https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed-group/discussion/re-business-id-ein/01/2768488#M7110 <P>Hi Shar55,</P> <P>An EIN is not required unless you have at<STRONG> least one employee</STRONG>. However, using the EIN instead of the SSN offers you more <STRONG><EM>security against fraud</EM></STRONG> or <STRONG><EM>identity theft</EM></STRONG>. The IRS says that you should have a profit in 3 of 5 years in which you are in business and filing a tax return. In order to claim your expenses, you would need to complete IRS form Schedule C to show the amount of income received and the expenses incurred for that year.</P> Wed, 31 Aug 2022 17:19:22 GMT JandKit 2022-08-31T17:19:22Z https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed-group/discussion/business-id-ein/01/2768453#M7109 <P>Can I use my social or do I need EIN for relatively low crafting sales? Also I had no income last year from this but I did incur expenses. Can I still claim them? How to itemize?</P> Tue, 10 Mar 2026 05:42:59 GMT https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed-group/discussion/business-id-ein/01/2768453#M7109 Shar55 2026-03-10T05:42:59Z https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed-group/discussion/re-business-id-ein/01/2768488#M7110 <P>Hi Shar55,</P> <P>An EIN is not required unless you have at<STRONG> least one employee</STRONG>. However, using the EIN instead of the SSN offers you more <STRONG><EM>security against fraud</EM></STRONG> or <STRONG><EM>identity theft</EM></STRONG>. The IRS says that you should have a profit in 3 of 5 years in which you are in business and filing a tax return. In order to claim your expenses, you would need to complete IRS form Schedule C to show the amount of income received and the expenses incurred for that year.</P> Wed, 31 Aug 2022 17:19:22 GMT https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed-group/discussion/re-business-id-ein/01/2768488#M7110 JandKit 2022-08-31T17:19:22Z