Preparer Tax Identification Number - PTIN
Categories: Tax
A “preparer tax identification number,” or PTIN, is a unique number assigned to everyone who prepares federal tax refunds or submits tax refund requests to the IRS. It’s like an ID number for tax preparers.
This handy little number serves two purposes. First, it protects the tax preparer’s privacy, since they can just put their PTIN on every return they prepare instead of using their full name, Social Security number, or other personal information. Second, once a tax preparer receives a PTIN from the IRS, they have one central portal where they can access tax info and regulations, and check back through their tax preparation history.
This sounds like a fairly benign process, but in 2013 and again in 2017, the IRS found itself on the wrong side of a couple PTIN-related court rulings. The IRS had been charging a fee to obtain and subsequently renew a PTIN, but the courts said, “Not today, IRS,” and forbade them from charging any more fees in the future. Why? Because the IRS doesn’t have the authority to regulate tax preparers, and that includes charging them PTIN fees. What will happen to the nearly $200 million in PTIN fees the IRS has collected since the program became a thing in 2011? We’re not sure, but some think they might end up having to pay it all back. Gives new meaning to the term “IRS refund,” doesn’t it?
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Finance allah shmoop What is the i r s Well
i rest might be the three most hated letters in
the alphabet Well after d m v a pms and
well maybe std The i r s is the internal
revenue service Their internal i e inside the government they're
in charge of collecting revenue A k a They take
money from your pocket in the form of taxes and
they deliver it to uncle sam and they you know
service you and it doesn't feel good So yeah these
are the guys from the us treasury department who checked
to make sure you filled out your income tax forms
correctly and submitted the proper amount And if you screwed
up in any way they will let you know about
it and a half in the form of angry letters
Phone calls knocks on your front door rocks through your
back window Whatever it takes to get you to pay
your fair share of taxes Like why should you get
away with not paying when the jones has paid all
they owed Or the irs can do even worse and
audit you with an audit he irs will request extensive
and very specific information and records from you Paycheck deductions
all kinds of things You claim that you did that
were deductible that may or may not have been forcing
you to spend hours upon hours at your public storage
unit digging through boxes you hoped and prayed you'd never
see again Well after the third solid week of having
your financial history poked and prodded like you've had to
turn your head and cough you uh might actually be
ready and willing to trade in those three letters of 00:01:35.13 --> [endTime] irs for rough one of those stds instead