How to Find a Taxpayer Identification Number of a Trust

If you receive more than $600 per year from a trust, you are required to report the income from the trust on Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts. An exception to this rule is if your trust is a grantor trust, in which case you can report the income on your 1040. A grantor trust is generally set up to distribute a deceased person's estate. Either way, income you receive from trusts is generally taxable and in order for you to properly report the item on your taxes, you need your trust's Employer Identification Number (EIN).

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  Find the notice that the IRS sent to you with your EIN. The notice may be on your computer; if you filed for the EIN online, you would have received a PDF with your EIN number. If you filed by fax, phone, or mail, you would have received a paper copy of your EIN.

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  Call the bank where your trust is set up; you may have needed to supply the EIN when you set up the trust.

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  Call the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS's) Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933. The line is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. The IRS representative will ask you for identifying information and confirm that you are authorized to receive the EIN number. Authorized persons include, but are not limited to, the trustee of a trust, or an executor of an estate.