Our source hierarchy
- The current official form and its instructions. For field meaning and applicant conditions, we begin with Form SS-4 and the Instructions for Form SS-4.
- IRS filing and service pages. We use pages such as Where to file Form SS-4 for routing details.
- IRS operational guidance for service availability. The Internal Revenue Manual and dated procedural updates explain how the IRS actually accepts and processes a method, especially when a newer update qualifies the public instructions.
- Secondary sources for discovery only. Articles, forums and search results can reveal recurring questions. We trace a factual answer back to an official IRS source before publishing it as guidance.
How a guide is checked
- Define the exact applicant and scenario. A foreign owner, a foreign entity and an international applicant are not automatically the same thing.
- Read the controlling IRS passage in context, including eligibility conditions and exceptions.
- Verify consequential numbers and addresses separately, especially phone, fax and mail routes.
- Keep uncertain or entity-specific classification questions out of universal examples.
- Link the primary source near the claim and add a visible review date.
- Recheck duplicated facts in page copy, metadata and structured data when a correction is made.
What “verified” means here
“Verified against IRS instructions” means the page was compared with the cited IRS material on the displayed review date. It does not mean the IRS reviewed, approved or endorsed EINForeigner. Rules, forms, addresses and service availability can change after that date.
Before submitting anything, readers should open the linked IRS source and confirm that the form revision and routing information are still current.
How the fax-routing audit is classified
The International EIN Fax Routing Audit is a dated snapshot of publicly accessible guidance, not a permanent rating of a publisher. Each reviewed page is compared with the route conditions in the current IRS instructions and placed in one of three neutral categories:
- Matches current IRS route: the page distinguishes the domestic fax from both international sending locations.
- Contradicts current IRS route: an accessible page explicitly directs the reviewed international scenario to a different route.
- Incomplete or ambiguous: the page omits a location condition, mixes scenarios, or cannot support a definitive comparison.
We do not classify an inaccessible or unverifiable page as a contradiction. The snapshot stores the page URL, publisher, review date, a short paraphrase, classification and controlling IRS source. The same records are available as JSON and CSV so another reviewer can reproduce or challenge the result.
Dates and change triggers
Each substantive guide displays a last-updated or last-reviewed date. We prioritize a fresh review when the IRS publishes a new Form SS-4 revision, changes its instructions, alters a submission number or address, or when a reader identifies a discrepancy with an official source.
The public changelog records material corrections and significant additions. Minor typography or layout changes may not receive an individual entry.
Authorship and limits
Pages are published by EINForeigner as an organizational educational resource. We do not attach a fictional expert, attorney, accountant or tax preparer identity to the content. EINForeigner is not affiliated with the IRS and the material is not legal or tax advice.
Where an answer depends on elections, ownership structure, treaty position, employment, U.S. trade or business, or another fact beyond the form instructions, the guide should say so rather than guess.
Corrections
If an EINForeigner page differs from current IRS material, email hello@einforeigner.com. Include the page, the statement in question and the official source that supports the correction. We will evaluate the source and update the page and changelog when a material correction is warranted.