Reviewed & Updated September 2026
EIN for Swedish LLC Owners: Complete 2026 Application Guide
Getting your US federal tax ID, and the two thresholds that decide whether Sweden's CFC rules reach your LLC
Quick Summary
- Country
- Sweden
Fax and mail as backups
Fax reaches 855-215-1627 (from the US) or 304-707-9471 (from outside); mail routes through the Cincinnati service center. Both now run roughly 4-6 weeks. The phone route saves a month or more compared to either option.
Applying by phone from Sweden
Call the IRS International EIN line at 267-941-1099, open 6am-11pm US Eastern Time. Calling from Sweden works without issue — this line exists specifically for foreign applicants without a US SSN or ITIN. Budget 45-60 minutes for the full call including hold time. You'll confirm your entity's legal name, formation state and date, a short business purpose, and your name and Swedish address as the responsible party, and you'll get your EIN verbally before hanging up.
The two conditions that must both be met
Sweden's CFC rules require two things together: you must control at least 25% of the capital or voting rights in the foreign entity, and the entity's income must be considered low-taxed — meaning taxed at a rate below 55% of the Swedish corporate tax rate. With Sweden's corporate rate at 22%, this currently sets the low-tax threshold at roughly 11.33%, calculated as if the income were earned by a Swedish company.
What CFC treatment would mean in practice
If your LLC were classified as a Swedish CFC, your proportionate share of its profits would be taxed in Sweden on an ongoing basis, regardless of whether the LLC actually distributes anything to you — with a foreign tax credit generally available for equivalent US tax already paid on the same income.
Protecting your CP 575 confirmation letter
A CP 575 letter arrives by mail a few weeks after your call. If it's lost, the IRS won't reissue the original, but calling the same EIN line gets you a 147C verification letter, accepted everywhere a CP 575 would be.
The EIN as your LLC's first working requirement
A US LLC's formation certificate proves it legally exists, but an EIN — the nine-digit federal tax ID the IRS assigns to the entity — is what lets it operate. Without one, no US bank will open an account, no payment processor will verify it, and no annual return can be filed. This is separate from your Swedish personnummer — the EIN identifies the business, not you.
Line 7b: what to write instead of your personnummer
Form SS-4's Line 7b asks for the responsible party's SSN, ITIN, or EIN. As a foreign individual, you write "Foreign" or "N/A" — standard practice for any applicant without a US tax identifier.
The whitelist exemption and where the US likely stands
Sweden maintains an approved-country 'whitelist' in the Income Tax Act — entities resident in a whitelisted jurisdiction generally escape CFC taxation regardless of the 25% ownership test, provided they aren't specifically excluded for certain income types. Whether the US appears on this whitelist, and how that interacts with your specific LLC, is worth confirming directly rather than assuming coverage either way, since whitelist details are periodically revised.
The disregarded-entity question that complicates the low-tax test
A single-member US LLC typically pays no US corporate-level tax itself, since income passes through to the owner — which raises the question of whether Swedish authorities would treat this as a 0% effective rate (potentially triggering the low-tax test) even though the US isn't generally regarded as a low-tax jurisdiction. This is a genuinely nuanced area without a single, clearly documented answer for disregarded entities specifically, and it's worth a direct conversation with a Swedish tax advisor rather than assuming either interpretation.
Sweden's CFC rules apply to individuals — unlike some neighbours
Unlike several EU countries that only extended CFC rules to corporate taxpayers when implementing the EU's ATAD directive, Sweden's CFC legislation (Chapter 39a of the Income Tax Act) predates ATAD and has always covered both individuals and legal entities. This means, unlike founders from Ireland or Romania in similar situations, a Swedish individual personally holding a US LLC can't rule out CFC exposure just by pointing to their personal (rather than corporate) ownership structure.
The $25,000 US filing requirement, independent of your Swedish CFC analysis
Regardless of how the Swedish CFC question resolves for your specific LLC, US rules separately require an annual Form 5472 alongside a pro forma Form 1120 for any foreign-owned single-member LLC, generally due April 15 (or October 15 with an extension). Missing this filing triggers a minimum $25,000 penalty per year regardless of profitability, and the EIN must already be in hand before either form can be filed.
Requirements
| Requirement | Needed |
|---|---|
| US Social Security Number | |
| ITIN | |
| LLC formation documents | |
| Responsible party's Swedish address | |
| US registered agent address |
Costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| EIN Priority (bundled with Global Launch formation) | $99 |
| EIN Follow-up (LLC already formed) | $129 |
| DIY phone application | $0 (your time only) |
Who Should Choose
DIY phone application
Free, and manageable if you're comfortable with a 45-60 minute international call.
EasyBrise EIN Follow-up ($129)
For founders whose LLC is already formed and want the IRS call handled for them.
EasyBrise EIN Priority ($99, bundled)
For founders forming their LLC now who want the EIN done in the same workflow.
Comparison
| Method | Who Can Use It | Typical Time |
|---|---|---|
| Phone (267-941-1099) | Any foreign responsible party | 45-60 minutes |
| Fax | Foreign or US applicants | 4-6 weeks |
| Foreign or US applicants | 4-6 weeks | |
| Online IRS tool | US-based SSN/ITIN holders only | Not available to most Swedish founders |
Banking
Mercury
Popular with non-resident founders; requires US LLC + EIN; no US visit needed
Relay
Remote-friendly for non-residents; requires formed US entity
Frequently Asked Questions
More guides for founders in Sweden
Or browse all formation guides by country.
Reviewed by EasyBrise Research Team · Updated September 2026
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