IRS and Tax Filing Issues

vitas;43127238 said:Generally, you pay a fee to use the card or the security token. Fidelity provides access to their e-services for filing annual financial statements and quarterly statistical reports; the DMV handles the submission of various regulatory forms. There is a significant amount of utility to be found within the Fidelity ecosystem. Other services—like those for tax filings, Social Security, or healthcare administration—are completely free once you have paid for that Fidelity card. Therefore, the card can be quite useful, and I believe it is worth the investment..]

You make a valid point; for some, owning one is a logical choice, or perhaps more accurately, an unavoidable necessity. However, for someone in my position, the math simply doesn't add up. I don't file annual financial statements or quarterly reports, nor do I submit any regulatory paperwork since I don't employ anyone. I have no need for the tax, Social Security, or healthcare portals either; my entire digital footprint is limited to sales tax filings and year-end reconciliations. If I had an accountant, they would handle all those filings for a modest fee, finding it far more economical to cover the monthly Fidelity service charge themselves since they manage dozens or even hundreds of small businesses at once, and
I am my own bookkeeper.
In an era where we are constantly forced to scrutinize every single expense to stay afloat, these kinds of mandates feel particularly heavy-handed when they serve no purpose. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years they decide we aren't allowed to walk into a bank to deposit cash anymore, and instead require us to pay Fidelity security guards to come right to our front doors to collect it.

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!

Kenneth Bailey6 said:Greetings, everyone. I have a question regarding these digital tax certificates... Up until now, I’ve been filing my sales tax returns once a month
in person at the local IRS office—it's just a quick five-minute walk from my place. Now, I understand that starting January 1st, everything has to be submitted
electronically. For someone like me, who handles all my own bookkeeping and runs a solo operation, this feels like nothing more than an added expense.
I handle all my electronic transfers through JP Morgan Chase, but during a recent visit to the Department of the Treasury, I was told I might also need to pay them $17 monthly just to maintain the
digital credentials. It seems excessive to me to pay a recurring fee just to submit a single monthly return, especially since I am already paying service fees
to JP Morgan Chase. If the certificate can be downloaded directly from the government website, how exactly is this "free" system supposed to work? Does it actually make more financial sense to migrate all my payment processing over to the Department of the Treasury?

silverbadger said: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.

Kimberly Harris6 said:Wait, is this actually news? Every time I set up a new client, I’ve always brought along their card and a power of attorney... mostly because I was told they couldn't assign authorization without the physical card. I hand them the card, they process everything, and within 24 hours, I can manage that client's account perfectly fine. I honestly don't see what the big deal is.

Kyle Rogers8 said:Sign this right here
We've handled powers of attorney for at least 60+ clients this way—always bringing the ID along every single time.
Actually, I've seen cases where someone authorized via ID forgot to bring the actual card to the IRS office, and even though the agents there know them by name, they were told they literally couldn't assign the authorization without the physical card on hand due to technicalities. 🤷

Henry Edwards33 said:🤣

I’ve never had to show my ID at the IRS before. This is actually kind of funny 🤣

Henry Edwards33 said:🤣

I’ve never had to show my ID at the IRS before. This is actually kind of funny 🤣

Henry Edwards33 said:🤣

I’ve never had to show my ID at the IRS before. This is actually kind of funny 🤣

fadedotter21 said:Being a total overachiever, I actually headed down to the local IRS branch first just to ask exactly what paperwork I needed to bring. They told me: "Just three copies of the power of attorney." When I asked if I should bring a USB drive, they looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Why on earth would we need your thumb drive?"

Henry Edwards33 said:Three? 😕

I suppose I'll be hearing all sorts of nonsense soon enough. 🤣