How do non-resident founders get an EIN for a Delaware C-Corp?

The EIN is the first thing you need after incorporating your Delaware C-Corp. Without it, you cannot open a US bank account, integrate with Stripe or PayPal, hire contractors, or file any federal tax return. For a US-based founder, getting an EIN takes about ten minutes through the IRS online portal and the number is issued instantly.

For a non-resident Indian founder, the process is different in one critical way: the IRS online EIN application requires a valid US Social Security Number or ITIN to complete. If you have neither, the online portal will block you before you finish. This is a system restriction, not a policy against foreign applicants. The IRS absolutely issues EINs to non-resident founders of foreign-owned US corporations, but through a different channel.

Why does the online EIN application not work for non-resident founders?

The IRS online EIN application at IRS.gov/EIN is restricted to responsible parties who have a US Social Security Number or ITIN. The system validates the responsible party's tax ID before allowing the application to proceed. A non-resident Indian founder who has neither an SSN nor an ITIN cannot complete the online application regardless of how the form is filled in.

This catches a significant number of first-time founders off guard, particularly those who have successfully used online government portals in other contexts. The block is not a temporary outage or a technical error. It is a deliberate IRS system requirement that has been in place for years and has not changed.

There are two fully documented, officially supported methods available to non-resident founders: the fax method and the international phone line method. Both result in the same outcome, the issuance of a valid EIN, but with different timelines and requirements.

One clarification that matters before going further: you do not need an ITIN to get an EIN. These are two separate tax identifiers that serve different purposes. An EIN identifies your business entity. An ITIN is a personal tax ID for individuals who are not eligible for an SSN but have US tax obligations. You do not need to obtain an ITIN first, and getting an EIN does not create or replace an ITIN. The common assumption that you must get an ITIN before applying for an EIN is incorrect. For a detailed comparison of all three identifiers, our EIN vs ITIN vs SSN guide covers this in full.

What do you need before applying?

Before you fill in a single field on Form SS-4, two conditions must be met.

Your Delaware C-Corp must be legally formed. The IRS will not issue an EIN to a business that does not yet exist. The Articles of Incorporation must have been filed with and accepted by the Delaware Division of Corporations before you apply. The IRS cross-references the entity name and formation date on your application against its own records. Applying before the state has processed your incorporation creates mismatches that delay or reject the EIN application.

You must have the entity's registered agent address. Your Delaware C-Corp's registered agent address in Delaware is the address you will use as the principal business address on Form SS-4 if your entity has no other US office. Many Indian founders have no physical US presence beyond the registered agent, and the IRS accepts this. The registered agent's address satisfies the business address requirement on the application.

Form SS-4: The only application for non-resident founders

Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number, is a one-page IRS form available for free at IRS.gov. The current version is Rev. December 2025. For a non-resident founder, this is the only available application vehicle. It is also used by US-based founders who prefer the fax or mail method, so the form itself is not unique to foreign applicants. What changes is how certain fields are completed.

Here are the fields that require specific attention for a non-resident founder of a Delaware C-Corp.

Line 1: Legal name of entity. Enter the exact legal name of your Delaware C-Corp as it appears in the Articles of Incorporation. Every word, comma, and punctuation mark should match precisely. A name mismatch between the EIN application and the state incorporation record is one of the most common causes of rejection.

Line 2: Trade name. Leave blank if your trade name is the same as the legal name. Enter the trade name only if the company operates under a different name.

Line 4a and 4b: Mailing address. This is where the IRS will send correspondence, including your CP 575 EIN confirmation letter. For most Indian founders, this is the registered agent's address in Delaware. You can also use a US virtual mailbox address here if you have one. Do not use your Indian personal address because the CP 575 will be mailed to this address and international mail delivery is unreliable for time-sensitive IRS documents.

Line 7a: Name of responsible party. The responsible party is the individual who ultimately owns or controls the entity and exercises ultimate effective control over its funds and assets. For a solo Indian founder who is the 100% owner of the Delaware C-Corp, the responsible party is the founder. Enter your legal name as it appears on your government-issued identification.

Line 7b: SSN, ITIN, or EIN of responsible party. This is the field that distinguishes the non-resident application. Per the IRS Form SS-4 Instructions (Rev. December 2025): if the responsible party does not have and is ineligible to obtain an SSN or ITIN, enter "Foreign" or "N/A" on line 7b. An entry is required. Do not leave this field blank, as that will trigger a rejection. Write exactly "Foreign" or "N/A" in this space. Either entry is acceptable to the IRS. Most practitioners use "Foreign" as it is more descriptive, but "N/A" is equally valid and will not cause a rejection.

Line 8a through 8c: LLC information. If your entity is a Delaware corporation, not an LLC, skip these lines. Check the Corporation box in line 9a instead.

Line 9a: Type of entity. Check the Corporation box. Enter "1120" in the space provided for the income tax form number to be filed, since your Delaware C-Corp will file Form 1120 annually. Do not enter 1120-S unless you have already filed or plan to file Form 2553 for S-Corp election, which is not available to non-resident alien shareholders.

Line 10: Reason for applying. Check "Started a new business" or the appropriate box for your situation.

Line 11: Date business started. Enter the date your Articles of Incorporation were accepted by the Delaware Division of Corporations, not the date you signed any documents or the date you paid incorporation fees.

Lines 12 through 18: Complete these fields with accurate information about your business activity, expected employees, and principal product or service.

Signature. The responsible party must sign and date the form. No notarization is required.

Method 1: Fax application (Recommended for most founders)

The fax method is the recommended path for most non-resident founders because it creates a paper trail confirming the submission, the processing time is predictable, and it does not require you to be available by phone during US business hours.

After completing Form SS-4, fax the form to the IRS at the number that applies to your situation.

For applicants faxing from within the United States who have no US principal office, use 855-215-1627. For applicants faxing from outside the United States entirely, including Indian founders faxing from India, use 304-707-9471. This number is not toll-free and is the correct line for international submissions under the December 2025 Form SS-4 instructions.

Processing time by fax is generally four business days from the date the IRS receives the fax. These timelines are IRS estimates and can vary depending on application volume and the completeness of the submitted form. Once processed, the IRS faxes your EIN back to the return fax number you provide. You must include a valid return fax number on a cover sheet. This is a step many founders skip, which results in the EIN being mailed by paper instead, adding weeks to the timeline.

The cover sheet should include your name, the entity name, your return fax number, your phone number, and the number of pages faxed.

Once you receive your EIN by fax, save the confirmation immediately. The IRS will also mail the formal CP 575 EIN Confirmation Letter to the mailing address on line 4, typically within two to four weeks of processing.

Method 2: International phone line 

The IRS international phone line allows applicants outside the United States to apply for an EIN over the telephone and receive the number on the same call. The number is +1 267-941-1099. The line operates Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM Eastern Time.

Before calling, have a completed Form SS-4 in front of you. The IRS representative will ask you for each field on the form in sequence. Being unprepared during the call means you will need to call back, and the hold times during busy periods can be significant.

When the representative asks for the responsible party's SSN or ITIN, state clearly that you are a foreign individual without an SSN or ITIN. The representative will note this and continue the application. You will not be rejected for this reason.

Write down the EIN as soon as the representative provides it, read it back to confirm, and ask the representative to confirm the spelling of the entity name on the account. Small discrepancies between the name on the EIN account and the name on your Articles of Incorporation can cause matching problems on future tax filings.

The phone method provides an EIN on the same call, which makes it the fastest option if you are comfortable with the phone process. The downside relative to the fax method is that you must be available during IRS business hours and there is no paper trail of the submission itself, only the EIN you write down.

Method 3: Mail application 

The IRS mail option for non-resident applicants with no US office is to send Form SS-4 to: Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN International Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999.

Processing time by mail is four to six weeks. There is no fax confirmation. You will receive the CP 575 EIN Confirmation Letter by mail at the address on line 4. For most founders who need their EIN to proceed with bank account opening, contractor hiring, or payment processor setup, a four to six week wait creates significant delays. Use the fax method or the phone method instead.

What happens after the EIN is issued: The Form 5472 obligation

This is the part of EIN setup that most competitor guides do not cover, and it is genuinely important.

When the IRS issues an EIN to a foreign-owned US corporation, a Form 5472 filing obligation is triggered automatically. Form 5472 is an information return that foreign-owned US corporations must file to report transactions between the US entity and related foreign parties. The penalty for failing to file is $25,000 per form per year, with additional penalties for continued failure to file after IRS notice.

For a Delaware C-Corp that is 100% owned by an Indian founder, the entity is a foreign-owned domestic corporation. Form 5472 must be filed for every tax year in which reportable transactions occurred between the US entity and its foreign related parties. Reportable transactions include the founder's initial capital contribution (the purchase of founder shares), any loans between the founder and the entity, services provided by the foreign owner to the US entity, and any other financial transactions between the related parties.

The Form 5472 is filed with the entity's annual Form 1120 and is due on the same date, including any extensions filed on Form 7004.

The initial capital contribution, meaning the founder's payment for their shares in the Delaware C-Corp, is itself a reportable transaction under Form 5472. This surprises many founders who assumed that the share purchase was an internal corporate formation matter. The IRS treats it as a transaction between a foreign related party (the Indian founder) and the US entity, and it must be disclosed.

Our detailed guide on Form 5472 instructions covers the full filing requirements, reportable transaction categories, and how the form interacts with the annual Form 1120.

The CP 575 EIN confirmation letter and the 147C letter

When the IRS issues your EIN, it sends a CP 575 EIN Confirmation Letter to the mailing address on your Form SS-4. This letter is your official proof of EIN assignment. Save it permanently. Banks, payment processors, and government agencies will ask for it during the account opening process.

If you lose the CP 575, you cannot get a duplicate. The IRS does not reissue the CP 575 after it has been sent. What you can get instead is a 147C letter, which serves the same purpose as confirmation of your EIN but is a different document. To request a 147C letter, call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933 (for US-based calls) or +1 267-941-1099 (for international calls). The IRS representative will verify your identity and fax or mail the 147C letter to you.

One timing note that affects bank account opening: even after your EIN is issued, the IRS instructs businesses to wait approximately two weeks before the EIN can be used for certain IRS electronic functions, including e-filing tax returns and making electronic tax deposits through EFTPS. For bank account applications and payment processor setups, the EIN is active immediately. The two-week wait applies only to specific IRS electronic systems.

Updating your business address with the IRS after the EIN is issued

Many Indian founders set up their EIN using the registered agent's Delaware address because they have no other US address at the time of application. Once you set up a virtual mailbox for your business, you should update the IRS address records to reflect the virtual mailbox address, which is where you want IRS correspondence like tax notices, audit letters, and refund correspondence to arrive.

The update is made using Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party for Business. This form is filed by mail and typically takes four to six weeks to update IRS records. Filing this update ensures that future IRS correspondence reaches your virtual mailbox rather than going to the registered agent's address. Our Form 8822-B guide covers the full filing process and explains the distinction between your registered agent address and your business mailing address.

What this means for Indian founders specifically

The EIN application process described above applies to any non-resident founder, but there are a few India-specific points worth noting.

Indian founders who are FEMA residents of India (those who have spent more than 182 days in India in the preceding financial year) are subject to the Overseas Direct Investment framework under FEMA when investing in a US entity. The EIN application and issuance is a US federal process and has no direct FEMA trigger. However, the act of paying for shares in the Delaware C-Corp (the capital contribution that creates the EIN's first Form 5472 reportable transaction) is an outbound remittance that may require RBI reporting under the ODI framework. These are parallel processes that must both be addressed. Our FEMA residency guide for Indian founders incorporates in the US covers the FEMA side of this structure.

Additionally, non-resident Indian founders who receive a salary or dividends from the US C-Corp will at some point have a personal US tax filing obligation that requires an ITIN. The EIN is for the business entity. The ITIN, when needed, is for the founder personally. Getting the EIN does not eliminate or delay any personal ITIN requirement that arises from US-source income.

Setting up an EIN for your foreign-owned Delaware C-Corp, filing Form 5472 correctly in the first tax year, and maintaining clean IRS records from day one are the foundational steps that prevent compliance problems later. Book a demo with Inkle to work through your entity setup, EIN application, and first-year tax filing obligations with a cross-border tax professional who works with India-US founders every day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an Indian founder get an EIN for a Delaware C-Corp without an SSN or ITIN?

Yes. The IRS Form SS-4 Instructions (Rev. December 2025) explicitly state that if the responsible party cannot obtain an SSN or ITIN, enter "Foreign" or "N/A" on line 7b. The application is then submitted by fax to +1 855-215-1627 or by calling the IRS international line at +1 267-941-1099. The IRS online portal at IRS.gov blocks applications without an SSN or ITIN and cannot be used.

How long does it take to get an EIN as a non-resident founder?

The international phone line (+1 267-941-1099) provides the EIN on the same call with a completed Form SS-4 ready. The fax method takes approximately four business days from receipt and the IRS faxes the EIN back to your return fax number. Mail applications take four to six weeks. After any method, the IRS mails the formal CP 575 Confirmation Letter to your mailing address within two to four weeks.

Do I need to file Form 5472 after getting an EIN for my foreign-owned Delaware C-Corp?

Yes. A foreign-owned Delaware C-Corp must file Form 5472 for every tax year in which reportable transactions occur between the US entity and its foreign related parties, including the founder's initial capital contribution. The penalty for failing to file is $25,000 per form per year. Form 5472 is filed as an attachment to the annual Form 1120.

What is the difference between the CP 575 and the 147C letter?

The CP 575 is the original EIN Confirmation Letter mailed once when your EIN is first issued. It cannot be reissued if lost. The 147C is a replacement verification document the IRS provides on request by calling 1-800-829-4933 (US) or +1 267-941-1099 (international). Both are accepted by banks and payment processors as proof of EIN assignment.