Me to ChatGPT: "I need you to help me fill out an SS-4 for a new business. Tell me what kind of information I need to pull together and what each field on the form means."
Its response:
Yes. The SS-4 is essentially the worksheet the IRS uses to create an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Even if you ultimately apply through the IRS's online EIN application—which the IRS recommends for eligible U.S. applicants—it's useful to work through the SS-4 first because the online application asks substantially the same questions. The current form is the December 2025 revision. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="0"}
## What to pull together first
For a typical new LLC or corporation, you'll want:
- Your **formation document**: Articles of Organization, Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Formation, etc.
- Exact **legal business name**, including LLC, Inc., Corp., etc.
- Any **DBA / trade name**
- **Mailing address**
- **Physical business address**, if different
- County and state of the principal business location
- Name of the **responsible party**—usually the person who ultimately owns or controls the business
- That person's **SSN or ITIN**
- Entity type: LLC, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.
- For an LLC, **number of owners/members**
- Intended **federal tax classification**: disregarded entity, partnership, C corporation, or S corporation
- State where the business was formed
- **Business start date**
- Intended **tax-year end**—often December for small businesses
- Number of employees you expect during the next 12 months
- Approximate date you'll first pay wages, if applicable
- A short description of the business's principal activity and the particular goods/services you'll provide
- Whether this exact entity has ever previously received an EIN
The trickiest items for most new businesses are **7 (responsible party), 9a (federal entity classification), 11 (start date), and 12 (tax year)**.
One privacy note: if we fill this out together here, don't give me your actual SSN. We can simply put `[SSN]` in our working version.
---
# Line by line
### 1 — Legal name of entity
Use the name **exactly as it appears on the document that created the entity**.
So if your state filing says:
**Acme Consulting LLC**
that's what goes here—not "Acme Consulting."
For a sole proprietorship, this is the owner's personal legal name; the business name goes on line 2. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="1"}
I don’t buy your reasoning. How will AI lower the costs of starting and operating a business?
Here is an example.
Me to ChatGPT: "I need you to help me fill out an SS-4 for a new business. Tell me what kind of information I need to pull together and what each field on the form means."
Its response:
Yes. The SS-4 is essentially the worksheet the IRS uses to create an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Even if you ultimately apply through the IRS's online EIN application—which the IRS recommends for eligible U.S. applicants—it's useful to work through the SS-4 first because the online application asks substantially the same questions. The current form is the December 2025 revision. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="0"}
## What to pull together first
For a typical new LLC or corporation, you'll want:
- Your **formation document**: Articles of Organization, Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Formation, etc.
- Exact **legal business name**, including LLC, Inc., Corp., etc.
- Any **DBA / trade name**
- **Mailing address**
- **Physical business address**, if different
- County and state of the principal business location
- Name of the **responsible party**—usually the person who ultimately owns or controls the business
- That person's **SSN or ITIN**
- Entity type: LLC, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.
- For an LLC, **number of owners/members**
- Intended **federal tax classification**: disregarded entity, partnership, C corporation, or S corporation
- State where the business was formed
- **Business start date**
- Intended **tax-year end**—often December for small businesses
- Number of employees you expect during the next 12 months
- Approximate date you'll first pay wages, if applicable
- A short description of the business's principal activity and the particular goods/services you'll provide
- Whether this exact entity has ever previously received an EIN
The trickiest items for most new businesses are **7 (responsible party), 9a (federal entity classification), 11 (start date), and 12 (tax year)**.
One privacy note: if we fill this out together here, don't give me your actual SSN. We can simply put `[SSN]` in our working version.
---
# Line by line
### 1 — Legal name of entity
Use the name **exactly as it appears on the document that created the entity**.
So if your state filing says:
**Acme Consulting LLC**
that's what goes here—not "Acme Consulting."
For a sole proprietorship, this is the owner's personal legal name; the business name goes on line 2. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="1"}
....
And it continues...
I guess. I’m a nonemployer and completed one of those forms, but for, say, a nonpaying client, I’d still require legal assistance.
Now if health insurance was provided separate from employment, I think more people would be willing to take the risk of starting a business.