I applied for an EIN over the phone, and it happened in five minutes ! I must admit, it wasnt quite that simple. I researched the many blogs available, and this one from Roz (thank you) that I have re-blogged is very informative. I also studied the information available on Amazon and at first considered applying for a ITIN. Realizing that I am truly self-employed in my own right I saw the option of an EIN to be much more attractive. A phone call to IRS at midnight and it was all done. The W-8BEN still needs to be completed once the EIN is granted. Simply download the form, fill it out and post it. As Roz has pointed out a few things MUST be adhered to or certain rejection will follow. Blue pen, and carefully read the instructions on each section. Comply with all directives on the forms to the letter, and DON'T abbreviate! (Why is abbreviate such a long word?). An old one liner that circulates the emails and social networking sites, but I couldn't resist using the old pun just once! The five-minute phone call to the IRS wasn't actually so simple. The phone bill hasn't been received yet, and the issuing of the EIN took three phone calls! The first call we were almost at the end of the questionnaire, when the very slow speaking customer service operator advised me that his computer crashed. Several minutes later he finally came back to me (the on - hold music was truly lovely). The gentleman from the IRS told me I needed to call back as he could no longer help me... I promptly dialed back within one minute, this time a nice lady told me to call back in two to three hours! it was 10 pm and I needed to leave home by six a.m.! I took down her customer service number at the start of the call and her name for reference. Two hours later I thought I would try again. This time the same female operator answered but oddly gave me a different customer service number! I laughed to myself but said nothing. Amazingly, this time everything went smoothly and the call lastly a measly five minutes! I did actually write down the man's ID number as well, and the lady customer service operator with two different ID numbers... I won't write them down here, but it is a true story! (She had the same name and accent)! Wishing you all the best in your writing adventures. Here is a quick update on my work, I have started drafting a concept plan for my first full length fiction work, hopefully I will release it sometime early next year. I can tell you it is uniquely Aussie, with a sci-fi romantic twist... James K Slater.