EIN Application and Verification Letter Request

Employer Identification Numbers (EIN) are used to identify a business through a nine-digit number. This number is necessary for a business to open a bank account, use accounting software, apply for business licenses, and file tax returns. In recent years it has become common for a bank, software provider, or government office to ask for a copy of the letter that the IRS sends to a business at the time of assigning the EIN. Having the EIN letter also helps an organization confirm the official name of the business per IRS records.

If a business has disposed of or lost its EIN confirmation letter then it can request an EIN verification letter through the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933. The caller will have to verify his or her identity and answer security questions about the business to receive a new verification letter. The letter will either be mailed or faxed to the business.

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Rental of a Church Parsonage to a Non-Minister

Question: A church owns a parsonage, but the pastor does not use it as he owns his own home. The church rents the parsonage to a tenant other than a minister or employee of the church. Will the church be responsible for paying income tax on these monies as Unrelated Business Income (filing a Form 990-T) even if the money is used to carry on the business of the church? Answer: Whether the money is used for church purposes is irrelevant. IRS Publication 598 states: "If an exempt organization regularly carries on a trade or business not substantially related to its exempt purpose, except that it provides funds to carry out that purpose, the organization is subject to tax on its income from that unrelated trade or business." Fortunately, in the case of rental income from real property, such income is "excluded in computing unrelated business taxable income" (Publication 598). Caution: see content below regarding debt-financed property. However, a second concern not a...

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MinistryCPA - Corey A. Pfaffe, CPA, LLC

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