Yeah so I feel pretty dumb. I was setting up my LLC and googled "get EIN" and clicked one of those services. Paid like $75. Then later I found out you just go to irs.gov and it's free. Has anyone else done this? I'm not even sure what I paid for honestly, they just sent me the same letter I could've gotten myself.
EIN
I paid for EIN assistance before discovering the IRS website
You're not the first. Those sites are designed to look official.
Honestly the IRS site is confusing enough that I almost did the same thing. The free option is there but they bury it a little. Not your fault.
Wait, $75? I paid $250 for "expedited processing" because I was in a panic. The EIN showed up in the mail like 2 weeks later. Same letter. So yeah, you're doing better than me.
Is there any way to get that that money back or is it just gone?
Probably gone unless you dispute the charge, but they technically provided a service so it's murky. Some people have had luck with chargebacks if the site implied they were the IRS. Worth looking at the wording they used.
My accountant told me those third-party sites are a huge pet peeve of hers. She said the only thing you ever need to pay a third party for is maybe a registered agent if you need one. Everything else with the IRS is free.
lol @ $250. Not laughing at you, laughing at how these sites prey on panic.
I know. I know. I was in a rush because a client needed the EIN before I could invoice. Lesson learned. Now I tell everyone to just use the IRS site.
This thread is making me feel better about my own mistakes at laest.
One thing worth checking: if they used your info to apply on the IRS site for you, that's legit-ish. But if they sent you some "official" document that looKs like a certificate and it's not the actual IRS notice, you might want to verify the EIN actually exists. You can call the IRS to confirm.
I did end up calling the IRS to confirm and the number is real at least. So they did actually file it, they just charged me for something I could've done in 10 Minutes.