EIN mismatch? How to fix your tax ID when changing business names

Question:

I recently re-opened my Florida re-employment tax account number, however the FEIN number we previously used was under our former company name and this caused a conflict with our payroll provider. The payroll provider says the company name and FEIN do not match.

When reaching out to Florida Department of Revenue, they asked to send a copy of the IRS SS-4 letter of the IRS LTR 147C for further assistance.

What is this letter and how should I solve this issue?

Answer:

The SS-4 is the application you filed with the IRS to get your Employer Identification Number (EIN) or FEIN when you first started your business. The 147C letter is confirmation from the IRS listing your EIN, business name, and address.

It sounds like when you re-opened your Florida payroll account, the name on file didn't match the IRS records associated with your EIN. This is causing issues verifying your identity.

To resolve this, you'll need to provide documentation to both the state and your payroll provider showing your EIN belongs to your new business name. The 147C letter from the IRS should work. If you don't have it, you can request a copy from the IRS either online or by fax/mail.

Once you have the 147C letter, send it to both the state revenue department and your payroll provider. Explain there was a legal name change and the EIN now belongs to your new business name. That should clear up the mismatched identity issue.

Going forward, be sure to update your business name with the IRS and state when legal entity changes occur to avoid verification issues.

In summary:

• Request copy of 147C letter from IRS showing your EIN and new legal business name
• Send 147C letter to state revenue department and payroll provider
• Explain name change to both parties to fix mismatched identity issue
• Update IRS and state with name changes in the future to avoid problems