Do not call the IRS and yell, “I lost my EIN! This is a federal emergency!” They will laugh—silently, in their heads. Also, don’t post your EIN on Facebook asking friends to help you find it. That’s like posting your credit card number to find out who stole it. Identity thieves love this one weird trick.
And for the love of spreadsheets, don’t confuse your EIN with your Social Security number. One tells the government about your business; the other tells them about your secret cat-collecting hobby. Mix them up, and you’ll spend six months on hold explaining to a robot named “Morris” why your cat doesn’t have a W-2.
