Closing or reactivating an EIN: deactivation, final returns, duplicate EINs and old numbers

An EIN cannot be canceled

The IRS states it in the first line of its page on the subject: “If you no longer need your employer identification number (EIN), we can’t cancel it, but we can deactivate it.” The reason: “Once we assign an EIN to a business entity, it becomes that entity’s permanent federal taxpayer ID number” (Canceling an EIN: closing your account, reviewed November 5, 2025).

For a business that has paid others, that has a practical consequence. Every 941, 945, W-2 and 1099 it ever filed stays attached to that number, and so does any balance, notice or penalty that arrives after the doors close. Deactivating the account stops future filing requirements; it does not erase the history or the liabilities. The IRS sources reviewed for this page do not describe any procedure for transferring a closed entity's EIN to a different entity.

Closing the business account

What the IRS asks for, from its public page: “Send us a letter that includes your entity’s EIN, legal name, address, EIN assignment notice, if available, and your reason for deactivating.” The letter goes to Internal Revenue Service, MS 6055, Kansas City, MO 64108, or Internal Revenue Service, MS 6273, Ogden, UT 84201. The assignment notice is the CP 575 the IRS sent when the EIN was issued; if it is lost, a Letter 147C confirms the same information.

A practical letter, built from that list, contains:

• The entity's legal name exactly as on the CP 575 or 147C, and the EIN.
• The mailing address the IRS has on file (and the new one, if it changed).
• A copy of the CP 575, if you have it.
• The reason: for example, the business has closed and filed its final returns, or the EIN was obtained by mistake and never used.
• The date the business closed or stopped paying wages, if it did. The IRS manual says that when a taxpayer does not give a specific date, staff use the date of the correspondence for the business-closed date (IRM 3.13.2.10.7).
• A signature by someone authorized for the entity. The IRS manual tells staff to verify that whoever writes is the taxpayer or owner of the EIN.

Who handles it: “All requests for EIN closings/cancellations are processed by the BMF Entity functions in Kansas City or Ogden” (IRM 21.7.13.6.4). Calls and letters that reach other IRS units are routed there.

Exempt organizations follow a separate path. The IRS page says you can't deactivate an exempt organization's EIN if it has applied for an exemption, been covered in a group ruling or filed an information return; otherwise the letter goes to EO Entity in Ogden or by fax.

Why the IRS waits for final returns

The IRS page is direct: “If you made tax payments, owe business taxes or received a notice to file a business tax return, you must file all outstanding tax returns and pay taxes owed before we can deactivate your EIN.” The manual shows how the request is worked (IRM 3.13.2.10.7, Going Out of Business, No Longer Liable, or Not Liable):

So a closing letter sent before the final returns does not close the account; it starts a request for them. For a payer, the final returns are:

• Form 941. “If you permanently go out of business or stop paying wages to your employees, you must file a final return,” checking line 17 and attaching a statement naming the person keeping the payroll records and where they are kept (Instructions for Form 941, Rev. March 2026). See Form 941.
• Form 945. If you go out of business and will not file Form 945 again, check line A and enter the date of the final nonpayroll payments (Instructions for Form 945). See Form 945.
• Forms W-2. “If you terminate your business, you must provide Forms W-2 to your employees for the calendar year of termination by the due date of your final Form 941 or 944,” and file them with SSA by the same date (General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3, 2026).
• Forms 1099 for the payments made in the final year, under the same EIN.

Unpaid balances do not go away with the business. Options for paying them are in installment agreements for business tax balances, and the deposit rules for the last quarters in Form 941 deposits and the failure-to-deposit penalty.

An EIN that was never used

When the taxpayer states “the business never opened, conducted any business, or made a mistake in applying for an EIN,” the manual tells staff to remove the EIN from Master File with a transaction that must be approved by a manager or lead, and to send Letter 696C to the address on file (IRM 3.13.2.10.7). The same action applies when the taxpayer says it did not request the EIN, after the IRS verifies the relationship; if it cannot, the case goes to the IRS's fraud detection unit. If tax modules already exist on the account, the removal does not complete and the filing requirements are instead set to a code that stops anything from posting.

An EIN you did not ask for may be a legitimate application by an accountant or other third party, or it may be identity theft; see 1099s or W-2s filed under your EIN, and the entity verification letters 5263C, 6042C and 6217C.

Reactivating an inactive EIN

A business that resumes after a pause, or a non-employer that hires for the first time, uses the EIN it already has. The IRS manual covers both a written request and an EIN found during an application:

• By letter. If the IRS finds the EIN and it was inactivated by the removal transaction and is valid, staff reopen the requested filing requirements and send Letter 147C if the taxpayer wrote. If the EIN is still on Master File, they update the filing requirements and address and send Letter 147C. If the letter does not give the EIN and the IRS cannot find it, it sends Letter 45C asking for verification or a Form SS-4 (IRM 3.13.2.10.8, Resuming Business after Being Inactive or Change from Non-Employing to Employer).
• Old EINs that dropped off. “Prior to January 1, 2008, an EIN that was assigned but not used within a three year period was dropped from Master File in an annual extract run at the end of each year.” Those numbers are still in the IRS's name research files. When staff find one that belongs to the entity, they reactivate it: “The TC 000 will post to Master File and re-establish the entity. Always send Letter 147C, EIN Previously Assigned, to the taxpayer” (IRM 21.7.13.4.2.6).
• A new SS-4 for an entity that has an EIN. The IRS does not issue a second number; it sends Letter 147C instead (IRM 21.7.13.4.2.4). Line 18 of Form SS-4 asks whether the entity has applied for and received an EIN before.

The main EIN page also has a specific route for a deactivated retirement trust EIN: send the EIN, trust name, and the sponsor's or trustee's address and contact information to EP Entity in Ogden by fax, mail or delivery (Employer identification number).

Two EINs for one entity

The IRS's EIN page says a business entity should have only one EIN. If you have two and are not sure which to use, the IRS says to call the Business and Specialty Tax Line, which will tell you. The manual sets the answer staff give (IRM 21.7.13.6.3):

In each case the IRS refers the case to BMF Entity, which retires the extra number or merges the accounts. When a consolidation completes, a CP 209 goes to the taxpayer; when the name controls on the two accounts do not match, the consolidation stops with a CP 201, “generated when a consolidation of accounts is attempted, and the name controls do not match” (IRM 3.13.2). The IRS then checks whether the accounts really are one entity, giving examples such as a sole proprietor's EIN versus an LLC's EIN, or two state charters for different corporations. Both notices are explained on CP 201 and CP 209.

For a business that pays others, the cleanup has a reporting side: 941s, 945s, W-2s and 1099s filed under the number being retired. Use the surviving EIN from the date the IRS confirms, report it consistently, and if two EINs appeared on employment returns for one year, see the W-3 box h rule in when a business needs a new EIN.

What a payer sees

Most of what happens to a vendor's EIN is invisible to the payer. What the sources support:

• A brand-new EIN may not match at once. The IRS EIN page lists passing the TIN Matching Program among the things a new EIN holder may wait up to 2 weeks to do. A mismatch on a vendor's first-day EIN may clear on a later check.
• Old prefixes are not proof of a bad number. The IRS no longer assigns EINs with certain prefixes, but the manual says “some entities with these prefixes may still be in business; paying taxes and issuing Forms W-2 to report wages paid” (IRM 21.7.13.2.4.1). Do not reject a vendor because its EIN starts with an unfamiliar prefix; match it.
• Inactive or closed accounts. The IRS's public TIN Matching materials reviewed for this page do not say how a deactivated or dropped EIN is reported. TIN Matching compares the name and TIN combination you submit against IRS records; how it works and what each response means is in the TIN Matching guide. If a long-standing vendor stops matching, ask for a current W-9 and, if needed, a Letter 147C.
• A vendor with two EINs. Ask the vendor which number the IRS told it to use, collect a new W-9 with it, and report payments from that date under the surviving EIN. For mergers and new EINs, see the vendor name change guide.
• Paying a closed business. Payments to a vendor that has closed still get reported under the EIN it used. The closure does not change your reporting duty for payments you made. If you cannot find a vendor's EIN, see finding a company's EIN; what kind of number each vendor should give is in what is a TIN.

Questions people ask