If you offer Etsy Payments, you can update your legal name or taxpayer ID on file with your shop from the Legal and tax information page.
- On Etsy.com, go to Shop Manager, then Finances.
- Go to Legal and tax information.
- Choose Edit.
- Under Primary taxpayer ID, select Edit.
- Choose that you’re changing your Taxpayer ID.
- Enter your new ID and select the type of ID from the dropdown.
- Select Update.
If you have a tax ID outside the US or India:
- On Etsy.com, go to Shop Manager.
- Open Finances.
- Go to Legal and tax information.
- Under Additional taxpayer ID, select Add taxpayer ID.
- Choose your country and taxpayer ID type from the dropdown.
- Type your taxpayer ID in the field. The field may edit any special characters in your ID.
- Choose Next.
- On Etsy.com, go to Shop Manager.
- Choose Finances.
- Go to Legal and tax information and select Edit.
- Under Primary taxpayer ID, select Edit.
- Select whether you’re changing your name for a legal or non-legal reason.
- Change your name and select Save & upload documents.
- Add a government-issued photo ID. If you’re changing your name for a legal reason, also add one of the following:
- Marriage certificate
- Divorce certificate
- Certificate of commitment
- Legal document showing your legal name change
- Select Submit & update.
If you update your bank information, the name on your bank account must match the name or business entity you have provided.
What type of taxpayer ID can I use?
For most countries, you can add one taxpayer ID. This is generally your VAT ID or, for US sellers, your federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), federal Social Security Number (SSN), or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
If you’re unsure of your correct taxpayer details, we recommend that you contact a tax professional. Etsy is unable to provide sellers with specific tax advice.
For Canadian sellers, you can add any relevant GST/HST, QST, PST, and RST IDs you have into your Canadian Taxpayer IDs section.
For taxpayers with citizenship in the US that don’t reside in the US, France sellers with SIREN/T IDs, or non-Canadian sellers with Canadian tax IDs, enter this info in the Additional Taxpayer Identification section.
Starting July 1st 2022, Etsy may be required to collect Canadian sales tax - including GST/ HST, QST, and PST on items ordered by shoppers in Canada. To ensure that buyers are seeing accurate tax information in your shop, our sales tax tool will be retired on July 1st.
If you are a Canadian seller, you can enter your tax ID’s in your Legal and tax information page under the Canadian Taxpayer IDs section. Other sellers can enter their Canadian Taxpayer IDs in the Additional Taxpayer Identification section.
If you do not add your GST/HST or QST tax IDs to your account, Etsy will collect these taxes from your Canadian buyers and remit them to the Canadian government. Etsy will collect PST from your buyers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia regardless of whether you are registered in these provinces are not.
If you have both a French VAT number and a SIREN/T number, your French VAT number should be your primary taxpayer ID. If you don’t have a VAT number, you can provide us with your SIREN/SIRET number in the Additional Taxpayer Identification section.
If you have both a Mexican VAT number and a CURP identification number, your Mexican VAT number should be your primary taxpayer ID. If you don’t have a VAT number, you can provide us with your CURP number in the Additional Taxpayer Identification section.
If you’re an American citizen located outside the US, you can add your Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) as your secondary taxpayer detail.
If you’ve organized yourself legally as a US business (and assuming you are not a sole proprietorship) and use an Employer Identification Number (EIN), you may need to enter your business name under Legal Name and Address on the Legal and tax information page.
I’m registered as a business (entity) and file my taxes as a business
If you’re registered with the IRS as a business (entity) and file your taxes as a business:
- Use the business name and EIN that is registered with the IRS.
- Refer to the letter provided by the IRS after you registered your EIN. This letter should indicate the correctly matched taxpayer name and EIN. We’ll use this to match the IRS database.
If you are using a Social Security Number (SSN) or using an EIN as a sole proprietorship, you may need to enter your individual legal name. When using an SSN, this is the name listed on your Social Security Card.
What if I file taxes as a disregarded entity in the US?
If you’re a US seller with a business registered as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), but file your taxes as an individual, you may be defined as a disregarded entity. Check the letter provided by the IRS after you registered your LLC. If it says “sole mbr” you may be a disregarded entity. Talk to a local tax professional to confirm this tax situation applies to you.
Learn more about LLCs and disregarded entities on the IRS website.
Troubleshooting
If you see an error while updating your taxpayer ID:
- The number you’re entering might not be the right format. Check the proper formatting of the taxpayer ID you’re trying to enter. For example, a US Social Security Number is 9 digits.
- You may have reached the maximum attempts to change your taxpayer ID. Wait a full 24 hours before trying again.
- Your information may not match the government database. Please contact a tax professional for help confirming your taxpayer information.
- US sellers: If an error says “We are currently checking your taxpayer information,” the IRS database is likely experiencing a temporary outage. The IRS may take a few hours to resolve the issue. Try updating your taxpayer information in a few hours or the following day.
I entered incorrect US taxpayer details
If you enter US taxpayer details, we’ll check that the information matches the information on file in the IRS database.
If the information you’ve entered doesn’t match the IRS database, you must update again with your correct taxpayer details. You can try adding your taxpayer details up to 5 times per 24 hours. If you exceed this number of attempts, check back after 24 hours. We’ll notify you if they still don’t match the IRS database.
If your sales have totaled at least $500.00 USD since January 1 of this year and you haven’t yet added valid taxpayer details, your shop will be suspended if you enter incorrect details. The suspension will automatically be lifted once you add the correct details.
Once you are close to the threshold, you'll see an alert in your Shop Manager Dashboard asking you to enter in your taxpayer details.
You can contact the IRS to confirm your correct taxpayer information. Contact the IRS about:
- Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
- Social Security Number (SSN) after a name change
I can’t save changes to my taxpayer name and VAT ID
If you enter a taxpayer name and VAT ID that don’t match what you have registered with your local tax authority, you may not be able to save your changes. You will need to contact your local tax department to confirm your correct taxpayer name and VAT ID. European VAT IDs can also be checked on the European Commission website for validity.