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If you are operating as an individual, there would be no tax benefits to an EIN, since you would simply add a Schedule C to your personal 1040 income tax return to receive all the benefits of a business operation. As a sole proprietor, an EIN (employer identification number) is only required if you have employees, or must file specific other statements with the IRS.
This EIN vs SSN topic has been raised by single-member LLCs in the past.
eBay has chosen to collect and report the individual's SSN for Sole Proprietors and disregarded entities:
"For the 2022 Tax year, we have aligned issuing 1099Ks to IRS standards for Sole-Prop and Single Member LLC requirements. The IRS requires that Sole Props and Single Member LLCs file returns using the SSN of the owner, not the EIN of these entities. More information on this can be found here."
"If you are operating as an individual, there would be no tax benefits to an EIN".
If you were operating under the rules of a corporation (the IRS allows either with an EIN), then you could choose accrual accounting and a fiscal year, for some slight flexibility is accounting.
Most people choose to run a business as an LLC (Limited Liability Company) for the limitation on liability, which means the money that represents your stake in the business, rather than your family's personal savings, is the limit of the business liability.
There is no guarantee of privacy when creating a business entity. You most likely still have to file a statement of ownership with your state that can be searched by the public. However, you can still put forth your business name to the public, instead of your personal name, which allows some general privacy.
