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Content Enable editor Use plain text Code entry <p>You said:<br />A business is asking for my taxpayer identification number. Should I give them my social security number or my new EIN?<br />ChatGPT said:<br />Give them the EIN. Full stop.</p> <p>Here’s the blunt breakdown:</p> <p>1. If you formed an LLC (even a single-member LLC), the EIN exists for exactly this purpose.<br />It’s the business’s tax identity. Use it.</p> <p>2. Handing out your SSN is playing security roulette.<br />Especially with small businesses that treat data security like an afterthought. There’s zero upside to exposing your personal SSN when your business has its own federal ID.</p> <p>3. The IRS doesn’t care whether you use SSN or EIN for a single-member LLC — both are technically allowed —<br />…but the smart move is to put a wall between you and your business. Using the EIN is how you build that wall.</p> <p>4. Your W-9 should list:</p> <p>Name: Your legal name</p> <p>Business name (if different): Paperless Ponte Vedra LLC</p> <p>Tax classification: “Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC”</p> <p>TIN: Your EIN, not your SSN</p> <p>This keeps payments, 1099s, and data leaks tied to the LLC, not your personal identity.</p> <p>If you want, I can fill out a perfect W-9 for you (with your info pre-formatted) so you know exactly how it should look.</p> <p> </p>

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