Can I avoid giving my SSN on a W-9 as a SMLLC?

If you've applied for and received an EIN for your business, you can use that instead.

Then is this instruction referring to disregarded in a legal sense rather than a tax sense (like soleprop vs llc taxed like a soleprop)?

rfrazier -- I'm in the same situation and asking the same question. Did you ever receive a firm, trustworthy answer indicating that (for purposes of the W-9 and invoicing) the taxpayer can choose to give out the LLC's EIN rather than the sole owner's SSN?

@Lapith   Get an EIN in YOUR name, not the LLC's name.  The EIN that is in YOUR name is the one that is supposed to be in the W-9.

The IRS Instructions for sole proprietor EIN specifically state not to use it for LLC purposes.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-to-apply-for-an-ein

I have an EIN.  The instructions seem to me like I am not to use it on Form w9.

Its saying if you incorporated the LLC then use the corporation EIN.

But why do the instructions follow that with "Do not enter the disregarded entity’s EIN."

You are not supposed to use the EIN of the disregarded entity. The W-9 is an income tax form and the entity is disregarded for income tax purposes. The reason for a disregarded entity to get an EIN is if it has payroll. The entity is not disregarded for payroll.

The number on the W-9 should be the SSN or EIN of the owner of a disregarded entity. If you do not want to give out your social security number, you should get an EIN in your name as a sole proprietor. That is what footnote three is referring to.

Businesses should indicate their name on line 2 if it's different from your name, and their employer identification numbers in Part I. You're certifying to the IRS that the tax ID number you're providing is correct and accurate when you submit Form W-9.

so if you have an ein you can use it.  that's what i did 

You can enter an EIN if it is the EIN of the tax filer and not a disregarded entity. That is why the instructions say,

"Do not enter the disregarded entity’s EIN."

I've been using my Single Member LLC EIN on the W9 since I started the business six years ago, and I just noticed the statement "Do not enter the disregarded entity’s EIN".  I cannot fathom any reason why the IRS would not allow use of this EIN on the W9.  The original IRS notice providing the EIN clearly indicated it is a Sole Member LLC along with my full name used on my 1040 tax return; and I had to provide my SS # during the application process.  Also on Sch C of my tax return, I report the name of the LLC along with the business EIN and my SS #.  I've never had any issues using this EIN with the many W9s I've submitted to clients, and the IRS has never questioned my tax returns with income reported until this EIN.  I'm going to conclude the statement "Do not enter the disregarded entity’s EIN" is meant for some other bizarre reason not understood by me.   And besides if I obtained a personnel EIN now I have 2 EINs associated with work done through the LLC and where would I place this personal EIN on my tax return; that's got to be more of a mess than just sticking to the first one which is what I plan to do until I have a better reason to change.

The instructions are correct. This is how another source explains it:

Enter your Social Security number in Part 1. The IRS prefers that you use your SSN, although it is permissible to enter an employee identification number (EIN) that you’ve obtained in your capacity as a sole proprietor. This is not, however, the same EIN which you may have obtained for the LLC. In other words, unless you obtained more than one EIN, just use your SSN.

Click here for more information: EIN

Keep in mind, it may be that the reason that the SSN is required in this case is so that the IRS can correctly assign to SE taxes to the right SS account, since you are a sole proprietor.

Exactly why I had an IRS EIN issues for my IL registered Single-Owner/Member LLC (a disregarded entity).  One purpose was to protect my personal SSN and associate myself to, but legally separate myself from personal liability/assets from the LLC business. But there were 2 additional key reasons below;

1) BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT - In IL (at least), I needed to apply for an IRS EIN for my LLC in order to open a "business" bank account. The LLC was issued the IRS EIN, which I was informed that EIN would be used to pay quarterly taxes. I still had the option to pull through any LLC distribution as income and report on my 1040.    

2) W9 REQUESTS - All internal W-9 (between the LLC and Client) is filed between the LLC and Client - The IRS W9 clearly states "Give Form to the requester. Do not send to the IRS. I know what the instructions say, but I was informed to use the LLC EIN because the Client pays invoices to the LLC, not me directly. 

Note: On Turbo Tax it is simple to associate the single owner LLC EIN with my personal income tax (which uses my SSN) 

"The LLC was issued the IRS EIN, which I was informed that EIN would be used to pay quarterly taxes."

Quarterly payroll taxes for your employees, yes. 

If you send quarterly estimated payments in for your personal 1040 with your EIN, they may not be credited to your personal account.

Thank you Lisa. So because I am filing my LLC business profit/loss via my 1040, how do I make estimated payments to IRS, by my personal SSN or the LLC EIN? 

Its my first experience with LLC, so the rules by State, Fed, Banking Account Rules, and IRS Quarterly taxes seems to have less clarity and poor alignment with the rules.

- Do I pay my quarterly IRS Taxes via my personal SSN since I will be filing taxes with 1040?

- I welcome any comments to help -- confusing because;

A) in Illinois, my LLC needed a FED issued EIN in order to open a business bank account.

B) Clients pay my LLC business / account  (which required LLC to have FED EIN).

C) At year end there would be a distribution from the LLC to myself (as taxable income). Which I will merge the LLC income within my 1040 filing.

Why wouldn't I be able to incorporate payments made to my Single owner LLC EIN (since it is categorized in terms of taxes, as a sole proprietorship in terms of taxes?   I definitely want to make this right, and tie the quarterly taxes back to me, which I thought was accomplished since I am tied to the LLC EIN (name, business, SSN)

Thank you again. perhaps I need to reach out to tax attorney or tax accountant again?

Regards,

Bob 

For the W-9, you may use your EIN. Since this is given to private, non-secure sources, I would highly recommend using the company EIN rather than your Social Security Number. Additionally, your business is in dealings with the payer, not you personally.

Estimated Taxes paid are reported on your personal Form 1040, not on schedule C. The estimates go towards your personal tax liability, not just your tax liability based on your business income. For all these reasons, your estimated tax payments should be paid attributed to your personal social security number.