When completing Form 110 for a Sole Propreitorship that is using an EIN do you complete the form with the sole propreitor's name in #3 and the business name in #4?

FinCEN Guidance on CTR for Sole Proprietorship

This guidance confuses some readers as it reflects two different ways to complete the CTR correctly for each vignette. It's a long story.

Yes. The individual's name goes in item 3 (that's his/her legal name), and, if he/she "does business as" (uses a fictitious business name), put that business name in item 4.

I do not recommend using the EIN in item 9, however, since its only purpose is to allow the proprietor to make payroll withholding tax deposits. The individual's identity is more tightly linked to his/her SSN, and that's what I would put in item 9 on the DOEP (Form 110).

Be careful when exempting a sole proprietor, however. You can't exempt his/her personal account activity, and you need to make sure the business qualifies. The recent loosening up of the exemption process did not change the qualifications for an exempt person except for the frequency of large currency transaction requirement and the "waiting period" for the exemption.

Thank you for your reply. I think that I should have put the sole propreitor's name in #3 and the name of the business in #4 put the sole propreitor's address (instead of the business address) and use the sole propreitor's SSN insteand of the EIN assigned to the business. I guess I need to file a amendment.

Thank you also for your reply. It makes it harder when we have to use the sole propritor's SSN when reviewing our reports for CTR filing.

You may find it helpful to attach the EIN to the business accounts and the SSN to the personal accounts in your case. Then set the EIN up on your system for administering the exemption. That will help you keep the business and personal transactions separate for CTR purposes. That's a different issue, I think, than the TIN to put on Form 110.

O.K. I am confused again. You stated that you would use the SSN of the sole propreitor. I was reading the instructions for Form 110 and it states the following:

Item 9--EIN or SSN Enter the EIN of the exempt person. If a sole propreitorship does not have an EIN, enter the social security number (SSN).

I posted my last reply before I saw your last reply.

OK. I did miss that little piece of instruction. If the form calls for the EIN, use it on the Form 110. My bad, as they say.

As for my suggestion on splitting up the business and personal accounts by using the EIN on the business accounts, I recognize that that advice runs counter to the suggestion that the IRS prefers that you use the SSN (and the SSN is certainly required for CIP compliance). However, the IRS does allow you to use the EIN for reporting purposes, and this is a place I recommend you do so if it's needed to make your aggregation process work.

Balance that, however, with the knowledge that you'll need to bundle business and personal accounts together if you're responding to a "legal" such as a tax levy or subpoena.

Banking, like life, ain't easy.

Thanks for your help. Do you think you can help with the other post that posted: Phase I Exemption question