For many employers, verifying the identity of your employees is a critical stage in the employment process. Depending on the nature of your business, the investigation may be even more in depth. The IRS also offers a similar service, but for those taxpayers who might have dealt with fraud in the past. This service allows you to verify your identity prior to filing your next return. If you are concerned about this and would like to complete the verification process, then consult with your tax professional, such as HCS, LLC in North Richland Hills, TX, to assist you with the process. The IRS may also send you a letter, requiring you to verify your identity to release your refund or complete other tasks. You need to follow the process outlined in your specific letter, but here are a few of the items you may encounter.
What You Need
In order to complete the identity verification process with the IRS, you will need to be sure to have certain pieces of information. These would include:
You will also be asked to verify information that has been culled by third parties, including credit bureaus, in an effort to create questions that are individualized to you personally. The information obtained will allow to register with the IRS as a taxpayer who has verified their identity. It is important to note that the IRS will be using the information from your most recently filed tax return as the base for matching up the above information.
Therefore, if you had recently moved, you will need to register with the last known address the IRS would have on file, not your current address. However, if you recently filed your tax return through the eFile system and more than two weeks have passed, then you should be able to use your new address for the verification process.
Next Steps
The IRS offers some very detailed information about the registration process. If your address is not entered correctly, for example, your registration may fail. Therefore, it is important to work with your tax professional as you work through this process to make sure that your registration is completed correctly to avoid any delays in processing your current return.
If you have a foreign address on your previously filed return, you will want to enter that as well, versus any new address that might not yet be on file with the IRS. Military personnel should follow the same procedure, even if they have been deployed and are no longer at their previous address.
Third Party Soft Inquiry
In order to obtain information that would not be readily known by another individual, the IRS uses a soft inquiry via a third party. This includes using information obtained from your credit report to confirm your identity. Questions can vary to former addresses, who you received credit from and other topics. The answers will be based off the information currently on file with the credit bureaus.
As a result, it may be worth the effort to pull your credit report in advance to determine if there is any errors on it. While correcting your report takes time, it can also be helpful to be able to demonstrate that you are in the process of fixing those errors, should the IRS question you on erroneous information.
In addition, these soft inquires do not effect your credit score or show up except to the company that did the inquiry. Most soft credit inquiries are removed from your credit report within two years.
Registration Is Not Full Proof
While you may know all of the appropriate answers, your registration may not be completed for several reasons. The first one is that your answers did not match their information, which an occur if the information is incorrect.
Another reason could be that your credit history has been blocked due to fraud concerns or you requested that your information be blocked. If that is the case, you need to have that fraud protection removed to move forward with the process.
It is important to note that this process has been put in place to protect the individual taxpayer, who may be dealing with potential fraud challenges. If you have received one of these identification verification letters, then you should consult with your tax professional for assistance.
Click the link below to connect with a tax professional at HCS, LLC in North Richland Hills, TX, to assist you through the identity verification process.
