIN over the phone to a foreign-status applicant unless the responsible party makes the call directly.
EIN is for the entity, ITIN is for the person — do not confuse them
A common misconception is that an EIN replaces a Social Security Number for the founder, or that an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a prerequisite for getting an EIN. Neither is correct. The two numbers have different scopes and different application paths.
| Number | Who it identifies | When you need it | How Canadians apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| EIN | The US legal entity (your LLC) | Bank accounts, Form 5472, payroll, 1099 issuance | Form SS-4 by fax (this article) |
| ITIN | The individual non-resident owner | Personal Form 1040-NR if you have US-source income | Form W-7 with passport copy + tax return |
| SSN | US citizens and most US residents | Not applicable to Canadian non-residents | N/A for Canadians |
You can get an EIN with no ITIN. The "Foreign" entry on SS-4 line 7b explicitly authorizes this for international applicants. Do not delay your EIN application waiting for an ITIN you may not even need. ITIN becomes relevant later, only if you personally must file a US tax return for US-source income that is not handled at the entity level.
BOI reporting after FinCEN's March 2025 rule change
A second common worry is the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act. As of FinCEN's March 26, 2025 Interim Final Rule, US-formed entities (including LLCs) and their US-person beneficial owners are exempt from BOI reporting. A Canadian resident forming a new US LLC is not required to file an initial BOI report under the current interim rule.
The exemption has limits:
- Foreign-formed entities registered to do business in the US (e.g., a Canadian corporation registering as a foreign LLC in Delaware) are still subject to BOI reporting
- The interim rule remains subject to a final rule expected during 2025-2026; verify current status before filing
- State-level beneficial-ownership reporting (a few states have started their own rules) is separate
For a typical Canadian founder forming a fresh US LLC and getting an EIN, the BOI step has effectively been removed from the post-formation checklist. The EIN, the bank account, and Form 5472 remain on the list.
Coordinating with the rest of your filings
The EIN is the gateway. Once issued, three things tend to follow:
- Form 5472 filing obligations begin for the first tax year, including reporting the formation
- U.S. business bank account applications can proceed (Mercury, Relay, and Wise Business will not accept an LLC without an EIN)
- State sales tax permits if your business model triggers economic or physical nexus in any state
Plan the EIN application early in the LLC formation timeline rather than after Articles of Organization are filed. The bank account application is what tends to be on the critical path, and the EIN gates that.