IRS and Tax Filing Issues

fadedcrane92 said:I’ve got some questions for Nancy—if she can find a moment to reply... though anyone else with similar experience is more than welcome to jump in.
I handle the bookkeeping for several clients, all of whom have authorized me through my SSN (I run my own small business).
The thing is, since the Treasury keeps breathing down my neck for fees—honestly, they’re being fair enough, but still, at least $667 🙂 a year—I really want to cut ties with them.
Since I’ve had to renew my digital certificate multiple times already (my two-year contract expired ages ago), I can revoke my current one immediately for $27. If I do that, it should automatically strip away everyone else who is "linked" to my certificate.
Using my own digital ID, I managed to successfully sign and submit everything to the IRS this month for all my clients—it was honestly such a relief!
I also used my digital health card to log in and view all the clients I’m authorized for, so that part works perfectly fine too.
However, I’ve wasted an entire day trying to deal with the federal health portal, and I still haven't been able to get through via Grants.gov.
1. Is it possible to access the health portal through Grants.gov, or am I stuck dealing with the bureaucratic nightmare at the Treasury just for that?
One more thing—I have about five B2G e-invoices to send out every month. How did Nancy manage to bypass the Treasury for this? I need some advice,
2. Who offers the most affordable and straightforward service for this? If the rates are low enough, I’d love to switch everything over—sending and receiving both B2B and B2G invoices.
At the local branch, the Treasury charges $17 for the initial setup, and then $10 per invoice sent—it’s absolutely highway robbery.

By the way, has anyone heard anything regarding Social Security updates? I'm curious too..
🙂

Hi everyone. I got a call from the IRS yesterday letting me know there's a missing figure in my 2019 Bilance that I submitted through Elon Musk's portal, and they need me to file a correction. Does anyone know where exactly I should send this amendment, or has anyone here dealt with this before?

We’re looking to add another entity to our existing digital certificate used for the IRS portals and Social Security filings. It’s necessary to register this additional business under our current credentials. How does one handle the registration for tax and social security systems this year? In the old days, everything was handled via paper trails—but since we haven't touched these filings in quite some time, what is the protocol now? Is an in-person visit to the IRS required, or can this entire headache be resolved through the online portal?

Blind Dog said:You’re going to need power of attorney for every single service: the IRS, Social Security, and Medicare.
Check their websites to see if they offer online forms. Fill them out and just email them directly to the agents at those agencies.

Thanks for the reply. So, it's business as usual then? I assume everything can be handled electronically.

And regarding registering the company with the IRS—do I still have to deal with an agent in person with physical paperwork? I know I can register for an EIN and handle the sales tax setup through the online system, but am I really expected to hand-deliver the actual documents?

In my small hometown, getting anything done at the local IRS office is quite the production because you can't just walk right up to the desk; first, you have to call a clerk to let them know you're coming, then they notify the security guard, and finally, the clerk actually steps out to meet you. To make things easier on myself, I usually just email everything over after setting up a quick appointment beforehand.

Hey everyone,

I’m currently prepping an application for the IRS regarding a digital certificate that needs to be tied directly to our company's accountant. I was digging through their website, and there's a bit of a pricing split here: one price if we just need access to the CDC, Medicare, and the EPA, but then there's a much steeper fee if we want the full suite—including access to the NASDAQ for filing reports. What’s your take? Should I just bite the bullet now, pay the higher fee, and get that NASDAQ access ready to go? Or is it smarter to just stick to the basics like the EPA and CDC for now?
How are you all handling this?

Appreciate any insight you can give me. 🙂

Austin Smith45 said:Hey everyone,

I’m currently prepping an application for the IRS regarding a digital certificate that needs to be tied directly to our company's accountant. I was digging through their website, and there's a bit of a pricing split here: one price if we just need access to the CDC, Medicare, and the EPA, but then there's a much steeper fee if we want the full suite—including access to the NASDAQ for filing reports. What’s your take? Should I just bite the bullet now, pay the higher fee, and get that NASDAQ access ready to go? Or is it smarter to just stick to the basics like the EPA and CDC for now?
How are you all handling this?

Appreciate any insight you can give me. 🙂

Just go with the IRS and CDC. It makes zero sense to pay a premium all year long for something you're only going to use once a year—especially since filing in person is free now. I don't know if they'll keep it that way after all this chaos, but even then, a one-time fee is definitely cheaper than paying for full service access for an entire year.

My recent IRS certificate (which was stored on a flash drive) finally expired, so I went ahead and renewed it. However, for the last five or six months now, I’ve just been using my electronic ID to log into the IRS portal via the federal authentication system. This leads me to wonder: is there actually any reason to keep paying the IRS? (I expect to receive my 2021 tax bill sometime this coming January.)
Beyond the fact that their hardware is absolute junk—honestly, the drive is so finicky that it fails if you even look at it wrong, and I often have to unplug and replug it just to get it to register—the cost is also quite bothersome.
For instance, back before we had to deal with W-2 filings, I was only required to mail in quarterly sales tax calculations, one annual report, and some paperwork for HHS. That amounted to maybe six total envelopes sent by mail, costing about $50. But then this "digital revolution" happened, and instead of making things cheaper, it somehow managed to hike the costs up to $162, which is essentially a 🙂 tenfold increase over what I used to pay.

Edward Stewart said:My recent IRS certificate (which was stored on a flash drive) finally expired, so I went ahead and renewed it. However, for the last five or six months now, I’ve just been using my electronic ID to log into the IRS portal via the federal authentication system. This leads me to wonder: is there actually any reason to keep paying the IRS? (I expect to receive my 2021 tax bill sometime this coming January.)
Beyond the fact that their hardware is absolute junk—honestly, the drive is so finicky that it fails if you even look at it wrong, and I often have to unplug and replug it just to get it to register—the cost is also quite bothersome.
For instance, back before we had to deal with W-2 filings, I was only required to mail in quarterly sales tax calculations, one annual report, and some paperwork for HHS. That amounted to maybe six total envelopes sent by mail, costing about $50. But then this "digital revolution" happened, and instead of making things cheaper, it somehow managed to hike the costs up to $162, which is essentially a 🙂 tenfold increase over what I used to pay.

If you aren't planning on using that certificate anymore, make sure to cancel it with the IRS.

casualstag4 said:If you aren't planning on using that certificate anymore, make sure to cancel it with the IRS.

Thanks for getting back to me. That part seems like the easiest bit of this whole puzzle, yet I am struggling to find a definitive answer regarding whether I still actually need my IRS certificate—specifically, if my access to the IRS portal via my US government ID or e-filing remains contingent upon it.
It would seem perfectly logical that since my Social Security number remains the same and I don't have any employees on payroll, the requirement would simply vanish. To borrow a sentiment from Louis XIV, "the business is me." 🙂.

Edward Stewart said:Thanks for getting back to me. That part seems like the easiest bit of this whole puzzle, yet I am struggling to find a definitive answer regarding whether I still actually need my IRS certificate—specifically, if my access to the IRS portal via my US government ID or e-filing remains contingent upon it.
It would seem perfectly logical that since my Social Security number remains the same and I don't have any employees on payroll, the requirement would simply vanish. To borrow a sentiment from Louis XIV, "the business is me." 🙂.

No, you can access the IRS Online portal via e-Verify without the certificate.

silverbadger said:You're going to need separate powers of attorney for everything: the IRS, Medicare, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Check their websites to see if they offer online forms. If they do, just fill them out and email them directly to the agents at those agencies.

From what I gather, the person granting the power of attorney has to be the one to handle it, not the people receiving it...
At least when I log into Login.gov (Small Business Admin), I can see everything under my e-Verify admin settings. I can see exactly who I've authorized via their ID number, cancel permissions, or add someone new. It’s all right there.
I haven't actually tested it yet, but since this went live this year, you won't see any of that info unless you log in using a high-level security token or something with level 4 authentication.😉

Edward Stewart said:Thanks for getting back to me. That part seems like the easiest bit of this whole puzzle, yet I am struggling to find a definitive answer regarding whether I still actually need my IRS certificate—specifically, if my access to the IRS portal via my US government ID or e-filing remains contingent upon it.
It would seem perfectly logical that since my Social Security number remains the same and I don't have any employees on payroll, the requirement would simply vanish. To borrow a sentiment from Louis XIV, "the business is me." 🙂.

If you're the business...
I've actually never even used an IRS Tax Transcript or a security key. I've strictly used e-Verify for IRS Online ever since it became an option.
I'm not exactly sure how long it's been, but this is my second ID and it's valid until 2022 (my first one lasted 5 years 🤔), so I've probably been doing this for about 8 years total...

Funny enough, nobody tells you this. I found out by accident when I tried to file sales tax and—lo and behold—it worked...
I asked at the local IRS office if everything was fine, and they were basically like, "Why wouldn't it be?" I told them I didn't use the official IRS security key, but they insisted that 😁

Another thing people stay quiet about is a little detail: the Department of Homeland Security is supposed to give you your ID and a card reader at no extra charge (it's included in the ID fee).
Of course, as long as you don't ask, they won't offer it. You won't get it unless you specifically request it. 🙄

stormybadger8 said:If you're the business...
I've actually never even used an IRS Tax Transcript or a security key. I've strictly used e-Verify for IRS Online ever since it became an option.
I'm not exactly sure how long it's been, but this is my second ID and it's valid until 2022 (my first one lasted 5 years 🤔), so I've probably been doing this for about 8 years total...

Funny enough, nobody tells you this. I found out by accident when I tried to file sales tax and—lo and behold—it worked...
I asked at the local IRS office if everything was fine, and they were basically like, "Why wouldn't it be?" I told them I didn't use the official IRS security key, but they insisted that 😁

Another thing people stay quiet about is a little detail: the Department of Homeland Security is supposed to give you your ID and a card reader at no extra charge (it's included in the ID fee).
Of course, as long as you don't ask, they won't offer it. You won't get it unless you specifically request it. 🙄

That sounds great, though I didn't have access to e-Verify when the IRS Online portal first went live, so my only real option back then was using an IRS Tax Transcript and their specific hardware key.

stormybadger8 said:If you're the business...
I've actually never even used an IRS Tax Transcript or a security key. I've strictly used e-Verify for IRS Online ever since it became an option.
I'm not exactly sure how long it's been, but this is my second ID and it's valid until 2022 (my first one lasted 5 years 🤔), so I've probably been doing this for about 8 years total...

Funny enough, nobody tells you this. I found out by accident when I tried to file sales tax and—lo and behold—it worked...
I asked at the local IRS office if everything was fine, and they were basically like, "Why wouldn't it be?" I told them I didn't use the official IRS security key, but they insisted that 😁

Another thing people stay quiet about is a little detail: the Department of Homeland Security is supposed to give you your ID and a card reader at no extra charge (it's included in the ID fee).
Of course, as long as you don't ask, they won't offer it. You won't get it unless you specifically request it. 🙄

Exactly, that isn't mentioned in any of the paperwork; they didn't tell me anything when I set up my e-Verify, so I went ahead and bought a card reader myself, even though I see now that it wasn't strictly necessary—but honestly, a one-time expense for something so incredibly useful isn't such a huge grievance.
What truly stands out, however, is how the bureaucracy continues to demonstrate just how incompetent, arrogant, and fundamentally hostile they are toward the very citizens who fund their existence. It is rather striking that the entire IRS Online project was funded by the European Union, yet these officials would likely continue to harass us with endless paperwork and redundant stamps for years just to justify their own bloated numbers.

We used the quick registration feature on Medicare Online. Once a company registers for Social Security, does the enrollment with Medicare happen automatically? And once that's settled, can we then send Medicare our access list along with the Social Security filing and all the other supporting paperwork to secure access to the digital health portal?

Edward Stewart said:That sounds great, though I didn't have access to e-Verify when the IRS Online portal first went live, so my only real option back then was using an IRS Tax Transcript and their specific hardware key.

Exactly, that isn't mentioned in any of the paperwork; they didn't tell me anything when I set up my e-Verify, so I went ahead and bought a card reader myself, even though I see now that it wasn't strictly necessary—but honestly, a one-time expense for something so incredibly useful isn't such a huge grievance.
What truly stands out, however, is how the bureaucracy continues to demonstrate just how incompetent, arrogant, and fundamentally hostile they are toward the very citizens who fund their existence. It is rather striking that the entire IRS Online project was funded by the European Union, yet these officials would likely continue to harass us with endless paperwork and redundant stamps for years just to justify their own bloated numbers.

It’s literally unbelievable...
But the system works perfectly. You can handle basically any document you can think of on there. If everyone actually used Login.gov, those government offices wouldn't even need to exist...

All you really need in town is a PC, an ID reader, and a printer...
That computer handles everything with every possible official, which is probably why they stay quiet about it...
And don't even get me started on our journalists. They acted like they discovered fire during COVID, rambling about how "thanks to the pandemic," you can finally get certain things done online.
For crying out loud, this stuff has been fully functional for five years already. 🤦

Betty King7 said:We used the quick registration feature on Medicare Online. Once a company registers for Social Security, does the enrollment with Medicare happen automatically? And once that's settled, can we then send Medicare our access list along with the Social Security filing and all the other supporting paperwork to secure access to the digital health portal?

From what I understand, Medicare and Social Security have been swapping data for the last six years. But looking at their website, all they really need is their access list, so you should be able to get onto the electronic health portal

casualstag4 said:From what I understand, Medicare and Social Security have been swapping data for the last six years. But looking at their website, all they really need is their access list, so you should be able to get onto the electronic health portal

The Department of Health and Human Services only pulls worker enrollment and termination data from Social Security, specifically the Microsoft files. They don't automatically grab any of the other forms; you actually have to send those over separately. 😵

I know it sounds a bit silly, but that's just how the system works.

silverbadger said:The Department of Health and Human Services only pulls worker enrollment and termination data from Social Security, specifically the Microsoft files. They don't automatically grab any of the other forms; you actually have to send those over separately. 😵

I know it sounds a bit silly, but that's just how the system works.

So, does this mean we actually have to physically show up at a Department of Health and Human Services office to stand in line once our Social Security info updates via the online portal, just to hand over access credentials for the health portal?

Betty King7 said:So, does this mean we actually have to physically show up at a Department of Health and Human Services office to stand in line once our Social Security info updates via the online portal, just to hand over access credentials for the health portal?

In my experience, the access authorization is just sent directly to the caseworker via email.

As for the M3 forms used for updating information with the IRS and all those other various documents, the healthcare department doesn't just pull that data automatically, so I typically just email everything over to my contact who handles the changes. Then, I just sit back and wait about two weeks for them to get it all processed.