IRS and Tax Filing Issues

Kimberly Harris6 said:The OECD stuff is fascinating!! When I first started, they told me I only needed to show up once, but then after a while, they started demanding it every single time... Honestly, I'm just over the hassle. I'd rather just send a power of attorney and my card via a colleague (I don't even have to go myself); they handle the paperwork and everyone stays happy. They constantly wear me down with these contradictory statements and endless requirements. At this point, I'd much rather deal with extra paperwork than have to listen to them acting all "brilliant."

Raymond Martinez10 said:Give this a shot here:
http://rdc.irs.gov/

Raymond Martinez10 said:Give this a shot here:
http://rdc.irs.gov/

Donna Jones26 said:I noticed that businesses required to file electronically now include those making less than $267... will accountants be handling the filings for every single client, or are owners going to have to jump on the computer and do it themselves every month?

It looks like clients have started filing individual requests with the IRS and submitting powers of attorney to the tax office... I wonder how much it's going to cost per client if accountants end up doing all these separate filings? And does anyone know the electronic filing deadlines for this month versus next month?

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.

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.

Henry Chavez5 said:Large and medium-sized corporations, along with anyone registered for sales tax, are now mandated to file electronically. A client can certainly grab their own digital certificate, but they can also authorize any other person holding one—like an accountant—to file on their behalf. In that scenario, you just fill out a power of attorney form (you can download three copies from the official IRS website), take it down to the nearest local IRS office along with the certificate, and you're set. From the client's perspective, there's no direct financial hit, though the certificate holder (the accounting firm) is the one who paid the Treasury for it. Whether or not the accounting firm decides to pass that service fee onto the client is entirely up to them.

Donna Jones26 said:Thanks for the info!

Here’s the deal... my accountant told all our clients they need to go out and get their own digital certificates. He claims he’ll still help everyone out with the setup, getting things installed, and actually sending the forms... but I'm wondering... how much is this really going to hit small business owners or sole proprietors who have to deal with sales tax? Like, what does that look like monthly or yearly for the little guys?...

Donna Jones26 said:Thanks for the info!

Here’s the deal... my accountant told all our clients they need to go out and get their own digital certificates. He claims he’ll still help everyone out with the setup, getting things installed, and actually sending the forms... but I'm wondering... how much is this really going to hit small business owners or sole proprietors who have to deal with sales tax? Like, what does that look like monthly or yearly for the little guys?...

Raymond Martinez10 said:That means if he’s got 50 clients, he’s looking at 50 different credentials. Or better yet, does he expect every single client to show up at his office with their own hardware every time a document needs to be sent via e-filing?
It sounds completely impractical—and frankly, a total money pit. We're talking 50 clients * 12 months * $17 = $30,000 in wasted overhead.

silverbadger said: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.

josip yyyy;43318542 said:Yeah, unfortunately, that's the reality. So much of this makes zero sense; I'm constantly being "surprised" by new nonsense here.

Supposedly, it all comes down to liability. After chatting with someone at the IRS, I realized accountants are basically losing faith in their clients—maybe because some books aren't exactly accurate or people are working under the table. Now, they’re demanding everyone have their own individual digital ID (like a specific taxpayer credential) so you have to submit electronic documents personally ("don't dump your mess on me"). They’ve tweaked the laws so accounting firms have to vet their clients as "high-risk groups" or whatever. It's an attempt to shift the blame. Most of these clients are just small local contractors who don't even deal with sales tax, so instead of managing 50 accounts, the accountant is stuck doing this tedious vetting process for 20 people. It’s neither efficient nor practical. Last year, apparently, only those with more than $267 were forced through this hoop.

Please, walk me through the logic here. If an accountant was already filing forms for their clients, what actually changes now that they're doing it electronically? WHAT? If someone wanted to cook the books, they’ll keep cooking them regardless of whether the paperwork is physical or digital. And any accountant foolish enough to try and manage 50 different digital signatures is just begging for a headache. They'll end up getting blamed for everything—by the IRS, by the state—because if they're signing every single form with a unique certificate, but the forms themselves look identical and don't clearly label which client they belong to, there's a massive chance of a mix-up. Plus, does the client really want to drive over to the office every single time a form needs to be sent just to hand over their digital key? No way. The whole point of electronic filing is to streamline things, save time, and cut costs on paper and gas. Instead, the accountant is just becoming a slave to the bureaucracy.

Henry Chavez5 said:Since the start of this year, they've been issuing certificates tied directly to an individual's SSN. Before that, they used to be issued in a person's name—whether it was the manager or someone else—but they were technically linked to the business's tax ID instead.

silverbadger said:Actually, those weren't linked to the business entity itself, but rather to the SSN of the individual listed on the power of attorney. I know this for a fact because I originally drafted a power of attorney using the company's tax ID, and the IRS wouldn't accept it, so I had to go back and change everything to my own SSN.