Frequently Asked Questions about Name/TIN matching:
Q: Will the IRS tell us the correct name if we have a SSN or EIN?
A: No, the IRS only say Match or No-Match.
Q: Will the IRS tell us the correct TIN if we have a name?
A: No, same as above. Only if its a match or not.
Q: Will the IRS tell us if it's a SSN or an EIN?
A: Yes! If you score a match, they will tell you it came from either the IRS database
or the SSN database.
Q: What data do you need for TIN/Name matching?
A: Just the people's names and tax ID numbers. Nothing else is required.
Q: That's all? What about the vendor number?
A: Yes, you can give us the vendor number also, if this helps you.
Q: What about the person's, addresses, money amounts, etc?
A: We don't need that.
Q: What format should names and TINs be in?
A: The data can be in an Excel spreadsheet, with the 2 required columns: Name
and TIN. Columns can be in any order. Dashes are present in your data, just
leave them. It is not necessary to remove dashes. Dashes are ignored. If there
are no dashes, that's OK too. For example, all of these are OK:
John Doe 12-3456789
John Doe 123-45-6789
John Doe 123456789
Doe, John 123456789
Q: What about vendor number? We like to do our lookups by a special number?
A: You may give us another column for the vendor or other number, if you wish.
That number will be in the final report along side the Name and TIN to help.
Q: Can we use formats, other than Excel?
A: Yes! You may send any format Excel can open! This includes files such as CSV,
tab delimited text, fixed length text, and many others.
Q: How do we send you the data?
A: Almost everybody knows not to use e-Mail for Sensitive
Personal Information (SPI), such as names and SSNs. Use the 1099Express secure
server (128 bit SSL encryption). To do so, just go to
this web address, then click on SEND FILE:
www.1099Express.com/Service_Bureau.asp
(You can just go, take a look and not send a file).
Q: How can I be sure this site is really secure?
A: Notice the "gold lock" in the bottom of your Microsoft Internet Explorer
window. We
use the same type ASPX internet code and SSL encryption technology used by the
IRS for e-Filing at the IRS F.I.R.E web site.
Q: After we click "SEND FILE", how do we know you received our file?
A: You should see a link "CLICK HERE TO NOTIFY US". Please enter the information asked for. We
are then automatically notified by e-Mail.
Q: Is the IRS picky?
A1: Yes. The IRS does not like duplicate SSNs. They will reject the entire file
if any duplicates are found. They consider it "Phishing" by a hacker. For this
reason we sort your data by SSN, then remove any remove duplicates you may have
unknowingly inserted.
A2: Yes. The IRS does not like special characters like pound signs, asterisks,
carets, pipes, etc. They will reject
the entire file. Thus, we must remove these also.
Q: What happens when you receive our spreadsheet? What do you do with it?
A: First, we download it to our workstation via the secure web site. We import
your data into special software, developed just for this purpose. We convert your
data to the required IRS format. The software also sorts it, removes duplicates,
and special characters. We then submit it to the IRS using the IRS secure
server. The IRS processes the data and notifies us that it is ready, usually
within hours, sometime within days. We then download the IRS data, convert it
to a report format you can read and understand, and put the report up on our
secure server. We notify you by e-Mail and provide the filename. You then go to
our secure server www.1099Express.com/ServiceBureau.asp and click RECEIVE FILE.
You then save the data file. The file will be a text file. Double click the file
to open it into Microsoft Notepad. The file can also be opened with WordPad or
Microsoft Word.
Q: Can you convert the final report back into an Excel spreadsheet that's easier
to work with?
A: No, but you can open the text file with Excel using the open wizard and using
fixed width fields.
Q: Is our data secure with you?
A: Yes! We we never disclose data like this to anyone outside our
company. Only our key employees, perform this service. We will sign a
non-disclosure agreement (NDA) if requested.
Q: What is the cost?
A: The cost is $74 per file. We don't charge by the person. The maximum is 10,000 persons per file.
Q: How long does it take to receive the report?
A: Usually the same day turnaround. Sometimes it can take two or three days, if
the IRS web site will be down or too busy to receive the data.
Q: After we receive the TIN/Name report, what do we do about the no-matches?
A: You should try to avoid backup withholding and all the associated red tape.
See this link:
http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=98145,00.html Therefore, you may wish
to send the vendor a W-9 form, and a warning letter. See 1099Express suggested
warning letter. You may also
wish to review Publication 1586
about Reasonable Cause.
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