Here’s how to get an EIN in Virginia as of 2026: apply free at IRS.gov and the Employer Identification Number is issued the same day, often within minutes of submitting. There’s no separate “Virginia EIN.” Once you form your Virginia LLC, the federal EIN is the easy part; the local work starts when you register with Virginia Tax.
How to Get Your Virginia EIN, Fast and Free
The EIN is a free federal tax ID from the IRS, issued the same day you apply through the online EIN Assistant; for Virginia taxes, you then register separately with the Virginia Department of Taxation, and with the Virginia Employment Commission once you hire your first employee.
Most Virginia LLCs need one, and the rest usually want one for banking anyway.
- Cost: $0 when you apply directly with the IRS; third-party filing sites charge for a free federal service
- How long: online approval is immediate; faxing Form SS-4 generally takes about four business days, and mailing it can take about 4 to 5 weeks
- What’s next: register your business with Virginia Tax, add the VEC if you hire, and check whether your locality charges BPOL
- IRS help: the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line, 800-829-4933
Does Your Virginia LLC Need an EIN?
Whether your Virginia LLC needs an EIN comes down to how it’s taxed and whether it pays anyone. A single-member LLC with no employees isn’t federally required to have one, but it’s still the smart move.
| Business type | EIN required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single-member LLC, no employees | No, but recommended | Disregarded entity; get one for banking and identity protection |
| Single-member LLC with employees | Yes | Needed for payroll and Virginia withholding |
| Multi-member LLC | Yes | Defaults to a partnership; files Form 1065 |
| LLC taxed as S-corp or C-corp | Yes | Required for the corporate election (Form 2553 or 8832) |
| Sole proprietor | Sometimes | Only with employees or certain excise or retirement plans |
| Partnership | Yes | Always |
The disregarded-entity rule is where this gets practical. A single-member LLC is invisible to the IRS for income tax, so its income flows to the owner’s return. You’ll still want the EIN to open a business bank account and keep your Social Security number off vendor forms.
New owners can start with what running a Virginia LLC involves, the formation steps that come first.
How to Apply for an EIN for a Virginia LLC
Most Virginia owners finish the online application in a single sitting. The steps below assume your LLC is already approved by the State Corporation Commission, the order the IRS recommends.
In Aaron Kra’s experience filing across more than 25 states, the entity-classification screen trips up more applicants than anything else, so it’s worth slowing down there.
- Confirm your approved name: match the legal name exactly to your SCC record; you can search the SCC business registry if you’re unsure.
- Open the IRS online EIN Assistant: it runs Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern, plus Saturday and Sunday hours; the session times out after 15 minutes of inactivity, so have your details ready.
- Choose your entity type: pick LLC, then answer the member-count questions, since this screen sets your default federal classification.
- Enter your legal name and any trade name: list your DBA separately if you operate under one.
- Name the responsible party: for the online application, this is a natural person with an SSN or ITIN, not a company.
- Pick a reason and submit: “started a new business” fits most LLCs.
- Download the CP 575 right away: save the confirmation letter before you close the tab, because the IRS won’t resend it.
Virginia EIN Approval: Save Your CP 575 Before Virginia Tax and VEC Registrations
Once the IRS approves your Virginia LLC’s EIN, the confirmation page gives you a CP 575 letter. This is the official IRS confirmation letter that shows your legal business name and nine-digit federal EIN, so save it before you move into Virginia Tax, VEC, banking, or local BPOL follow-up.
What the CP 575 does for a Virginia LLC
Treat the CP 575 as your source document. Before you use the EIN anywhere else, compare the legal name on the letter against your Virginia SCC record. A small mismatch can slow down your Virginia Tax registration, VEC setup, bank paperwork, or vendor forms.
- Federal number: your EIN comes from the IRS, not the Virginia SCC or Virginia Department of Taxation.
- State follow-up: use the EIN to register with Virginia Tax, then add the VEC when you hire employees.
- Local check: after state registration, confirm whether your city or county requires BPOL.
Click the image to zoom in.
Not everyone qualifies for the online tool. If your principal place of business sits outside the United States, you apply by phone at 267-941-1099, a line that isn’t toll-free, open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern. Faxing Form SS-4 takes about four business days, while mailing it takes roughly four weeks.
The application is free, full stop. The IRS says you never pay a fee for an EIN, so treat any site charging $150 to $300 to “file” it as a paid convenience you don’t need. Worth flagging: the IRS issues only one EIN per responsible party per day.
On timing, forming first is worth it; how long Virginia LLC approval takes is usually short enough to secure your name before you apply.
Match the Virginia LLC record before the EIN becomes part of your paperwork.
The EIN is free from the IRS, but the filing still needs to match your Virginia SCC record. Northwest Registered Agent can help with LLC formation, registered agent service, and optional EIN services so the legal name, responsible party, and CP 575 letter stay clean from the start.
What You’ll Need to Apply for a Virginia EIN
Gathering a few details first keeps the application quick: the IRS wants information about the entity and the responsible person.
- The approved LLC legal name, matching your SCC record and Articles of Organization.
- The SCC entity ID and your formation date.
- The responsible party’s name and SSN or ITIN.
- Your federal entity type: single-member, multi-member, or a corporate election.
- The reason you’re applying and your principal business address.
Sequence matters here. Form the Virginia LLC with the SCC first, then apply for the EIN, so the name on your CP 575 matches the state’s records. It’s the same reason you’ll want your operating agreement settled before you file.
The $100 SCC filing fee is just the start; the full cost of a Virginia LLC covers the rest.
EIN vs Your Virginia Tax ID Number
This is where the most confusion lives. People say “Virginia tax ID” as if it’s one number, but it’s really several, and none of them is your EIN.
| Category | IRS EIN (federal) | Virginia Tax account number(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | Internal Revenue Service | Virginia Department of Taxation |
| Used for | Federal tax filing, payroll, banking | Sales tax, employer withholding, state income tax |
| Who needs it | Most LLCs | LLCs with Virginia tax obligations |
| Where to get it | IRS.gov, free | Virginia Tax online registration |
The short version: three numbers, three agencies. Your EIN is federal and permanent. Your Virginia Tax account numbers are state accounts assigned by tax type, while the SCC entity ID ties to your formation filing.
I see people mix these up constantly because Virginia businesses end up with multiple numbers from different agencies. I once watched a Virginia owner hand the bank her seven-digit SCC entity ID, convinced it was her EIN, and she got turned away at the counter. My rule is simple: know what each number is the day it arrives.
This is your nine-digit federal tax ID from the IRS. It is the number banks, payroll providers, and federal tax filings care about.
This comes from Richmond after you register with the Virginia Department of Taxation. It is a state tax account number, not your EIN.
This is just your Virginia formation file number from the State Corporation Commission. It helps identify your entity record, but it is not your federal tax ID.
Label all three numbers the day they land. If you do not, untangling them later usually takes longer than you think.
Registering With Virginia Tax and the VEC After Your EIN
Once your EIN is in hand, the Virginia registrations open up. New businesses register online with Virginia Tax, the default route since July 1, 2024; the paper Form R-1 is now the fallback for when online registration won’t work.
Virginia retail sales and use tax
If your Virginia LLC sells taxable goods, you register for Virginia retail sales and use tax. You’ll receive a 15-digit sales tax account number and a Sales Tax Certificate of Registration, Form ST-4, which Virginia Tax requires you to display at your location.
Two details trip people up here. In-state dealer accounts start with the prefix 10, while out-of-state and remote-seller accounts start with 12.
Virginia introduced Form ST-1 as the consolidated sales tax return for the April 2025 filing period, and most filers use it now. Older form numbers like ST-9 and ST-8 still appear in Virginia Tax’s lists, so confirm which return fits your account.
Here’s the catch for online sellers. You register once Virginia sales pass $100,000 in gross retail receipts or 200 transactions in a year. If you sell only through a marketplace that collects for you, you generally don’t register for those sales.
Employer withholding and VEC unemployment tax
Hiring in Virginia means two separate accounts, and they’re not interchangeable. The Virginia Department of Taxation handles employer withholding, while the Virginia Employment Commission handles unemployment insurance.
Withholding frequency tracks your payroll: quarterly under $100 a month, monthly between $100 and $1,000, and semi-weekly above that.
On the VEC side, you owe unemployment tax once quarterly payroll hits $1,500 or you’ve had an employee for 20 weeks. New employers start at a 2.5% base rate plus add-ons, and the taxable wage base is the first $8,000 each employee earns.
Pass-through and corporate income tax
Income tax treatment follows your federal classification. A multi-member Virginia LLC usually files as a pass-through entity on Form 502, while a single-member LLC reports through the owner’s return. Virginia also offers an elective pass-through entity tax at 5.75% for owners who qualify.
An LLC that’s elected corporate treatment files a Virginia corporation income tax return on Form 500 instead.
Registering through Virginia Tax Online Services
One online registration covers several tax types. You log in to Virginia Tax Online Services for Businesses, enter your EIN, and select your tax types. The system then assigns a separate account number for each, plus a sales tax certificate if you register to sell.
BPOL is the Virginia step that blindsides people, and it is not really their fault, because it is not a state account at all. It is local. I had a Fairfax consultant who had already registered with Virginia Tax and even framed her ST-4 on the wall. She thought she was finished until the county sent her a license bill based on gross receipts.
My advice is simple: do not assume your Virginia registrations are complete until you check with your city or county. BPOL is handled locally, and that is exactly why people miss it.
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Call the commissioner of the revenue in your city or county before you assume you are done.
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Ask this first: Do I owe BPOL?
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Ask this next: Is it a flat fee or a percentage of revenue?
Virginia EIN and Registration Mistakes to Avoid
Most of these slip-ups come straight out of Virginia’s layered system, and they cost time more than money. They’re easy to dodge once you know where owners trip.
- Treating the Virginia Tax account number as your EIN: they’re issued by different agencies, so the bank still wants the federal number.
- Letting the EIN name drift from your SCC record: if the CP 575 name doesn’t match your Articles of Organization, Virginia Tax and banks both balk.
- Skipping local BPOL: many localities bill a gross-receipts license, and the commissioner of the revenue won’t send a reminder.
- Over-registering for sales tax: marketplace-only sellers usually don’t need their own account, since the facilitator collects.
- Filing on the wrong sales tax return: Virginia moved most filers to Form ST-1 for the April 2025 period, so check which return your account uses before you file.
- Assuming withholding covers unemployment: a Virginia Tax withholding account doesn’t include the VEC, so you set up both.
- Missing the $50 SCC annual registration: it’s due the last day of your formation month, with a $25 penalty after that.
How to Find a Lost EIN or Update Your Virginia LLC
Misplacing the confirmation letter is common, and the fix is quick: your EIN shows up on the CP 575, past tax returns, and old bank paperwork.
If none of those turn up, you can track down a misplaced EIN and request Letter 147C, the verification banks accept when you can’t find the CP 575.
Changing your Virginia LLC doesn’t always mean a new EIN. Structural shifts, like moving from a single-member to a multi-member LLC, usually require one. Name or address changes don’t; you report those with Form 8822-B or, for a tax election, Form 8832.
While you’re updating records, don’t overlook Virginia’s $50 annual registration with the SCC, and keep your registered agent details current.
Virginia EIN Frequently Asked Questions
These come up most often from Virginia LLC owners. Each answer points to the agency that controls the number or account.
Is a Virginia EIN different from a federal EIN?
No. There’s only one EIN, it’s federal, and the IRS issues it the same way in all 50 states. “Virginia EIN” is just shorthand for a federal EIN used by a Virginia business; the state doesn’t issue its own version, so don’t pay anyone who claims it does.
Is my Virginia Tax account number the same as my EIN?
No, and conflating them causes real headaches. The EIN comes from the IRS and identifies your business federally. Your Virginia Tax account number comes from the Virginia Department of Taxation when you register. You get a separate one for each tax type, like sales tax or withholding.
Do single-member Virginia LLCs need an EIN?
Not strictly, with no employees, because a single-member LLC is a disregarded entity the IRS folds into your personal return. Get one anyway: most Virginia banks require it to open a business account, and it keeps your Social Security number off W-9s and vendor paperwork.
Can a non-US resident get an EIN for a Virginia LLC without an SSN?
Yes. A foreign owner with no SSN or ITIN can still get an EIN, just not through the online tool. If your principal place of business sits outside the United States, you call 267-941-1099, the IRS international line, open weekdays 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern; otherwise you fax or mail Form SS-4.
Do I need a Virginia sales tax certificate after getting my EIN?
Only if you sell taxable goods or cross the remote-seller threshold. Registering with Virginia Tax gives you a 15-digit account number and the Sales Tax Certificate of Registration, Form ST-4, which you display where you do business. A service-only LLC usually skips it.
What’s Virginia’s remote seller threshold for sales tax?
More than $100,000 in annual Virginia gross retail sales, or 200 or more separate transactions to Virginia customers. Cross either one and you register for those direct sales; if every sale runs through a marketplace facilitator that collects for you, the facilitator handles it instead.
Does my Virginia LLC need a VEC account, and when?
Yes, once you hire and cross the threshold. You register with the Virginia Employment Commission for unemployment insurance after quarterly payroll reaches $1,500 or you’ve employed someone for 20 weeks. It’s a separate account from your Virginia Tax withholding, so plan on setting up both.
Do I need a local BPOL license after getting an EIN in Virginia?
Maybe, and you confirm this with your locality, not the state. BPOL, the Business, Professional and Occupational License tax, is set by each city or county and often runs on gross receipts. Call your commissioner of the revenue, since thresholds, flat fees, and exemptions differ from one Virginia locality to the next.
Looking for an overview? See Virginia LLC Services
Get Help Applying for Your Virginia EIN with Harbor Compliance
Harbor Compliance can help you prepare and submit your EIN application accurately, so your Virginia business is ready for banking, taxes, hiring, and state registrations without unnecessary filing mistakes.
