Legal Question in Business Law in New Jersey

I am interested in obtaining an EIN for banking purposes only for an upcoming class reunion. My question is about the type of entity to use. The only two options that seem possible on the IRS SS-4 form are "Non profit organization" or "Other"..but I'm not sure what this event would be classified as. One person at the IRS that I spoke with was unsure, and the other told me to select "Other" and specify the entity as "Class Reunion".

However, I've also seen other articles and websites that said to open the EIN as a non-profit. We are just concerned about the tax implications of using the EIN as a non-profit and about any additional paperwork that may need to be filed (i.e. tax exemption, 501c3). Can you please advise on what we should do here? We'd like to know the correct and simplest way to handle this since the bank account will only be for incoming money from ticket sales and payments to our vendors (i.e. banquet hall etc). Please Help!


Asked on 7/15/14, 6:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Corbett Corbett Law Firm LLC

Events don't get EINs; entities do. The IRS will not object to your use of "Non profit organization" to obtain an EIN for banking purposes but the bank will not open an account based on an EIN alone. To accomplish your purpose, you must have an actual entity that agrees in name with the bank account and with the name on the SS-4. Probably the easiest way to accomplish this is to form an unincorporated association and register the name with the County Clerk in the county in which the entity is to be situate. 501c3 does not apply to your entity. It is for that subset of not-for-profit entities that are formed for charitable purposes and seek to have contributions exempted from the income of their contributors. If I can be of further help to you, call or email.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

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Answered on 7/15/14, 8:37 pm


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