Condominium and homeowner association board members and property managers are often asked for their association’s Federal Tax Identification Number.  Community associations in Ohio are not-for-profit corporations that are registered with the Ohio Secretary of State.  Just because an association is not-for-profit, however, does not mean that an association’s income is non-taxable; therefore, the association still may have to pay income taxes.  As a result, every association is assigned a Federal Tax ID Number, also known as an Employee Identification Number (EIN).  Similar to an individual’s social security number, a corporation’s Federal Tax ID Number is a unique number that government agencies and other institutions, such as banks, use to identify individual corporations.

When paying taxes, filling out mortgagee questionnaires, receiving payment from a bank on a delinquent account, or opening a bank account and/or certificate of deposit, associations are often asked to provide their Federal Tax ID Number, but many board members are unaware of the assigned number.  To obtain your  association’s Federal Tax ID Number, board members may either call the Internal Revenue Service’s Business & Specialty Tax Line at (800) 829-4933 or visit http://www.irs-ein-application.com.