What does canceling an EIN actually mean?
It means closing the IRS business account tied to the number. The EIN itself is a permanent federal taxpayer identification number. The IRS assigns 1 EIN to an entity and never cancels, reuses, or reissues it.
The word cancel describes something the IRS does not do. Once the 9-digit number is assigned, it belongs to that legal entity for as long as the entity exists and for as long as the IRS keeps the record after that. No procedure deletes it, and no form exists to request deletion.
What people mean by canceling is the end of the obligations. A closed business account stops the IRS from expecting the returns the account was opened to receive. A dormant corporation whose account stays open keeps an annual Form 1120 obligation, and a closed account ends it.
That distinction decides the paperwork. There is no cancellation form to complete, no fee to pay, and no online tool to use. There is 1 letter, 4 required items, and 1 mailing address. Everything else on this page describes what has to be true before that letter works.
What goes in the IRS close-account letter?
Four items: the complete legal name of the entity, the 9-digit EIN, the business address, and the reason for closing. Enclose a copy of the CP-575 assignment notice when you hold one.
Item 1: The complete legal name of the entity
Write the name exactly as it appears on the CP-575 assignment notice, character for character, including punctuation.
The IRS matches the request against a name control built from the first 4 characters of the legal name. LLC and L.L.C. produce different controls and a failed match.
Item 2: The 9-digit EIN
Print the number in its 2-digit and 7-digit form, XX-XXXXXXX. One EIN exists per entity, and the IRS never issues a second one to replace it.
The EIN is the account key. A letter without the 9 digits names a business the IRS cannot locate, because entity names repeat across states and the number does not.
Item 3: The business address
State the address the IRS currently holds. When the address moved and Form 8822-B was never filed, state both the old address and the new one.
The IRS routes the closure confirmation to the address on file. A stale address sends the only written confirmation to a place you no longer receive mail.
Item 4: The reason you want the account closed
Name the event in one sentence: the business dissolved, the business never started, the entity converted, or the EIN was issued in error.
The reason decides which final returns the IRS expects. An entity that never started owes no final return, and an entity that traded for 3 years does.
No IRS form number covers this request. The letter is the filing, so it carries the burden that a form would otherwise carry: it has to identify the account without ambiguity. A letter naming a trade name rather than the legal name on the CP-575 identifies nothing the IRS can act on.
Sign the letter as a person authorized to act for the entity: an owner, a partner, a corporate officer, or a person holding a filed power of attorney. Keep a copy of the signed letter with the mailing receipt in the same file as the CP-575.
Source: IRS, Canceling an EIN — Closing Your Account. Verified July 2026.
Where do you send the cancel EIN letter?
Send it to Internal Revenue Service, Cincinnati, OH 45999. One address handles business account closures for every entity type and every state, and the IRS charges $0 to process the request.
Cincinnati, OH 45999
The address takes no street line and no suite number. That is correct. The ZIP code 45999 routes to an IRS processing operation directly, which is why the 2-line address is complete as written.
Mail it with proof of delivery. The IRS sends no standard acknowledgment that a business account closed, so the delivery receipt is the only evidence you hold that the request arrived on a given date. Keep it with the 4-item letter for the same period you keep the returns.
A change of address or responsible party takes a different route: Form 8822-B, which the IRS requires within 60 days of a responsible party change. Read the line-by-line walkthrough on the form 8822-b page.
What must you file before the IRS closes the account?
Every required return, and every balance paid. The IRS closes no business account with an open filing obligation or an outstanding tax liability. A dissolving corporation also files Form 966 within 30 days of the dissolution resolution.
This is the gate that stops most requests. The letter asks the IRS to stop expecting returns, and the IRS checks whether it is still waiting for any. One unfiled Form 941 from a quarter with employees keeps the account open no matter how well the letter is written.
| Obligation | Form | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate dissolution resolution | Form 966 | Within 30 days of the resolution |
| Final corporate income tax return | Form 1120 or 1120-S | Final-return box checked |
| Final partnership return | Form 1065 | Final-return box checked, K-1s marked final |
| Final quarterly employment tax | Form 941 | The quarter final wages were paid |
| Final federal unemployment tax | Form 940 | The year final wages were paid |
| Wage statements to employees | Form W-2 and W-3 | January 31 |
| Contractor payments of $600 or more | Form 1099-NEC | January 31 |
| Sale of business assets | Form 8594 | With the return for the year of sale |
Sources: IRS, Closing a Business and IRS, About Form 966. Verified July 2026.
Check the final-return box. It is the single mark on the return that tells the IRS the account has reached its last period, and an unchecked box leaves the system expecting another return in the next cycle. On a partnership return, every Schedule K-1 carries its own final-K-1 mark.
Which final returns does each entity type file?
Corporations file Form 966 and a final Form 1120. Partnerships file a final Form 1065 with final K-1s. Sole proprietors file a final Schedule C on Form 1040 and file no separate entity return.
| Entity type | Final return | Extra step | IRS fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| C corporation | Form 1120 | Form 966 within 30 days | $0 |
| S corporation | Form 1120-S | Form 966 within 30 days | $0 |
| Partnership | Form 1065 | Final Schedule K-1 to each partner | $0 |
| Multi-member LLC | Form 1065 | Final Schedule K-1 to each member | $0 |
| Single-member LLC | Schedule C with Form 1040 | Form 941 and 940 when it had employees | $0 |
| Sole proprietorship | Schedule C with Form 1040 | No entity return exists | $0 |
| Foreign-owned single-member LLC | Pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 | Penalty for a missed 5472 is $25,000 | $0 |
Sources: IRS, Closing a Business and the IRS Instructions for Form 5472, which set the $25,000 penalty. Verified July 2026.
The last row carries the largest number on this page. A US LLC with a foreign owner holding 25% or more files a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached, and the IRS Instructions for Form 5472 set the penalty for failing to file at $25,000 per year. A closed IRS account does not erase a missed year, which is why the final 5472 gets filed before the letter goes out.
How long does canceling an EIN take?
The letter runs 4 items on 1 page. The IRS publishes no processing deadline for a close-account request and sends no standard acknowledgment, so the dated delivery receipt is the evidence you keep.
| Step | What it takes | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Gather the CP-575 and the legal name | 1 document | $0 |
| Write the 4-item letter | 4 required items, 1 page | $0 |
| File any outstanding returns | Depends on the returns owed | $0 IRS fee |
| Mail to Cincinnati, OH 45999 | 1 mailing | Postage only |
| IRS processing | No published deadline | $0 |
Step counts describe the 4-item letter set out on this page. The mailing address and the absence of a published processing deadline come from IRS, Canceling an EIN — Closing Your Account. Verified July 2026.
Nothing in this sequence is urgent, and nothing about it improves with speed. The two steps that decide the outcome are the accuracy of the legal name and the completeness of the final returns. A letter sent before the last Form 941 is filed waits on that return regardless of when it arrived.
Can a closed EIN be reused or reactivated?
The IRS never reissues a retired EIN to a different entity. The same entity reactivates its own account by filing a return under that EIN, so 1 number covers the entire life of the business.
Permanence works in your favor here. A business that closed its account in one year and resumed trading two years later files under the original 9-digit number. No reapplication happens, and a second EIN for the same entity creates two accounts where the IRS expects one.
The boundary is the legal entity, not the trading activity. A corporation that dissolved under state law and formed again is a new entity, and a new entity applies for its own EIN. A dormant corporation that never dissolved is the same entity and keeps its number.
Work through which side of that line you are on with the do i need a new ein matrix.
Why does a close-account request fail?
Five causes account for most failures: an outstanding return, an unpaid balance, a legal name that does not match the CP-575, a missing EIN in the letter, and a signature from a person the IRS has not authorized.
An outstanding return sits on the account. The IRS closes no account it is still waiting on. One unfiled Form 941 or one missing Form 1065 holds the whole request, and the letter stays unprocessed until the return arrives.
A balance remains unpaid. Tax owed survives the closure request. Pay the balance in full first, because the account stays open while the liability stands and interest continues to run on it.
The legal name does not match the CP-575. The IRS builds a name control from the first 4 characters of the legal name. Acme LLC and Acme, L.L.C. produce different controls, and the request matches no account.
The 9-digit EIN is missing or mistyped. The digit 0 and the letter O look alike on a scanned CP-575, and so do 1 and 7. Read the number from the original assignment notice rather than a photocopy.
An unauthorized person signed the letter. The IRS acts on a request from an owner, a partner, a corporate officer, or a holder of a filed power of attorney. A bookkeeper without that authority is not one of the 4.
Two of the 5 causes are name problems, and both trace to the same rule. Confirm the legal name the IRS holds before you write, using the ein number lookup methods or a 147C letter, and record a name change with the IRS on the change business name with irs page.
How long do you keep records after closing the account?
Keep employment tax records for 4 years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later. Keep income tax records for 3 years from the filing date. A closed account changes neither period.
| Record | Keep for | Clock starts |
|---|---|---|
| Employment tax records | 4 years | When the tax is due or paid, whichever is later |
| Income tax returns and support | 3 years | The filing date of the return |
| Records for a worthless securities claim | 7 years | The filing date of the return |
| The CP-575 assignment notice | Indefinitely | The EIN never expires |
| The close-account letter and receipt | Indefinitely | The only proof the request was sent |
Source: IRS, How Long Should I Keep Records, which sets the 3-year, 4-year, and 7-year periods. Verified July 2026.
Hold the CP-575 permanently. It is the document a bank asks for, the document that proves the pairing of the 9-digit number and the legal name, and the IRS issues 1 per EIN and never reprints it. A replacement arrives as a 147C letter instead. Read the anatomy of the original on the ein confirmation letter page.
How do you close an EIN account without an SSN?
The same way as anyone else. The close-account letter carries the entity name, the 9-digit EIN, the business address, and the reason. It carries no identity number for the person signing it.
No SSN, no ITIN, and no identity document enters this request. The 4 required items describe the business, not the person, which is why a responsible party outside the United States closes an account with the same letter and the same $0 fee.
No SSN? The fax route, or we file it. Form SS-4 line 7b accepts the entry Foreign.
The fax route uses 2 IRS numbers: 855-641-6935 for entities based in a US state and 855-215-1627 for international applicants. The IRS international phone line is 267-941-1099. No identity document is filed with Form SS-4, and no passport upload happens at any point.
What if your situation requires a new EIN?
File Form SS-4. A new legal entity needs its own EIN, and closing the old account does not carry the number forward. The IRS charges $0, and line 7b accepts the entry Foreign.
Most people who close an account are starting something else. A sole proprietorship that incorporates needs a new EIN. A single-member LLC that adds a second member becomes a partnership and needs a new one. A corporation formed after a dissolution is a new entity with a new number.
| Filed by | Price | Written deadline | Year 2+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yourself, direct to the IRS | $0 | None | $0 |
| ein-number.com | $99 | 7 business days or 100% automatic refund | $0 |
| Northwest | $200 | None | $0 |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | None | $0 |
Competitor prices verified July 2026. Northwest reflects the no-SSN rate. Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding US federal holidays.
The IRS charges $0 for an EIN through every method. The $99 covers preparation, filing within 1 business day of your completed details, 4 tracked stages, and a delivery date in writing. That is what the guaranteed EIN filing service buys, and you can file it yourself for nothing instead.