IRS and Tax Filing Issues

Yeah, the FBI, the IRS, and the web—all of them. Plus, I’ll have the balance sheet and the GDP figures over at Goldman Sachs before the PD even gets moving, so there's no need to involve the CIA. If there's anything else you need, just say the word; it'd be a perfect excuse to stop by and say hi to the ladies at the CIA 🙂

James Patel2 said:To pull tax cards for previous years, you have to set the listing date to December 31st of the year you need. For example, use 12/31/2010, then 12/31/2009, and so on. Every prior year closes out on January 1st and rolls over as either a debt or an overpayment, which is why you have to list them this way. The IRS e-file system is efficient because you can generate forms directly from accounting software and upload them straight to the portal. Additionally, a single firm using one digital certificate can manage all their clients through the electronic system... all they need to submit to the IRS is the client's power of attorney and the specific e-file authorization for that individual. ☕

I can't believe this... I just tried doing that again, but it’s still not working. It clearly says:
It’s impossible to search for the Klan during that specific timeframe. You can only run a search for the current year or the previous one. Why is the system set up this way?

So, none of that matters then...

Quick question regarding power of attorney...

I have my certificate from USA Swimming naming me as the authorized representative for my firm... so, since I’ll be the one handing in the paperwork on behalf of my clients, when I fill out the proxy form, do I list my company and its EIN, or do I list myself as the authorized individual along with my own SSN???

Any help would be appreciated. The "overly helpful" lady on the IRS helpline didn't exactly have a spare second to assist me...

Timothy Morgan38 said:Quick question regarding power of attorney...

I have my certificate from USA Swimming naming me as the authorized representative for my firm... so, since I’ll be the one handing in the paperwork on behalf of my clients, when I fill out the proxy form, do I list my company and its EIN, or do I list myself as the authorized individual along with my own SSN???

Any help would be appreciated. The "overly helpful" lady on the IRS helpline didn't exactly have a spare second to assist me...

You are the proxy, so you list your own details because you're the one signing everything electronically. You can just add your company name after your name—that's how we handle it—and it clears without an issue every single time.

Kimberly Harris6 said:You are the proxy, so you list your own details because you're the one signing everything electronically. You can just add your company name after your name—that's how we handle it—and it clears without an issue every single time.

Oh, thanks a million... so, full name followed by the company name, then my Social Security number, right?

Thanks... now I get to go bury the IRS in paperwork...😂

Timothy Morgan38 said:Oh, thanks a million... so, full name followed by the company name, then my Social Security number, right?

Thanks... now I get to go bury the IRS in paperwork...😂

Why don't you try digging through the IRS website yourself? You can actually see all the mismatched forms they send out. They really love making things complicated for the sake of "compliance."😉

Kimberly Harris6 said:Why don't you try digging through the IRS website yourself? You can actually see all the mismatched forms they send out. They really love making things complicated for the sake of "compliance."😉

I’ve decided. I am definitely not touching Regos again... maybe in a few years...

Wait, let me get this straight... once I hand over the physical power of attorney to the IRS, do I still have to jump onto the online portal and file that electronic authorization request for all those clients I just brought in paperwork for?

Timothy Morgan38 said:I’ve decided. I am definitely not touching Regos again... maybe in a few years...

Wait, let me get this straight... once I hand over the physical power of attorney to the IRS, do I still have to jump onto the online portal and file that electronic authorization request for all those clients I just brought in paperwork for?

Nah, you don't need to deal with the portal... you can just start filing the forms right away...

Patrick Peterson49 said:Nah, you don't need to deal with the portal... you can just start filing the forms right away...

Thanks🙂

Don't forget to handle the power of attorney for your own company—I went ahead and sorted everyone else out and everything is running smoothly, but I still can't get my own e-filing portal open. 😂

I haven't been using the online tax portal, but now I'm going to have to...
What’s the actual process for this? Who am I supposed to reach out to?

Raymond Martinez10 said:Don't forget to handle the power of attorney for your own company—I went ahead and sorted everyone else out and everything is running smoothly, but I still can't get my own e-filing portal open. 😂

😂😂😂 It wouldn't work for me on the first try either... eventually had to shoot them an email, and then they finally cleared it...

It seems everyone is jumping into this "e-equity" business lately, and I suppose even Joe and I are starting to consider it. My goal would be to handle all the reporting through Fidelity and the IRS.
I assume the first step involves setting up that specific Fidelity account, right? I’m curious about what the initial investment might look like—specifically regarding the types of digital signatures and certificates required—as well as the ongoing monthly overhead. From what I’ve gathered browsing the Fidelity website, the monthly fee for these e-services is $17, which supposedly covers filing R-Sm forms, annual financial statements, and statistical reports; they also mention electronic signature verification and monthly access to e-payment services. However, I'm wondering what that actually translates to in practice. What kind of additional costs should I expect, and how much more would it cost if I were also handling filings for the IRS?
This might be a bit of a silly question, but since I don't have this obligation yet, I probably shouldn't dive into the business if the monthly expenses end up being too steep.
Thanks

Carol Ward3 said:It seems everyone is jumping into this "e-equity" business lately, and I suppose even Joe and I are starting to consider it. My goal would be to handle all the reporting through Fidelity and the IRS.
I assume the first step involves setting up that specific Fidelity account, right? I’m curious about what the initial investment might look like—specifically regarding the types of digital signatures and certificates required—as well as the ongoing monthly overhead. From what I’ve gathered browsing the Fidelity website, the monthly fee for these e-services is $17, which supposedly covers filing R-Sm forms, annual financial statements, and statistical reports; they also mention electronic signature verification and monthly access to e-payment services. However, I'm wondering what that actually translates to in practice. What kind of additional costs should I expect, and how much more would it cost if I were also handling filings for the IRS?
This might be a bit of a silly question, but since I don't have this obligation yet, I probably shouldn't dive into the business if the monthly expenses end up being too steep.
Thanks

The IRS e-filing (plus Social Security and Medicare filings) is completely free. Basically, you just have a one-time setup cost for the Fidelity card + $17 per month for a single company. If you're managing multiple companies using that same card (via power of attorney), you pay an additional 2.5-$4.00 per authorization—the total depends on how many authorizations you have; more means cheaper per unit. And again, those fees are strictly for Fidelity's services (registration, stats, Fidelity payments), while the IRS (and SSA/Medicare) authorizations are free.

In practical terms, one company is $17 per month, three companies is $29, 101 companies is $101. That bill might only jump if you request a specific transcript or a statistical copy during a given month—things Fidelity charges for, though it's still better than paying at a physical office.

Thanks so much! I suppose there isn't really much left to debate at this point. It looks like it might be time to slowly start "modernizing" things.😉

Patrick Peterson49 said:I've only been using it for about 20 days myself...
it's got its ups and downs...
I filed my tax forms back in September and got the receipt saying they were received, but it tells you to check later to see if they actually cleared... so I went back on October 17th to check, and nothing—nothing at all (even though I filed on the 30th)—🙂 I called my agent at the IRS, and she's basically like, "Oh, you forgot to check a box." 🤣 so yeah, it really just comes down to which clerk you get... plus, I just finished my sales tax filings and it says "processed," but when I look at my account, there's still no balance updated🤷
it's cool that everything gets done way faster and the software is super easy to navigate (at least for me)... man, if the developers could just let us import our forms directly instead of having to type everything in manually, that would be a total game changer...

Still waiting on my USB drive, so I honestly have no clue how this all works... Do you upload stuff over the internet? Do you just copy the form over? Is it sending an XML document or a PDF? My accounting software doesn't export XML documents, which I read is required for e-filing. Is that XML thing absolutely necessary, or is there some other way to file or fill out these forms?

Raymond Garcia8 said:Still waiting on my USB drive, so I honestly have no clue how this all works... Do you upload stuff over the internet? Do you just copy the form over? Is it sending an XML document or a PDF? My accounting software doesn't export XML documents, which I read is required for e-filing. Is that XML thing absolutely necessary, or is there some other way to file or fill out these forms?

Basically, you just enter everything into the tax software you download from the IRS website... then you send the form through their specific program... if your accounting software can't spit out an XML, you can always just type it all in manually... plus, you can save your info so you don't have to re-type the business name, SSN, and stuff every single month... once you get that thumb drive and run the software, it'll all click...😉

Patrick Peterson49 said:Basically, you just enter everything into the tax software you download from the IRS website... then you send the form through their specific program... if your accounting software can't spit out an XML, you can always just type it all in manually... plus, you can save your info so you don't have to re-type the business name, SSN, and stuff every single month... once you get that thumb drive and run the software, it'll all click...😉

I went ahead and decided to print those 71 pages of the User Manual and the 15 pages of FAQs, but honestly, none of it helped me figure out if you enter the data directly into their software, or if they expect an XML document formatted a specific way—which, let's be real, is probably meant for programmers... So, your answer is actually way more useful than their official instructions! Thanks a ton for the help! 🙂

Raymond Garcia8 said:I went ahead and decided to print those 71 pages of the User Manual and the 15 pages of FAQs, but honestly, none of it helped me figure out if you enter the data directly into their software, or if they expect an XML document formatted a specific way—which, let's be real, is probably meant for programmers... So, your answer is actually way more useful than their official instructions! Thanks a ton for the help! 🙂

Direct entry is possible.