Henry Chavez5 said:Aha... so what happens when you have five different certificates under your name? How is the agent supposed to know which one to authorize?!!! Or do you suddenly have all those certificate serial numbers memorized like some kind of math prodigy??? It happens. Agents might not ask for the physical card, but they frequently end up authorizing the completely wrong certificate. Always bring the card with you.
The folks on the phone explained to me that there's only one valid certificate allowed per Social Security number. Since they already have my SSN listed on the power of attorney, they'll just pull up the right certificate themselves. At the end of the day, a digital certificate is my personal signature, not some corporate stamp belonging to the firm I work for.
I figured I’d just post this here to answer my own question, though it might actually end up being pretty helpful for someone else on the forum too.
When you're heading in to get your access set up on the IRS online portal, there is absolutely no need to bring your FINRA card along with you. "The agent really shouldn't have been asking you for that card in the first place, since those digital certificates are all accessible right through the intranet—it's just that nobody can actually do anything with them unless they have the correct PIN."
So, bottom line: if an agent asks to see your FINRA card with its digital signature, just keep it to yourself and don't hand it over.
Kyle Rogers8 said:😁 pure paranoia I'm no expert—I assume the IRS isn't going to start signing stuff using your digital certificate; this is likely just a way to "pair" the certificate with the taxpayer
yes (and then there's no extra fee from the bank)
Of course it's paranoia! If my certificate is saved right there on their computer, then technically they could use it to sign stuff. Now, whether some clerk at the agency is actually capable of pulling the PIN stored on the card is a whole different story, but I have absolutely no interest in testing those waters. I wouldn't want anyone handing me their debit card just so I could sync up some data. You don't even need the PIN because it can be extracted from the card later on quite easily enough.
When I’m trying to log in to the IRS portal, it keeps asking me to plug in my smart card so it can load all the credentials. Now, if my digital signature is stored right there on that bank card, does that mean my digital signature is essentially sitting on their computer too? I mean, honestly, if that’s actually how it works, there is absolutely no way I’m handing over that card! If that's the case, someone could just sit there signing whatever they want in my name. Could someone please jump in and clear this up for me? I'd love to understand how this tech actually functions. Thanks a million
I actually gave the head of the IRS distribution office a ring, and she ended up confirming exactly what I had already suspected. It’s honestly a win-win situation because it makes things so much smoother for both the government and us taxpayers, which is why they're pushing everyone toward it so hard. Personally, I don't have any beef with moving everything to digital tax filing, but I am currently working with a client who just absolutely refuses to trust anything that isn't done on paper. Don't give me that nonsense 🙂
@bookworm So, this rule has actually been on the books since January 1st, 2012. But the thing is, they’re really putting the pressure on us now to make sure that by January 1st, 2013, everyone transitions over to electronic tax filing, regardless of how much business they're doing—even if their total sales are way below that $700,000 threshold. I hope that clears things up a bit better for everyone. Joe Biden, this cold is absolutely killing me 🙂
A few times now, IRS agents have been calling us up and insisting that everyone needs to switch over to electronic tax filing. Since I haven't been able to find any actual language in the tax code that mandates this, I would really appreciate it if someone here could clear things up for me. Is it actually a requirement for every single taxpayer to move to digital filing, or is it just being pushed on us? I totally get that it’s more efficient for both the government and for us, but you still run into entrepreneurs who are dead set against going digital, whether it's because they have very low annual revenue or because they're genuinely paranoid about their data being hacked. I know the whole "identity theft" fear can sound a bit silly to some, but there are definitely business owners out there who just don't trust the internet, and there isn't much you can do to change their minds. When I asked an agent to point me toward the specific section of the law that requires this transition, they couldn't give me a straight answer.
It’s still down today, too. I spent all day yesterday wrestling with the system, and while I finally managed to grab my own digital signature, I couldn't get anything done for my partners, even though I have full legal authorization and power of attorney for them. I actually called their support line to lodge a complaint, and they just told me to send an email instead. I sent that email off around 6:00 PM last night, and then this arrived early this morning:
Dear Customer,
Due to an overwhelming volume of requests, access to our digital signature retrieval service is currently experiencing temporary delays. Please try again in a few minutes. After several consecutive attempts, we should be able to authorize your digital signature.
Best regards, IRS
They didn't say a single word about how I can get my own credentials immediately while the ones for my clients remain stuck in limbo. If they're dealing with technical glitches, the least they could do is post a notice on the Department's website so we aren't left guessing. Instead, I've wasted my entire morning fighting with a glitchy portal rather than actually getting any useful work done.
How are you guys handling the documentation requirements for VAT refunds? So, my assistants back at my small-town office were insisting that everyone needs to switch over to the IRS online portal because they can't accept physical reconciliation cards at the end of the year anymore. I went ahead and migrated everything to the digital system, but now, for my very first refund request, they called me up demanding hard copies of the logbook, the logbook summary, and the Central Hub files just to process the money. Honestly, what’s even the point of using the IRS digital portal if I still have to physically go down there and hand over all this data and a Central Hub report just to get my tax refund back? When I asked about this, they didn't have a clue. Of course, Murphy's law always seems to be in full effect for me, so I ended up having to redo my power of attorney forms three different times. First, they told me to list myself, then they said to list the company I work for, and finally, they insisted on both. Even the help desk over the phone couldn't give me a straight answer.