Jack Young said:I went through this whole thing back in early 2012, so honestly, my memory of the exact steps is a little fuzzy now.
As for my current situation, the system won't let me just make up my own PIN; it automatically assigns one for the IRS e-filing portal. However, when it comes to the PIN for sales tax compliance, I was actually able to choose my own number.🤷
If we’re talking about setting up your PIN for the IRS portal, then on this specific page 1. you have to decrypt the initial PIN. Basically, you receive an encrypted PIN via email for your first login, and here is how you actually handle it: go down to the bottom left and hit the "Tools—Decrypt PIN" button. This will pop open a new window. In the dropdown menu at the top, just select your USB drive—it should show a long string of numbers; honestly, if you only have that one thumb drive plugged in, it makes things much simpler. Once you've selected it, type in that original PIN they sent you in the email, click the "Decrypt PIN" button, and the system will generate a new 6-digit PIN. For heaven's sake, write that number down somewhere safe immediately, because the system is going to demand it every single time you try to log in.
But I’m looking at the IRS portal right now, and the checkbox situation is just bizarre. You can either check the box next to the business name or the one by your legal name, but the system won't let you select both at once. It's incredibly clunky. Anyway, I'll just check my name, fill everything out, and hit submit. 🤷
amberbadger17 said:I did the same thing—just used the owner's first initial and last name.
Totally slipped my mind this time; I must have messed up the auto-fill settings or something. I’m going back to the old way with the next sales tax filing. Honestly, the IRS isn't even that strict about it, so at least now everything is clearly documented on paper.
@Nicole Lee6—you planning on ditching the sales tax info along with the name, or what?
Look, I already submitted the February filing that way, 😂 and to make matters worse, when I was scrolling through QuickBooks, it only showed the owner's full name anyway, and nobody ever breathed a word of complaint to me. 😂
Sam Wells5 said:The folks over at the IRS are asking me to include my business name right next to my own name on the forms, instead of just leaving it as my personal name.
Does this mean I have to use the full legal entity name, or is a shortened version of the business name actually acceptable?
amberbadger17 said:I actually did it myself, so I have to brag a little. I finally filed my VAT.
Quick question though—what happens if you enter some info but leave stuff out? Like, say I forget the email address, or I accidentally put my own name instead of my LLC's legal name (honestly, I'm just playing around with the settings right now).
It shouldn't be a huge deal, right? Since everything is tied to one digital certificate and the taxpayer ID is the part that actually matters? Or did I totally screw that part up? 😬
Well, I’ve actually used my own first and last name instead of my LLC's legal name when filing my VAT before, and I did it that way previously too. 🤷 Is it actually mandatory to put the official business name in the taxpayer field?
Does one single certificate cover both the IRS portal and the point-of-sale fiscalization requirements, or am I going to have to shell out for two separate ones?
Well, isn't that just wonderful that you finally got it sorted out! Honestly, I’ve had Active Client on my system for ages now, and I haven't even bothered to reinstall it lately. 🤷
wiredmarlin41 said:I have Java 1.7 installed and everything is running perfectly—both the IRS filings and the general tax modules are working fine.
Honestly, I have absolutely no clue which version I'm actually running right now. I remember getting some sort of pop-up notification suggesting I needed to update Java—possibly even when I was first trying to log into the IRS portal—but I just clicked through whatever was on the screen without giving it a second thought. Now? I'm completely lost as to what I actually have installed...
Brenda Chase3 said:Blind, we’ve hit a bit of a snag, but honestly, it isn’t even our fault. The IRS is reporting that they can't run on Java 1.7, yet they're also aware that the systems used for tax filings won't function on 1.6. They’re working on a fix right now, supposedly trying to find a way to make everything compatible with Java 1.7 so the IRS systems finally play nice together. I actually reached out to ask them what we're supposed to do in the meantime—because constantly uninstalling and reinstalling different versions of Java just to satisfy specific modules is becoming a massive headache—and their answer was basically, "there's no other way." They mentioned that some people are managing by using one computer running Java 1.6 for certain tasks and a second computer running Java 1.7 for others. I told them that sounds pretty ridiculous for those of us who only have a single workstation. They claim everyone is aware of the situation and they're working on a solution. For now, my only workaround is to download Java 1.6 whenever I need to use Regos, and then wipe it out to install 1.7 whenever I have to jump onto the IRS site. It's a tedious cycle, but until they get their act together and sync the versions, that's exactly what they told me I'd have to do. Based on exactly what you described, I run into that specific form in those exact spots. It keeps asking me for a signature, but then the moment I actually try to sign it, I get an error message. That’s the word from the folks over at the IRS.
Is the Treasury Department used for sending things via SAP? 🤷 I only signed up for the basic package just to submit forms to the IRS, so maybe that's why it still works for me...
But I'm running into a similar headache with net banking; whenever I try to access it using a card reader, if I'm running Windows 7, JP Morgan Chase demands active card client 6.2 while Hypo 6.3 requires something else entirely. I'm forced to choose between JP Morgan Chase or Hypo. Meanwhile, back on Windows XP, everything works perfectly and both run simultaneously without a hitch. The folks over at Hypo admitted they know the software is incompatible, and their "solution" was to suggest I just buy a dedicated USB stick for Hypo's net banking since the stick works without needing the active card client. And of course, you have to pay extra for it $117. Honestly, why would they bother fixing the compatibility when they can just sell you an alternative to squeeze more money out of you? 🙂
Sam Wells5 said:Personally, none of my folks sign anything. Back when we used to walk over to the local IRS office to drop off forms, I’d just end up signing the ID and sales tax documents myself. I mean, maybe it isn't the most brilliant way to handle things, but honestly, it just makes life a whole lot easier.
Yeah, but you have a whole stack of them, whereas I only have one.😬 🤣
dustyscout8 said:vlado3, I have no idea what you're getting at🙂 because I am seeing the exact same message stating the form "is signed and cannot be edited," and yet absolutely nothing happens. There isn't even a confirmation that it was received or any sign of progress. I actually called their toll-free support line, and the woman on the other end sounded completely frazzled; she basically admitted the application is broken and that it isn't our fault, but rather that their system keeps hanging and half the features simply aren't functioning. So, how are we supposed to submit anything? The old system worked perfectly fine, and there was never an issue with it.
Has ANYONE HERE actually managed to successfully file an ID form using this new, broken software?!
It’s a total miracle—I have absolutely no idea how I pulled it off—but it went through without a single hiccup. Now that I've said it out loud, though, I'm sure I've just invited a disaster.😬
dustyscout8 said:We attempted to file an IBM form through this revamped IRS portal today, and it threw an error message immediately upon submission. We properly signed the document and hit send, yet the system rejected it instantly. Everything functioned flawlessly under the old version of the electronic filing system. Is there some additional step required before the final submission that we might be overlooking? We have already checked the box to accept the terms and conditions, but that hasn't solved anything. Are you all still having your clients sign physical IBM copies, or is digital submission sufficient once the confirmation is received?
Personally, I still have them sign everything manually, but I attach the official confirmation from the IRS instead of relying on their actual signature.
Raymond Martinez10 said:Try checking last year's tax forms—you might find it tucked away in there somewhere.
I already checked, and nope, nothing. It’s not even showing up on the FARC cards. I can see the ID was sent over on February 14th and the sales tax went through on March 1st, but as for that tax return from February 26th? Absolutely zero sign of life. 🤷Still, I'm going to keep pushing. 🤣
I’m going to have to drag myself down to the IRS tomorrow. I submitted the City Hall membership fee assessment back on February 26th using the old system; I even got a confirmation that they received it, but now? Absolutely nowhere to be found! Honestly, the old version was already glitchy enough as it is, so I can't help but wonder what kind of absolute mess we're in for with this new rollout. 😂
It actually prompted me to launch some applications and add the IRS portal to my trusted sites during the initial login. I went ahead and confirmed everything, and it’s been working perfectly fine since. It didn't even give me any notifications regarding those digital signatures for the FBI; everything went through smoothly without me having to click any of those little green checkmarks 🙂
Sean Allen44 said:I’m running into a bit of a headache while trying to get registered. I went ahead and installed the certificate, but every time I hit that "register" button, it asks me for a PIN. I’ve been plugging in the initial PIN they sent over in my email (even though I also got this other encrypted PIN in a separate message), but it just keeps throwing an error at me saying: "Registration failed with the selected certificate." Does anyone have any ideas? Help me out here! 🙂
If I’m following this correctly, the issue is that the initial PIN you get via email isn't actually your login PIN—it’s just a key used to decrypt your actual PIN. You have to use that first code from the email to perform the decryption process first; once that's done, you'll be assigned the real PIN that you'll actually type in when prompted. And for heaven's sake, write it down immediately because once it's gone, it's gone forever. There should be specific instructions on how to handle the decryption; check that link they sent you in the email.
Sarah Perez68 said:Honestly, the easiest way to deal with this headache is just calling the free FINRA support line at 1-800-008-0800. They'll walk you through it step-by-step—you'll probably have everything running in about 15 minutes. 🙂
😂Why on earth didn't I think of that? I spent way too much energy struggling through this when the solution was right there. 🙂
wanderingseal14 said:Hi there! I could really use some help here. I just decided to switch over to digital tax filing this week. I got my USB drive and encrypted PIN from FINRA, but I’m hitting a massive wall trying to get everything installed.
I downloaded the tax software directly from the FINRA site. But once I open it, the program won't recognize my certificate—it doesn't even show up as an option when I try to load it. On top of that, when I attempt to decrypt the PIN, I keep getting an error saying "cryptographic device support is not installed." I've been wrestling with this for two days now and I'm honestly at my wits' end. The instructions mention that if the certificate isn't recognized, I should run an app called "ActivCard Gold Utilities." Does anyone know where I can actually download that?
Help, please.
I use online banking, so I’ve had ActivCard installed on my machine for quite a while. That part was easy enough for me. Take a look at this site: Just a word of advice: do not even bother launching the tax software until you have successfully decrypted the PIN and verified that the RDC certificates are fully installed in your settings (go to Internet Explorer -> Tools -> Internet Options -> Content tab -> Certificates button).