# Taxpayer ID numbers

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxpayer-id-numbers/77388>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 21, 2001, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxpayer-id-numbers/77388 "2001-08-21T18:05:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxpayer-id-numbers/77388/1 "2001-08-21T18:05:51Z")

</div>

Does anyone know if the IRS assigns TIN (Taxpayer ID numbers) and EIN (Employee ID numbers) with any sort of geogrpahical arrangement. E.g., do all numbers assigned in CA start with 95, as most I have seen?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxpayer-id-numbers/77388/2 "2001-08-21T18:15:00Z")

</div>

My CA TIN begins with 33, I believe it depends on what type of company it is (corporation, s corp, partnership, etc).

The geographic answer is true for Social Security numbers, however. The lower the first three numbers, the further east it was issued. The highest numbers are in the Pacific Northwest, I think.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxpayer-id-numbers/77388/3 "2001-08-21T18:38:56Z")

</div>

[http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10002.html](http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10002.html)

> [@](#):
>
> What Does Your Number Mean
> 
> The nine-digit **Social Security number** is divided into three parts:
> 
> The first three digits are the area number. If your Social Security number was assigned before 1972 when Social Security  
> cards were issued by local offices, the area number reflects the State where you applied for your number. If your number  
> was assigned in 1972 or later when we began issuing Social Security cards centrally, the area number reflects the State  
> as determined by the ZIP code in the mailing address on your application for the number.
> 
> The middle two digits are the group number. They have no special geographic or data  
> significance but merely serve to break the number into conveniently sized blocks for orderly issuance.
> 
> The last four digits are serial numbers. They represent a straight numerical sequence of digits from 0001-9999 within the group.

The EIN pub. I found is not as helpful. No explanation of its arcane logic.

[http://www.irs.gov/prod/bus\_info/pub1635.html](http://www.irs.gov/prod/bus_info/pub1635.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxpayer-id-numbers/77388/4 "2001-08-21T18:40:54Z")

</div>

The numbers do mean something. Cecil has spoken: [Are social security numbers recycled? What do the numbers mean?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_315.html)

Incidentally, mine was issued in New Hampshire., so it begins with “001”. No, I wont tell you the rest.