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Stealth EB question - business
 

I've seen and read many topics on this; but I want to make sure that my understanding is correct.

Goal: stealth EB + business PP

1) Sell on a stealth account EB/PP

2) Wait until PP requests Tax ID, meanwhile sell daily and yet slowly (~150 sales)

3) Get EIN, and upgrade PP to business; by entering last 4 digits of EIN to PP's SSN and then entering full EIN once you upgrade; making sure that your business name matches the one that you enter on PP?

4) Enjoy ;)


I have a few questions about this; why should we wait until PP requests tax id? Is my interpretation of step #3 correct?


Thanks!

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

You've got it all right.

People suggest waiting for the upgrade so you can see if your account is going to do well before you add an EIN. I upgraded too early once and the eBay account died the next week.

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

How long should you wait to be sure that EB is good to go?

And how long after getting EIN should you add it to PP? 2 weeks?

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

I always add it when I upgrade to business account. I usually make sure both eb & pp are set up as business accounts right away.

Only time ive ever had a problem if I sell too much too fast no matter personal or business account.

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

^

How can you do it in the same day if people say that it takes 3-4 weeks for IRS to update its records?

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

Maybe they have changed recently? Or other people full of poop!

not sure its just the method that works for me

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

I've heard that myth several times here on the forum, but it's simply not true. Every time I've upgraded a Paypal account to business I did it a few hours (at the most) after getting the EIN from the IRS. The EIN and business name are checked for validity when 1099K's are sent out, at which point the 1099K is either accepted by the IRS or rejected for having an invalid business name and/or EIN. I've read several stories on here about people who gave a totally random/made up EIN/business name and were able to keep selling until their 1099K was rejected by the IRS.

What I do is upgrade the account after the 2nd email from Paypal requesting tax information, and I try to time it so that email comes about 3 months into the life of the account. If an eBay or Paypal account is going to be hit with a random ID or invoice request it usually happens in the first couple of months.

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

Thanks for helpful info, phaz.

My accounts are 5 months ago at this time, with about 1.5 month of selling history.

My question is this; is there a difference between EIN that was obtained via providing your own SSN and EIN that was made via LLC?

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

The EIN is valid and active at the time of issue, no need to wait.

As phaz says, no point to add it until they request it.

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

Yup, I see that now.

But i am confused as to; is there a difference between EIN that was obtained via SSN and EIN that was obtained via LLC?

Which one is more "stealthy"?

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

If you mean the difference between an EIN obtained as a sole

proprietor/individual or as an LLC, both require a SSN and are equally safe to

use w/ stealth. PayPal is only able to confirm that the EIN and business name

are valid.

Re: Stealth EB question - business
 

I use single member LLC's. If I remember correctly, even then I have to give my SSN as the single member of the LLC. So there's nothing stealthy about it either way.

The benefit of using single member LLC instead of sole proprietor EIN's is that you're able to get more than one LLC EIN.