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Required Ordering Information
As of February, 2003, SRI Domestic Customers are required to submit their Tax Identification (TIN) number. Please see the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for information.
What is a TIN/EIN?
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and Employer Identification Number (EIN) are defined as a nine-digit number that the IRS assigns to organizations. The IRS uses the number to identify taxpayers who are required to file various business tax returns. TIN/EIN are used by employers, sole proprietors, corporations, partnerships, nonprofit associations, trusts, estates of decedents, government agencies, certain individuals, and other business entities.
I am confused, are TIN/EIN the same thing?
A Federal Tax Identification Number, also known as a "95 Number", "E.I.N. Number," or "Tax I.D. Number", all refer to the nine digit number issued by the IRS. They are different names for the same number.
Why do you need our TIN/EIN number?
NIST is implementing a new financial management system and will be consolidating customer records from many different sources. In an effort to keep the central database manageable we are trying to limit the number of duplicate entries in our customer database. TIN/EIN will serve as a way to uniquely identify a business entity when the precise name of a business entity is unknown or when it is difficult to distinguish it from other businesses with similar names.
Our company is exempt from taxes on purchases; can you accept our tax exemption certificate/number?
No, we are not using the number for tax purposes and the tax exemption number will not provide us with the necessary information to determine if you are an existing customer in our database.
Our company is exempt from taxes on purchases; therefore you should not need my TIN/EIN number.
Our request has nothing to do with tax status. Our main goal in obtaining and storing TIN/EIN information is to make our NIST centralized customer database as efficient as possible.
We are tax exempt; if we provide our TIN/EIN will you be assessing tax on our purchases?
No
I do not know what my TIN/EIN Number is, how do I find out?
Check with your finance office, company secretary, or CFO.
I do not have a TIN/EIN number.
Are you sure? TIN/EIN numbers are used by domestic employers, sole proprietors, corporations, partnerships, nonprofit associations, trusts, estates of decedents, government agencies, certain individuals and other business entities. If your company falls into one of these categories you should have a TIN/EIN number.
I only placed one SRI order and I don't anticipate ordering anything else. Do you still need my TIN/EIN number?
Yes. NIST labs will be sharing the centralized customer file. Consequently, if you or another representative from your company utilize any of NIST's other programs this will ease the process for those orders as well.
Will I have to provide this information every time I place an order?
No
Who will have access to this information?
This data will be stored in our financial management system as sensitive information. It will be maintained by a central resource. Our labs will be able to query on TIN number but will not be able to pull up a list of all TIN numbers in our database.
How do I provide this number?
We can provide a formal request letter and W9 form to you if you would like. We would also be happy to record your information over the phone.