Updated October 14, 2020: 

A PA tax ID number lets you operate a business in the state, pay taxes, and hire employees for your business. 

What Is a Pennsylvania Tax ID?

A Tax ID Number (TIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a unique identifier that the IRS issues to business entities. The TIN/EIN is to businesses as the Social Security number is to an individual. It identifies businesses of all types to the IRS. 

Pennsylvania does not use a single tax ID for businesses. Instead, it uses an box/account number for every tax account registered through the Pennsylvania Department of State. 

If you're applying for a tax ID in Pennsylvania, you may also need a Federal Tax ID in the event that you hire employees. You have to remit taxes on a state and federal level, and this requires a TIN. You also need a TIN for other business related needs that include:

  • Opening bank accounts in the name of the business
  • Filing taxes
  • Handling payroll for employees
  • Getting lines of credit for the business
  • Business loans
  • Obtaining credit cards in the business name
  • Applying for business licenses
  • Obtaining a merchant account for processing credit cards

You should wait for the LLC to be approved by the State before you obtain your EIN. You'll avoid the potential issue of the EIN getting assigned to the wrong LLC.

How to Get a Tax ID in Pennsylvania

When you register your company entity through the Pennsylvania Department of State, you will automatically receive your business tax account. The registration is relayed automatically to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (PDOR). The PDOR registers your company for corporate loans tax, net income, and capital stock. All businesses in Pennsylvania are required to register their applicable state tax accounts with PDOR. The registration is done by filing form PA-100 with PDOR.

You can get an EIN/TIN by mail, fax, or through the online application form on the IRS's website. It takes four days to get an EIN by fax, four weeks by mail, and around 15 minutes when done online. 

Online Application of Tax ID

You can get your EIN immediately after answering all the questions found in the online application. After you submit the form, you will be able to download, save, and print your Employer Identification Number and the confirmation letter.

You need the Social Security Numbers (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) of the members at hand before you start the application online. If you and/or the members are US citizens, you will use your SSNs. If you are a foreign national, you will use your ITIN. If you are a foreign national and do not have your ITIN yet, you need to apply for the ITIN first before applying for and receiving your EIN. The application is mostly the same regardless if you are a single or multi-member LLC. The EIN application is a federal tax procedure and is not specific to the state of Pennsylvania.

What Is Form PA-100?

A PA-100 Business Tax Registration Form is used by newly formed companies for registering for their initial tax accounts through the state and by current businesses who want to register for other tax accounts. If any of the below are applicable to your company, you may wind up with a tax obligation with the state and need the PA-100 to register. They include:

  • Local sales tax
  • State sales tax
  • Hotel occupancy tax
  • Employer withholding tax
  • Workers' compensation coverage
  • Unemployment compensation
  • Wholesaler or reseller tax account
  • Wholesaler certificate
  • Use tax accounts
  • Use tax
  • Malt beverage and liquor tax
  • Cigarette license and tax
  • Small games of chance

You can file the form online or by mail. To file the form online, go to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue's website and click "Business," then click "Online business Registration (PA100)." Type in your SSN or FEIN in the Application ID field and click submit. Answer the questions as prompted and supply requested information. Sign and date the form, enter a daytime phone number and your title in the provided spaces. If someone else prepared the form, the preparer should enter their own information. Submit the form online or mail it to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

If you need help with obtaining a Pennsylvania tax ID number, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.