Learn what business records and tax IDs you need to set up your Squarespace Payments account and avoid common verification mistakes.

When you sign up for Squarespace Payments, we may ask you to provide more information, like tax documents, to verify your business and prevent account holds.

What will I need to verify my Squarespace Payments account?

The  information you need to provide depends on if you sign up as an individual or company, and where your business is located. During verification you’ll be asked to provide some basic information about your business, like your business type, what products or services you sell, and your role in the business.

Business types include:

• Single-member LLC
• Multi-member LLC
• Private partnership
• Sole proprietorship
• Private Corporation
• Nonprofit

If you are unsure about which business type to choose, we recommend consulting with a tax advisor.

Note: You can use the same EIN for multiple Squarespace sites.

Additional information for sellers in the United States

Where to find your business information

We may ask you to provide some business information that you can find in the following tax documents. You can request a copy of these letters or ask the IRS to search for your EIN over the phone by calling the IRS Business Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933:

• Letter 147C
• SS-4 confirmation letter

Enter your company registration details exactly as shown in your documents

When entering your business information for Squarespace Payments, it's important to keep the following in mind:

• Make sure your business legal name, address, and tax ID are exactly the same as what is shown on the SS-4 confirmation letter or Letter 147c. This includes using the same capital letters, symbols, and punctuation.
• When in doubt, enter all information listed above the business address. If there are several lines above the address, enter all details on one line separated by single spaces.
• If you want to change the information on these documents, contact the IRS. 

Review the following examples:

Letter 147C example

If your business name looks like this on your Letter 147C, you'd enter your legal entity name as: ACME INC

SS-4 example

If your entity name looks like this on your SS-4 letter, you'd enter your legal entity name as: ACME LLC THERESA LOPEZ-FITZGERALD SOLE MBR

EIN and TIN records

The IRS can take up to two weeks to register new Employer ID Number (EIN) and Tax ID Numbers (TIN) in their permanent records. If you try to verify your business with Squarespace Payments too early, you may run into issues. 

What should I do if I can’t find my EIN or TIN?

If you can't find your EIN or TIN, visit Lost or Misplaced Your EIN or Taxpayer Identification Numbers.

Note: If you’re asked to provide an EIN or TIN but don’t have one, you might have selected the wrong business type when you signed up. Contact us to change your business type.

New business verification

If your EIN was recently issued by the IRS, we recommend uploading a copy of your SS-4 or Letter 147c and re-verifying your EIN within the next 14 business days, as your information might not yet be in their system. You can continue accepting payments with your Squarespace Payments account as usual.

Who should I contact for help regarding my EIN or TIN?

If you need an IRS-issued document or believe you entered the correct information but still get an error, contact the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933.

Can I verify with my Social Security number (SSN)?

Yes. If you run a Sole Proprietorship or a Single-Member LLC in the United States, you can use your Social Security Number (SSN) to verify your Squarespace Payments account instead of an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

How the IRS verifies your identity

To verify your account, the IRS matches the tax identification number on file with your legal business name.

• For Sole Proprietorships and Single-Member LLCs, the IRS considers the business a disregarded entity. This means they do not distinguish between the business and its owner for income reporting purposes. Therefore, your tax identification number must match your personal name rather than your business name:
  • If you use your SSN: The IRS verifies your SSN against your personal legal name.
  • If you use an EIN: The IRS verifies your EIN against your registered legal business name.
• If you try to verify your SSN against a business name, the verification fails. To resolve this, you can format your names in your settings to satisfy both IRS requirements and your branding needs.

Set up your Social Security number (SSN) in Squarespace Payments

To use your SSN for verification, you must set your legal business name to your personal legal name in your account settings. You can still display your actual business name to your customers by listing it as a Doing Business As (DBA) name.

To update your settings:

1. Open the Payments settings panel.
2. Click Manage Settings.
3. Click the pencil icon next to Contact Information.
4. Under Business Details, click Edit.
5. In the Legal name field, enter your personal legal name as it appears on your Social Security card.
6. In the DBA (Doing Business As) field, enter your business name.
7. In the tax ID field, enter your SSN.
8. Click Save. After saving, the system verifies your personal name against your SSN, and your business name displays as the DBA.