Don’t use your SSN. Get a free EIN
March 7th, 2013 → 2:20 pm @ Carol
Over at Kimberly Rae’s blog post on How-To Use Createspace, Amazon’s POD Option, a question about using your Social Security Number(SSN) was asked.
The only thing I struggle with about CreateSpace is that they require a tax id in order to report royalty earnings.For most of us that means our SSN and that makes me very uncomfortable-Debra
Debra,
You’re smart to be concerned about giving out your Social Security Number. Identity threft is rampant.
You can get an EIN (Employer Identification Number) for free from the IRS. An EIN is like a SSN for your business.
I use my EIN instead of my SSN with Createspace and anyone else who pays me.
Go to IRS.gov and search on EIN. You can apply online for free and get an EIN in about 10 minutes.
You can look over the application Form SS-4 (or search at IRS.gov for SS-4) to see what the IRS will request to get an EIN.
Hope that helps,
Carol Topp, CPA
