October 1999

IRS to Issue Alternative ID Numbers for Preparers

A new Internal Revenue Service form will allow paid tax preparers to request an alternative identification number for use on the returns and refund claims they prepare after 1999.

The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 authorized the use of alternatives to Social Security numbers to identify tax return preparers. The change responds to concerns that a preparer's Social Security number could be used inappropriately by clientele and others having access to a prepared return.

Preparers may download Form W-7P, Application for Preparer Tax Identification Number, from the NYSSCPA's website (www.nysscpa.org) and the IRS's site (www.irs.ustreas.gov, see the Tax Professional's Corner), or call the IRS at (800) 829-3676. To ensure that the person assigned to and identified by a specific preparer tax identification number (PTIN) is the person applying for it, the application form asks for the preparer's name, home address, date of birth, and SSN.

The PTIN is solely the identifying number of the individual requesting it and has no relation to firms employing tax return preparers.

The IRS expected to begin issuing the PTINS by mail in early October. Preparers who submit applications by November should receive PTINs by the start of the year 2000 filing season. Return preparers may continue to use their PTINs year after year without reapplying. Preparers must use either their Social Security number or a PTIN. They cannot write "PTIN applied for" in the Paid Preparer's Use Only section of the return.