The IRS's instruction is short: you must have an employer identification number (EIN) to file Form 2290. You can't use your Social Security number. That applies to a one-truck sole proprietor exactly as it does to a fleet.
How to get an EIN
The IRS gives these routes:
- Online at IRS.gov/EIN.
- By fax or mail, using Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number.
- By phone at 267-941-1099 (not toll-free) — but only for applicants with an address in a foreign country, such as Canada.
Already have an EIN for payroll or another business purpose? If it belongs to the person or entity the truck is registered to, that's the EIN you file with. Make sure it's the right entity — see below.
LLCs and S corporation subsidiaries: their own EIN, not the owner's
If your trucks are in a single-owner LLC or another eligible disregarded entity, or a qualified subchapter S subsidiary (QSub), the IRS treats that entity as separate for excise tax purposes. It must report and pay the tax, and claim any credits or refunds, under the entity's own EIN — not the owner's taxpayer identification number. If you aren't sure whether your entity already has an EIN, the IRS points you to its Business and Specialty Tax line at 800-829-4933.
The EIN has to match the IRS's records
An e-filed Form 2290 is checked against the IRS's e-file database: the EIN and the name control in the return must match what the IRS has on file, or the return is rejected (business rule R0000-922-01). The name control is printed on the letter the IRS sent when it issued your EIN. Enter the legal name and EIN exactly as the IRS has them — the most common way this goes wrong is covered in the EIN name control rejection.
Use the same name, address, and EIN on Schedule 1 as on the return itself.
Add your business and EIN to a free account; every return you file after that starts from it.
Filing once you have the EIN
- Enter the business's legal name, EIN, business type, and address, plus the name control from your IRS EIN letter.
- Add each truck with its VIN, weight category, and the month it was first used — the Form 2290 tax calculator shows the tax first if you want it.
- Pay the tax, e-sign, and submit. Download the stamped Schedule 1 once the IRS accepts the return.
Every step is in how to file Form 2290 online. And if you're waiting on an EIN as a deadline approaches, check your exact date with the Form 2290 due date calculator — the deadline doesn't move while the EIN is pending.