Tax
Responsible party
The responsible party is the individual the IRS records as controlling or managing a business entity for EIN purposes. The responsible party must be a natural person, not another company, and is identified on Form SS-4. The IRS requires updates when the responsible party changes.
In plain terms: The actual human the IRS holds accountable for the company.
Why it matters
It must be a person, which surprises founders using a holding structure. If a foreign owner has no SSN or ITIN, 'Foreign' is entered in the identification field rather than leaving it blank or using a nominee's number.
Read the full guideEIN and ITIN