Posts by Robert Thomas11

I am not quite sure where else to turn for this—does anyone happen to know just how much access a clerk or perhaps a doctor, say, over in the OB-GYN department actually has regarding a patient's full history? I mean, can they easily pull up everything someone has done in their department or even across other specialties? Is a Social Security number or some other identifier enough for them to just pull up an entire medical file?

melloworca6 said:They shouldn't have access—and even if they do, they aren't supposed to be gossiping about it.

I know, I really do—but when you're dealing with someone you actually know, or perhaps even a family member working behind the counter at the clinic... well, it just isn't always comfortable, is it? They don't need to know every single detail, obviously. Surely they don't have the spare time to go digging through everyone's medical histories and such?

This probably isn't the most appropriate forum for this—I'm not entirely sure where else to turn—but does anyone happen to know the extent of what front desk staff might be able to see? For instance, if you're at the gynecology department in a hospital, do they have access to your full medical records—meaning, everything you've undergone there or any specific conditions you've been treated for? Does anyone have any insight into this? Is it even possible for them to just look things up like that? Would a Social Security number or some other ID be enough for them to pull all that information?

wiredmarlin41 said:You have to take the power of attorney directly to the FBI, and then they handle entering the client's Tax ID.

So, we’ve finished all the paperwork—does that mean we don't actually have to manually enter anything into the application ourselves? I noticed their Tax ID isn't showing up among the existing ones we manage through the IRS portal...
thank you so much for the response...

Does anyone happen to know where I should submit authorizations within this new IRS portal? Since we operate as an accounting firm, we manage our own dedicated tax platform and handle a large volume of clients through it—it's quite a massive operation. Where exactly am I supposed to enter the EIN for another client we'll be managing via our system? Is it just me, or does the whole process feel significantly more convoluted than it was in the old software?

We finally received that Omnikey—you know, the USB token instead of the old card and reader setup? It’s much more practical! Apparently, they might be issuing these out as the new standard now. The representative at the IRS mentioned we don't even need to show up at the office anymore; once they approve the electronic request sent via the IRS online portal, everything is settled. However—and this is important—you really ought to call FINRA first to handle all the technical prep and installation steps.

Before you pick up the phone to call FINRA—and they are supposed to walk you through every single step, by the way—you should probably head over to their official site: where you can download the necessary certificates and installation files. Of course, you'll be doing this with their guidance! Since we got the USB stick, there isn't a CD or anything else included anymore; the stick itself is all you need.
I also suggest checking out this page: just so you can be as prepared as possible when speaking with the officials. It saves everyone the headache, right? No sense in making them lose their patience while you're trying to navigate the system! 🙂
One little heads-up regarding that last link: it might look like it isn't working at first glance. If that happens, simply click the option at the bottom that says continue to this website, even though it says "not recommended."

Thank you, thank you, thank you—you really are the best! I honestly wonder why everyone isn't always this polite when calling the customer service lines 🙂 Well, now everything makes perfect sense!

Jack Carter88 said:It really doesn't matter whether you opt for a USB drive or a smart card. Personally, I find the drive much more practical since you don't have to worry about carrying around a separate card reader. Regarding the IRS online portal, you’ll need to file a power of attorney for yourself as well. Essentially, if you want to access the IRS online portal, you have to take that USB drive—the one you picked up at the Department of the Treasury—down to the IRS office along with a notarized power of attorney (yes, you're essentially authorizing yourself). You only have to deal with this hurdle once. After that initial setup, if you have others authorizing you to use the IRS online portal, you just submit the power of attorney forms (three copies) to the IRS without needing the drive.

If you run into any technical glitches, just give the IRS help desk a call at 1-800-66-9933 or contact the Department of the Treasury at 1-800-00-80. Just follow their directions and everything should go smoothly enough.

Hope your work goes well!

Thank you so much; your response was incredibly helpful, and I've successfully set up my access to the IRS online portal.🙂
The representative over at FINRA was absolutely lovely, but the person at the IRS? Well, a complete disaster. If you're using a USB drive, I'd highly recommend calling FINRA first—there's no way to figure out the whole process on your own! Though, I must say—if I may brag just a little—the lady I spoke with actually complimented me on how well I handled things compared to most people she walks through the procedure.🙂

And just one quick follow-up question: will I need any specific powers of attorney from clients whose IRS online portal accounts I'll be managing via my own card, and for FINRA, or is that strictly for the IRS online portal?!

I hate to be that person who keeps asking the same thing, but I really need some clarity: is this single security token I received actually enough to handle everything on the IRS online portal? It feels a bit off to me—everywhere I look in the official guides, they mention needing a specific smart card paired with a card reader... I’m feeling a little lost here. The plan is to set this all up ourselves to manage our own bookkeeping, and then eventually hand over the authorization to our clients. I’ve been scouring Google and reading through various forums, but honestly, the more I dig, the more confused I get! 😢((

Adam Stewart8 said:Could someone lend me some guidance regarding the tax exemption paperwork? I’ve received the hardware token from the accounting department, and they’ve returned my certification agreement along with the filing for the IRS
. I also dropped off that specific tax exemption form... what's the next step in this process? When the USB token arrived, there wasn't any software CD included in the package.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I am running into the exact same issue—I just received mine. Where does one even begin? I believe I managed to install the IRS online portal software via a website, but I seem to have hit a wall after that...😢

Could someone please lend me a hand? My manager over at the accounting firm where I work just handed me a service agreement for certification and this little USB security token—and honestly, I’m feeling a bit lost on where to even begin. I think I’ve successfully installed the IRS portal software, and I can see exactly where to input the owner's details and the business address, but whenever I try to actually submit the request to the IRS, it just fails. It seems I don't have the necessary digital certificate yet... how does one go about installing that? Is it a massive headache? I actually set this up about six months ago for one of our clients who maintains their own separate IRS portal, so I assumed having some experience would make this smoother—but it looks like I'm hitting a wall with these certificates. Should I have received anything else besides the signed agreement and this USB stick? And why a stick this time? For that other client, we used a traditional card reader and a smart card instead. We did receive an email containing a device ID and an encryption code... does anyone know what those are for?

It seems like a massive amount of packages are going missing after they arrive at the Indianapolis hub?! I’ve been waiting on my own delivery since last Friday, June 8th—and according to the sender, the last known update shows it sitting right there at the facility. This thread is blowing up, honestly; lately, it feels like packages are just vanishing into thin air... shouldn't there be more accountability for this? And I can't help but feel a bit frustrated with myself for letting those boots go missing—I agreed to standard shipping instead of opting for something more secure. Take it from me, people: don't rely on standard shipping for anything important!

Thanks, Nicole Lee4, if anyone happens to know which route was taken—thanks! 🙂

Rebecca Grant26 said:I think someone mentioned earlier that they aren't supposed to charge an extra fee $1.75 for package delivery notifications when they bring a package via certified mail—was it because of some specific regulation? (I can't quite recall the exact reason!) If that's the case, who should I contact to ensure they don't try to tack on those unnecessary charges?

Does anyone have any more insight on this? 😁

Someone mentioned something about how they shouldn't be charging a $1.75 delivery fee when they bring a package via certified mail—I can't quite recall the exact reason why (my memory is failing me today!), but does anyone know what specific policy I should cite to make sure they don't charge me extra?

Anything is possible—though I’ve actually ordered from her before. It was technically just a recommendation, but I decided to go ahead and trust my gut.

You make a fair point, velvetwalker23—there's no package because they're being STOLEN. I mean, why would they just sit there? Of course, there are exceptions, like Zachary Peterson6, who isn't stealing, but let's be honest: theft is happening, and it's happening on a massive scale. And I truly don't understand why they even allow people to ship these types of packages through standard channels when it's common knowledge they go missing? Gosh, I feel so incredibly foolish for being naive enough to expect that package to actually arrive. Now, I'm just left walking around with holes in my boots! Well, I suppose I deserve it for being such a dreamer. People warned me repeatedly that this wasn't a secure way to handle things, yet I listened anyway. And don't even get me started on those "hold for pickup" fees—it feels completely arbitrary. Sometimes they charge nothing, sometimes it's $1 or $30, and once it was even $5.25???! It’s practically a scam. Other times, my package sits there for three weeks and they don't charge me a dime; it makes absolutely no sense. Boooo.

Exactly—that’s why I am NEVER doing this again. Honestly, it feels like they haven't even shipped it yet.😢 They just don't care at all—it's as if nobody at the post office can be bothered to put in any effort, you know? Just totally indifferent. My advice? Don't take orders from random people and don't ship things out casually. Now, I'm sitting here regretting those $5.00 I didn't pay.

Hmm, just a quick question—in the event that the package is actually stuck somewhere, and someone finally finds it... after the holding period expires (you know, how long it stays at the post office before being sent back to the sender)? Is it possible they'll just return it to the sender?

I recently ordered a pair of boots from a friend—sent via standard mail to my local post office for pickup—and, naturally, I’ve been checking in at the branch for days now with absolutely nothing to show for it. Is there actually any way to track down where things went sideways, or is it just obvious that someone swiped the package? Does anyone know what the typical rate is for standard shipping anyway? I am honestly so bummed that I didn't spring for the insured/certified option; those boots were definitely not cheap!😢

Bravo—honestly, hats off to you. As for the rest of us? Well, we’ve pretty much thrown in the towel and gone back to the old ways of doing things after losing our minds entirely.😉