Here is some good advice for opening an LLC and getting EINs.
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I already have an EIN as a sole proprietor so will it use the same EIN when creating the LLC?
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An EIN as a sole proprietor, is still YOU.
All business management is then YOU.
All debits are Yours.
All obligations are YOU.
All liability is YOU.
All lawsuits will be to YOU.
You don't want to be a 'YOU'.
You want to be a 'strawman'.
So open an LLC or LP, and that is your strawman.
ALWAYS get a fresh EIN for each entity you create.
NEVER co-mingle EINs or SSNs (or SINS or BINS - in Canada).
Each MUST be independent and unrelated.
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Single member is the easiest type to use because it's a passthrough entity
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Never mind about 'easy'.
A single member LLC is YOU.
No protection, full liability, full obligations, etc, see the above statements.
You MUST split the equitable title (Legal term), to remove liability.
You really need an LLC with at least 2 members.
One can be you, and the other can be an entity, such as a corporation, or a trust.
This is the ONLY way you will have liability protection between your personal assets and your business. Creditors can only go after the assets of the business. Nothing else.
Some states have no LLC reporting, and no renewal fees (Delaware, or Nevada come to mind!).
And guess what? - there are no assets!
Your LLC should always be 'insolvent'.
In other words, all your profits should be written off against all your expenses.
You should have more expenses than profit (on paper) always.
That is, all the cash and profits made, should be siphoned out of the LLC, using expenses. Reach Google on how to do this legally.
So there is never anything for unscrupulous people/companies (like Ebay) to steal.
Think like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Ebay, Tesla, etc.
They all have not paid a single cent in taxes.
All profits are siphoned off legally.
Also, one or more of the members (or as an entity) can be a Foreign member, residing in another country, ie. in a country that has no tax obligations what-so-ever.
This is not that hard to do, it is only paper, and a few hundred bucks.
For the LLC, you can be a 3% member, and the other member entity can be a 97% member.
So you are only taxed on the 3% profit in the US, and the other 97% member will be taxed on the 97% of the profit in the other country, that has no tax obligations.
Get it?
The LLC is still a flow thru.
But does not necessary have to flow thru to you.
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To be honest, I don't quite understand why you need two EIN numbers? As far as I know, the employer identification number is a unique number assigned by the IRS tax service for business identification for tax purposes.
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Never, Never, Never co-mingle tax numbers!!!
ALWAYS get a unique, fresh, virgin tax number for any business you start.
Tax numbers are free.
Forget about 'easy'. Think about 'smart'.
If you open 3 Amazon accounts, you should have 3 entities, with 3 EINs, with 3 bank accounts, even 3 accountants. Never co-mingle anything!
No given entity (in the public eye) should know about any other entities.
Also, note that you don't OWN the LLC.
You are a MEMBER of an LLC.
Technically, you should own NOTHING!
You should appear as a 'Pauper'.
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It's $300 to form an LLC in texas. I formed all 3 of my LLC's in my very early 20's so I'm sure you could do it on your own as well.
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You should not necessarily open an LLC in the place where you live, just because you live there (unless you have a brick and mortar store, which Ebay and Amazon are certainly not). A resident agent costs maybe $100 a year.
When you have to deal with people like, pushy people, unwanted associates, creditors, nosy suppliers, problem customers, and Ebay/Amazon support chumps asking for more information, it is always best to direct them to the 'head office' (your LLC in Denver), far away from where you live. It makes it much harder for them to damage you or your business.
Your LLC's that you create, should be disposable.
That is to say, every 5-6 years, you need to devolve them, and start with a unique, fresh, virgin company and EIN again.
Because if inquires come, it is nice to say "I'm just starting out...".
Set yourself up good from the get go, and prevent/block any possible problems at startup, that can now never happen in the future.
"Build the Dam now, before the water starts to flow".
If you are just making a few hundred bucks here and there, then this information is probably not for you. But if you are expecting to make $100K/yr or more, better do this stuff.
