How do I get an EIN for a foreign-formed entity by phone?

Dial +1 (267) 941-1099 between 6 AM and 11 PM Eastern, Monday through Friday. Complete Form SS-4 in full before the call, because the agent reads through every line with you and will not let you fill it in during the call. You need the responsible party's SSN or ITIN, foreign business address, principal activity, NAICS code, and accounting year. The call typically runs 20 to 40 minutes and the EIN is issued at the end. Have a fax number ready for the confirmation letter, which arrives within 24 hours.

Can the IRS business agent give me tax advice on Form 5471 or treaty positions?

No, IRS business-line agents cannot give legal advice on treaty positions, FDII, GILTI, subpart F, or Form 5471 reporting categories. Those require a CPA, enrolled agent, or international tax attorney. The agent can read your business account, confirm a return was received, explain a specific notice, accept entity-election status questions, and process the election you decide on. For complex Form 5471 questions the call generates an escalation to an international examiner who calls back within 30 days. The phone call is often the trigger, not the resolution.

What is the best time to call the IRS business line from Europe or Asia?

Call at 7 AM Eastern, right after the line opens. That converts to noon London, 1 PM Berlin or Paris, 5:30 PM Mumbai, 8 PM Singapore, and 9 PM Tokyo. The EIN line at +1 (267) 941-1099 runs until 11 PM ET, which gives Tokyo callers until 1 PM local. Wednesday and Thursday have the shortest queues. Avoid Monday, when call volume runs about 47% higher than the weekly average. January through April is peak for business lines because of Form 941 quarterly deadlines and Form 1120 due dates.

Does the IRS have a callback option for international callers?

The IRS does not offer scheduled callbacks for international callers, but complex cases generate a service-request escalation that routes to a back-office team. That team responds by callback or written letter, typically within 30 days. The published callback program for domestic toll-free lines often requires a US-based callback number, which is a problem if you only have a foreign mobile. Practitioners with a CAF number can use the Practitioner Priority Service at +1 (866) 860-4259 for faster turnaround, but the same callback-number constraint applies.

Call the IRS for Business From Abroad: Every Number, Sorted by Form

Two phone numbers cover almost every reason a business calls the IRS from outside the US. For an EIN application for a foreign-formed entity, dial +1 (267) 941-1099, Monday through Friday, 6 AM to 11 PM Eastern. For every other business tax question — Form 941 payroll, Form 1120 corporate, Form 5471, entity elections, practitioner authorization — the IRS publishes 1-800-829-4933. That number is US-toll-free and either fails or bills at premium international rates from foreign carriers.

This guide sorts every IRS business line by form number, explains why the toll-free numbers don't work from abroad, calibrates the wait times, and shows how to reach the toll-free lines from any country for $0.04 a minute.

The Two IRS Business Lines That Actually Connect From Abroad

The IRS publishes one direct-dial international phone line for business callers: +1 (267) 941-1099, used exclusively for EIN-by-phone applications by foreign-formed entities. The agent walks through Form SS-4 line by line on the call and issues the EIN before you hang up. This is the only IRS business line a foreign carrier can reach directly without toll-free routing problems.

Line | Number | Hours (US Eastern)

International EIN-by-Phone (foreign entities, Form SS-4) | +1 (267) 941-1099 | Mon-Fri 6 AM - 11 PM

International Taxpayer Service (general; routes business account questions) | +1 (267) 941-1000 | Mon-Fri 6 AM - 11 PM

Business & Specialty Tax Line (US-toll-free; via WorldDialer from abroad) | 1-800-829-4933 | Mon-Fri 7 AM - 7 PM taxpayer local time

This article covers business tax: EIN issuance for foreign entities, payroll tax (Form 941, 940), corporate and S-corp returns (1120, 1120-S), entity elections (8832, 2553), Form 5471 questions for US shareholders of foreign corps, excise tax (Form 720), estate and gift account questions (706, 709), tax-exempt orgs (Form 990), and practitioner authorization. For individual income tax filing from abroad, that's a different audience — see the individual taxpayer IRS guide. For Foreign Bank Account Reports, see the FBAR phone number guide. Different desks, different numbers, different problems.

Why 1-800-829-4933 Fails From Abroad (and How to Make It Work Anyway)

The IRS-published business line, 1-800-829-4933, is US-toll-free, and US toll-free numbers don't connect reliably from outside the US. The IRS isn't doing anything wrong here. The architecture of US toll-free numbers is the problem.

US toll-free numbers (1-800, 1-888, 1-877, 1-866, 1-855, 1-844, 1-833) are funded by the called party paying a per-minute origination fee inside the US tariff. International origination sits outside that tariff. Most foreign carriers refuse to route the call. Some route it but bill you $1-3 a minute or more, depending on country. Italy carriers reliably block; some UK and EU carriers route at premium; Australian Telstra blocks outright.

The general international line, +1 (267) 941-1000, will route business account questions when the toll-free line fails, but business-specific topics (EIN status, Form 941 questions, entity-election issues) often route to a callback queue. WorldDialer routes 1-800-829-4933 from any country with internet at $0.04 a minute through its US infrastructure. Same agents on the other end as the US-domestic 4933 line. Same hours. Same authentication. Same system. If you want the deeper version of why US toll-free is broken internationally, see calling 1-800 numbers from abroad.

Which IRS Number for Which Form (EIN, 941, 1120, 5471, 8832, 720, 706, PPS)

Most IRS business questions route through one of three numbers: +1 (267) 941-1099 for foreign-entity EINs, 1-800-829-4933 for general business tax topics, and +1 (866) 860-4259 for tax practitioners with a CAF or PTIN. The rest of the business-line map is a handful of specialty numbers for excise, estate, and tax-exempt-org work.

If you're calling about... | Dial | Hours / Notes

EIN application (foreign-formed entity, Form SS-4) | +1 (267) 941-1099 | Mon-Fri 6 AM - 11 PM ET. Complete SS-4 fully before calling. Agent walks line by line, EIN issued at end of call.

EIN replacement or EIN status check (existing US entity) | 1-800-829-4933 | Mon-Fri 7 AM - 7 PM local. Via WorldDialer from abroad.

Form 941 / 940 (payroll tax) | 1-800-829-4933 | Same.

Form 1120 / 1120-S (corporate / S-corp return status) | 1-800-829-4933 | Same.

Form 5471 (US shareholder of foreign corp) | 1-800-829-4933 | Same. Complex cases escalate to international examiner callback within 30 days.

Form 8832 (entity classification election) | 1-800-829-4933 | Same.

Form 2553 (S-corp election) | 1-800-829-4933 | Same.

Form 720 (excise tax — fuel, telecom, indoor tanning, etc.) | +1 (866) 699-4096 | Mon-Fri 6 AM - 6 PM ET. Toll-free; route via WorldDialer.

Form 706 / 709 (estate / gift — account questions, not legal) | +1 (866) 699-4083 | Mon-Fri 10 AM - 2 PM ET only — narrow 4-hour daily window.

Form 990 (tax-exempt orgs) | +1 (877) 829-5500 | Mon-Fri 8 AM - 5 PM local.

Practitioner authorization (Form 2848 / 8821, CPA/EA with CAF or PTIN) | +1 (866) 860-4259 | Mon-Fri 7 AM - 7 PM local. PPS toll-free.

Backup withholding / Form 1099 series | 1-800-829-4933 | Mon-Fri 7 AM - 7 PM local.

The pattern: most business tax topics route through 1-800-829-4933. The exceptions are EIN-international (267-941-1099), excise (866-699-4096), estate/gift (866-699-4083 — note the 4-hour window), exempt orgs (877-829-5500), and practitioner authorization (866-860-4259). Every line except 267-941-1099 is US-toll-free.

Hours, Hold Times, and the Best Window to Call

Call +1 (267) 941-1099 direct, or route 1-800-829-4933 through WorldDialer, at 7-9 AM Eastern for the shortest hold — typically 5-15 minutes off-peak, 20-45 minutes during peak (January-February for Q4 Form 941 filers, March-April for Form 1120 filers).

The IRS FY 2024 Filing Season Report shows level-of-service on the toll-free assistor lines at 87.6%, with an average hold of roughly 3 minutes — a substantial recovery from the FY 2022 pandemic-era collapse when hold times averaged 28 minutes. Phone access is genuinely better than it was. It's still slow during peak.

EIN-by-phone (267-941-1099) is procedurally heavier than a general business call. The agent reads through every line of Form SS-4 — responsible-party name, foreign address, reason for applying, principal activity, NAICS code, accounting year. Plan on a 20-40 minute call once you reach the agent.

Best window: 7-9 AM ET, right after open. Best days: Wednesday and Thursday. Worst day: Monday — call volume runs roughly 47% higher than the weekly average, especially the Tuesday after a federal holiday. Worst months for business lines: January and February (Form 941 Q4 deadline January 31, Form 1099 series due January 31), March and April (Form 1120, S-corp).

The international line gets the same routing logic. There's no separate hold queue for foreign-based business callers.

What IRS Business Agents Can and Can't Do on the Phone

IRS business-line agents can issue EINs, read your business account, explain notices, accept entity-election status questions, set up payment plans within parameters, and request transcripts mailed to the address of record. They can't give tax-law advice, interpret tax treaties, or assess audit risk.

What an agent will do:

Issue an EIN at the end of an international call to 267-941-1099
Read your business account: balance, payments applied, return-receipt status, deposit history
Explain a specific notice or letter (CP-series for business, LT-series, CP2000-equivalent matching notices)
Accept Form 8832, 2553, or 706 status questions (was it received, was it processed)
Set up an installment agreement for business tax debt within IRS-published parameters
Request mailed transcripts to the address of record (5-10 business days)

What an agent won't do:

Give legal advice on treaty positions, FDII, GILTI, subpart F, or Form 5471 reporting categories — that's a CPA, enrolled agent, or international tax attorney
Tell you whether a streamlined filing or voluntary disclosure procedure fits your situation
Predict whether an audit will go your way
Override a prior IRS examiner's decision
Tell you which entity election is "best" for your tax situation — they'll process the election you decide on; the decision is yours and your CPA's

If your question requires research, the agent issues a service-request escalation and the case routes to a back-office team for callback or written response within 30 days. The phone call is often the trigger, not the resolution.

Before You Call — Documents and the EIN-Application Prep

Have your EIN (if you have one), business legal name as filed, business address on file with the IRS, the specific notice or letter number, and your most recent business tax return ready before you dial. Authentication eats the first 5-8 minutes of every call.

For EIN-by-phone (267-941-1099):

Form SS-4 completed in full — responsible-party name (must have an SSN, ITIN, or be applying for one), foreign business address, reason for applying, principal activity, NAICS code, accounting year. The agent will not let you fill it in on the call.
Fax number ready (the EIN confirmation letter can fax within 24 hours)

For any business call to 1-800-829-4933:

EIN, business legal name as filed, address on file
Notice or letter number (top-right of the notice)
Copy of most recent filed return with all schedules
Any prior IRS reference number from earlier calls

For practitioner calls (866-860-4259):

CAF number or PTIN
Form 2848 (Power of Attorney) already on file with the IRS, or ready to fax during the call

Pen and paper: Write down the agent's ID number at the start of the call. If the call drops, this is what gets you back to the same case file without re-authenticating from scratch.

Calling From Outside the US — The Mechanics and the Cost Math

From outside the US, dial +1 (267) 941-1099 direct for EIN, or route 1-800-829-4933 through WorldDialer for any other business tax topic. Both connect to the same agents the US-domestic callers reach.

The 267 prefix is a regular Philadelphia area code, billable by every international carrier the same way any US landline is billable. Foreign carriers typically charge $0.30-$3 a minute to call US numbers directly. The toll-free 4933 line is the routing problem — direct international dial fails on most carriers; WorldDialer bridges that gap at $0.04 a minute by routing through US infrastructure.

Hours for 267-941-1099 and 267-941-1000 are US Eastern. Hours for the toll-free business lines (4933, 866-860-4259, 866-699-4096, 877-829-5500) are taxpayer local time, which means callers via WorldDialer route as ET. During US daylight saving (mid-March through early November), shift these local times one hour earlier.

A handful of conversions for the 7 AM ET sweet spot:

London (GMT/BST): 12 PM — lunchtime, ideal
Berlin / Paris (CET/CEST): 1 PM — early afternoon
Dubai (GST): 4 PM — late afternoon (no DST)
Mumbai (IST): 5:30 PM — evening, workable (no DST)
Singapore / Hong Kong (SGT/HKT): 8 PM — late evening (no DST)
Tokyo (JST): 9 PM — late but the EIN line runs until 11 PM ET (1 PM Tokyo)
Sydney (AEDT): 11 PM — call 1 PM Tuesday local for 9 PM Monday ET instead
Mexico City (CST MX): 6 AM — Mexico abolished DST 2022, no shift

Cost depends on routing:

Routing | Per-Minute Cost | 30-Minute EIN Call

US mobile carrier roaming abroad | $2-4/min | $60-120

Local foreign mobile carrier (international dial to +1) | $0.30-$1+/min | $9-30+

WorldDialer (browser) | $0.04/min | $1.20

A 30-minute EIN call costs $60-120 on US mobile roaming. The same call on WorldDialer costs $1.20. If you're a US-based business with US-based payroll calling from inside the US, you don't need WorldDialer — dial 800-829-4933 from your US line. WorldDialer's wedge is the international-callable problem: bridging the toll-free wall for founders, CFOs, and CPAs working from outside the US. It's one option among several for calling US government agencies from abroad.

Make the Call

You have the form-router, the hours, the prep list, and a realistic picture of the queue. Time to dial.

For an EIN, dial +1 (267) 941-1099 direct, Monday through Friday, 6 AM to 11 PM Eastern. For everything else — Form 941, 1120, 5471, 8832, practitioner authorization — route 1-800-829-4933 through WorldDialer.

WorldDialer routes both calls from anywhere for $0.04 a minute. Browser-based, no app to install, no subscription required.

We'll be here when the line you actually need is the +1 line.

→ Try WorldDialer

---