# Switching to an EIN



## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Has anyone attempted to transfer their Uber account to an EIN from their SS#? I doubt it but figured I would ask anyway.

I want to set up an Individual 401(k) account to shelter my taxable income from taxes until I retire. I planned on doing a SEP IRA however I can only put in a percentage of taxable profits. With an Individual 401(k) I can put 100% of my profits into the retirement account however as I am filling out the paperwork to set it up I see it requires a EIN not a SS#. Hate road blocks like this. A little more research is needed now. Perhaps I can continue getting paid by Uber under my SS# and still set up and fund the 401(k) with my EIN number.


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

FLKeys said:


> Has anyone attempted to transfer their Uber account to an EIN from their SS#? I doubt it but figured I would ask anyway.
> 
> I want to set up an Individual 401(k) account to shelter my taxable income from taxes until I retire. I planned on doing a SEP IRA however I can only put in a percentage of taxable profits. With an Individual 401(k) I can put 100% of my profits into the retirement account however as I am filling out the paperwork to set it up I see it requires a EIN not a SS#. Hate road blocks like this. A little more research is needed now. Perhaps I can continue getting paid by Uber under my SS# and still set up and fund the 401(k) with my EIN number.


401K's (including solo 401K) are capped at $19,000 for 2019. Getting an EIN # is very easy and free, you can do it online here: https://sa.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp. Changing from SS to EIN with Uber shouldn't be a problem. I think you can do it online. Your deposits from Uber will have to go into a bank account with the new EIN # from that point on so you'll need a bank account in the name of the business. You'll have some setup expenses with the 401K also.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Upon further investigation it looks like the EIN is only for the Solo 401k retirement trust and not my income so no changes needed to payment from Uber and Lyft.

I found a website that walks you through step by step for obtaining an EIN for Solo 401K's

Vanguard who I plan on using does not charge a set up fee and has a self fill in packet to make setting everything up easy. They do charge an annual fee of $20 for each fund you are invested in. Fees are waved after a certain account balance.

Doing rideshare part time the $19,000 individual limit or $25,000 limit for being over age 50 is plenty for me to shelter all my rideshare taxable income. However contributions can go as high as $56,000 including the employer portion of up to 25% of business taxable income.

The Solo 401k needs to be set up prior to December 31st of the year you plan on making contributions to it for. So that means I can not shelter my profits from last year. Going forward starting in 2019 I plan on placing all my taxable profits into the Solo 401k that I am working on setting up.

When I am done, I have until Dec 31, 2019, I will try and write up what all was involved for anyone interested. I'm sure I can't be the only driver out there making a profit and wanting to put money away for retirement.

My next research will be if I can also put some of my W-2 job earnings (tax free) into this account since I do not have a retirement plan at my current job.


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## UberTaxPro (Oct 3, 2014)

FLKeys said:


> Upon further investigation it looks like the EIN is only for the Solo 401k retirement trust and not my income so no changes needed to payment from Uber and Lyft.
> 
> I found a website that walks you through step by step for obtaining an EIN for Solo 401K's
> 
> ...


Contributions are limited to your net S/E income so you won't be able put your w-2 money into there. If you're going to be maxing out or close to maxing out this solo 401k look into using a Roth IRA for your W-2 earnings.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

I found the same answer last night. Already have a Roth IRA that because I am doing rideshare I can finally max out contributions this year.


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## UberLAguy (Aug 2, 2015)

I am going to do ridesharing full time and i am interested in this. But i don't quite fully understand this.


Why should you need an EIN again ?

Is it possible for you to put money in a tax- deferred fund where you can trade stocks ?


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

I plan on putting all my taxable profits into a Solo 401(k) account to offset taxes until retirement. Since I started this tread I have learned that I Don't need to change my Uber/Lyft accounts to an EIN, I just need to open a new account with an EIN and transfer my taxable profits into that account and fund my Solo 401(k) from that account.

A Solo 401(k) has the highest cap on putting money away tax free for a self employed person and as far as I know is the only account that needs an EIN.

I'm guessing if you look around hard enough you can find a Company that offers a tax differed account that lets you make individual stock investments.


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## UberLAguy (Aug 2, 2015)

Maybe Charles Schwab has something.

Anyway, I am going to do some reading on Solo 401K.

FLkeys, do you use an LLC or Corporation or just Sole Proprietorship?


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

I'm just going to stay as Sole Proprietorship for what I want to accomplish. Some of the Solo 401(k) plans are pretty pricey, the best price I have found is with Vanguard, especially since I plan on going with one of their Targeted Growth Funds.

Basically if you want to contribute to the Solo 401(k) for 2019 you need to set it up before December 31st, 2019 and you have until April 15, 2020 to fund it for 2019.


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## UberLAguy (Aug 2, 2015)

Approximately how much do you plan to put in your Solo 401K ? You said "all of your profits?" Is it about $25K ?


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## UberLAguy (Aug 2, 2015)

FLKeys,

I have just read that with SEP IRA you can contribute like $50K+ a year. How does that work ? Is it something complicated that I have to watch out for ?

Oh Never Mind, I think it's like 20% of total income. So it's better for people making $100K or more.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Yes the problem with the SEP IRA is it is a percentage of income. With the Solo 401(k) you also have limits but you have two limits, employer limit and employee limit. Since you are both you can combine those limits. Making it to me the best option. An added benefit is you can also contribute to an IRA up to those limits along with the Solo 41(k).


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## BobMarley (Feb 12, 2019)

Related question, if I setup an EIN for Uber, do I make quarterly payments to my EIN, but quarterly payments for my W-2 job go to my SSN still? I set my with holdings for federal to zero on ADP's system that we use. Only reason I did so is to make payment by credit card to get minimum spend bonuses (which would otherwise by difficult for me to do). I could do a business card to the EIN and personal to the SSN.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

BobMarley said:


> Related question, if I setup an EIN for Uber, do I make quarterly payments to my EIN, but quarterly payments for my W-2 job go to my SSN still? I set my with holdings for federal to zero on ADP's system that we use. Only reason I did so is to make payment by credit card to get minimum spend bonuses (which would otherwise by difficult for me to do). I could do a business card to the EIN and personal to the SSN.


No idea. When you file taxes at the end of the year are you filing one personal return and one business return or are they combined into 1 tax return filed?


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

Just use the simplified tax form and you won't have a problem.












UberLAguy said:


> Is it possible for you to put money in a tax- deferred fund where you can trade stocks ?


Not an expert, but it seems anything is possible.

https://www.tdameritrade.com/retirement-planning/retirement-suite.page
I'm sure there are probably a fair amount of options out there, but fees can be an issue.


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## BobMarley (Feb 12, 2019)

FLKeys said:


> No idea. When you file taxes at the end of the year are you filing one personal return and one business return or are they combined into 1 tax return filed?


No idea, I did my first Uber ride in early April, so I'm new to filing my own taxes. Havent even done an estimated one yet.


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## WAHN (May 6, 2019)

BobMarley said:


> Related question, if I setup an EIN for Uber, do I make quarterly payments to my EIN, but quarterly payments for my W-2 job go to my SSN still? I set my with holdings for federal to zero on ADP's system that we use. Only reason I did so is to make payment by credit card to get minimum spend bonuses (which would otherwise by difficult for me to do). I could do a business card to the EIN and personal to the SSN.


Your regular job pays taxes for you as you go. You don't file estimated taxes with a regular job.

When official tax time comes next year, you would just use Schedule C with your personal return.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3...can-i-file-a-schedule-c-on-my-personal-return


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

BobMarley said:


> No idea, I did my first Uber ride in early April, so I'm new to filing my own taxes. Havent even done an estimated one yet.


Why did you apply for a EIN?


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## BobMarley (Feb 12, 2019)

FLKeys said:


> Why did you apply for a EIN?


I've heard it makes it easier to be approved for a business credit card. Chase has some with really awesome rewards, as does Capital One.


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