Employer Identification Number (EIN) & Banking

Information on EIN (An Employer Identification Number)

If your assembly is established, and you are a new Treasurer, check with the Office of the Treasurer to determine that your Local Spiritual Assembly has an Employee Identification Number (EIN) and all documents are in order.

  • An employer identification number (EIN), also called a Federal tax ID number, is used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to identify businesses with respect to their tax obligations, or in our case, our exemption from tax obligation.

  • For some communities a new Bahá’í Location Code (BLC) may have been assigned to localities impacted by boundary changes and a new EIN may be necessary, can be applied for under the authority of a newly elected Assembly Treasurer at/after Ridván. For other communities just starting out as a new Registered Group, an EIN can be applied for at any time. In both cases, the EIN is necessary to conduct business, open a bank account, work with vendors, and more.

  • Following its incorporation, the National Spiritual Assembly was assigned a unique EIN – Employer Identification Number which confirmed its recognition as a non-profit religious organization exempt from filing federal income tax as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

    This exemption also applies to every Local Spiritual Assembly under Group Exemption Number 9508 as subordinates of the National Spiritual Assembly.

    Each newly formed Local Spiritual Assembly is required to apply for an EIN online.

    Once the EIN is assigned by the IRS, it should be reported to the Office of the Treasurer to be entered into its database.

    Please report your number to the National Spiritual Assembly at finance@usbnc.org or by calling 847-733-3472.

  • You may apply for a new EIN online to get an instant IRS EIN/Federal Tax ID number and confirming letter. The standard EIN name format for a Local Spiritual Assembly is “Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of (community name)”; the state is not included in the name; for Registered Groups, the format is “Baha’is of (community name)”.

    For online application use this link: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self- employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online.

    You may also request an EIN using Form SS-4 for submission through the mail using this link: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf

    If you use form SS-4, be sure to put code 9508 in line 9a, which asks for Group Exemption Number (GEN). GEN 9508 identifies your Assembly as a subordinate entity of the National Spiritual Assembly as required by law for all 501(c) (3) organization.

  • Read the Instructions—there is a 15 minute time limitation for completing the application. This will get you started:

    -Begin Application;

    -View Additional Types;

    -Church Controlled Organization;

    -Banking Purposes;

    -Individual—add name and Social Security Number of current Treasurer;

    -Duly Authorized Member; [and so on through submission].

    Your EIN is assigned immediately and the IRS-letter-headed official document will be mailed/emailed to you. Keep this record safe and available for future reference.

    Upon notification of your EIN by the Internal Revenue Service, please report your number to the National Spiritual Assembly at finance@usbnc.org or by calling 847-733-3472.

Banking Information for local Baha’i Communities

  • Make sure that there is a functioning checking bank account for your Local Spiritual Assembly. If there isn’t one then urgently open one.

    • Typically, the Treasurer is one of the official check signers on the Assembly’s bank account.

    • Usually this requires a trip to the bank by the new signers accompanied by the old check signers.

    • There should be at least 2 people authorized to sign on all accounts.

    There are new banking government rules for all business organizations such as ours called “Know Your Customer” rules. These apply to all account holders regardless of their extended history with the bank.

    Most banks are now requiring that to make any change to an account, one must produce: a copy of the official IRS letter generated after an online application to apply for an Employer ID Number (EIN) that should be kept in your files; a Letter of Affirmation which shows an association between the community and the National Assembly; this is available on request from the Treasurer’s Office; and 501(c)(3) Letters –Tax Exempt Affidavit and Group Exemption Letter for the National Spiritual Assembly. The Office of the Treasurer can provide any documents your local bank requires to open a non-profit checking account, except for the IRS EIN letter. Note that IRS documents for the National Spiritual Assembly can be obtained under downloadable documents.

    Additional Information

    • The February 21, 2018 IRS letter confirms the Group 501(C)(3) non-profit status of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í’s of the United States which provides that all Spiritual Assemblies and Registered Groups are a party to this Group and as such, are exempt from sales taxes and are afforded the non-profit station.

    • The IRS letter of February 23, 2018 confirms the tax exempt status determination date of May 1995 for the National Spiritual Assembly.

  • With the EIN letter in hand, a new bank account can be opened. All account signers should be present when opening your new account.

    Bring with you supporting documents provided by the Office of the Treasurer.

    There should be at least 2 people authorized to sign on all accounts.

    When you open your checking account, order checks which have the name of your community’s Local Fund printed on them. If, for example, you live in Bountiful, Utah, your checks should show “Baha’is of Bountiful” or “Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Bountiful” if the wording can fit. Most important is the • To make the best arrangement for your Assembly, you should compare the services offered by several banks. Many provide free checking to religious organizations.

  • Localities with bank accounts that are linked through the Online Contribution System MUST notify the National Treasurer’s Office prior to closing or making changes.

    Steps for changing locality bank account.

    1. Inform the Office of Treasurer before closing/changing your bank.

    2. Complete the “change bank account” form that will be provided by the Office of Treasurer

    3. Upon receipt of this form OCS will update the status of bank account.

    Application to change account number for locality can be found below or under Downloadable documents.

    Side Note: Registered Group will not be able to enroll their locality through Online Contribution System.

    Download

  • The decision as to using transaction apps may best be reached through consultation by your Assembly which is most familiar with the characteristics and needs of your community. However, we are happy to share that we have found that Paypal, Venmo and Zelle, which are currently well-established apps, are fairly reliable. You may have seen in the most recent update of the Online Contribution System (OCS) that the Friends may now use Paypal to make their contributions to the various funds of the Faith. We are also looking into additional similar services that would be beneficial for the Friends for future updates.