Does payroll require the owner's Social Security number?

Payroll for W-2 employees requires SSNs for federal and state tax withholding. EIN is for the business entity, not the individual. There's no legal workaround for an owner-employee's SSN on payroll tax forms.

What tidepooler said. The SSN goes on the W-4, W-2 and state withholding forms. Payroll providers won't process without it.

If you're a single-member LLC taxed as a disregarded entity, you can take owner draws instead of a salary. No payroll, no SSN on payroll forms. But that changes if you're taxed as an S-Corp.

Even with an S-Corp, tge SSN is required. The IRS matches W-2s to your personal tax return. No way around that one.

The privaccy you get from an anonymous LLC is about public records, not tax filings. The IRS and SSA already know your SSN. Payroll just adds another form with it.

What's your actual concern with the payroll provider seeing your SSN? They're regulated and already handle SSNs for every employee. The exposure is minimal compared to public records.

Mostly data breach risk and not wanting my SSN in more databases than necessary. But it sounds like there's no alternative.

Pick a payroll provider with a solid security record, use a PEO if you want them to handle more of the compliance, and accept that the SSN is non-negotiable for W-2 payroll.

You could also look into whether your state allows an alternate ID for withholding, but federal forms still require SSN. It's a dead end for real privacy.

One more thing: if you use a payroll provider, your SSN will also appear on their reports and any integrated 401k or workers comp filings. It spreads ngl.

That's the tradeoff with S-Corp taxation. You get payroll tax savings but you lose some anonymity because the owner-employee relationship is documented with the SSN.

Could you hire a family member or another person to be the W-2 employee and take distributions yourself? That might keep your SSN off payroll, but it raises reasonable compensation issues.

That's risky and likely to get scrutinized. The IRS wants owner-employees of S-Corps on payroll. Avoiding it could blow up the S-Corp election.

Thanks all. Seems like the answer is no, payroll requires the SSN. I'll focus on minimizing exposure through provider choice and security practices.