Jump to content
ATX Community

ID.me and IRS Account


Christian

Recommended Posts

Do any of you have an ID.me account? I am looking into opening one basically because I need to examine all the forms I submitted on my 2020 income tax return and it appears an easy way to get this info. After hours of waiting I finally got a Service rep on the phone and was told she had no access to the specific forms included on my return so no luck there. Most transcripts I've seen don't show this info either. I can submit a request by mailing a form and paying for a mailed copy which is time consuming. On looking into an ID.me account I was utterly astonished to find info evidently is shared with what (?) private vendors for goodness sake ! Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have a copy of your 2020 income tax return, right? If not, can you call your software provider who transmitted your return?

I haven't opened an IRS account (I can no longer get into e-Services, for example, because the IRS says "there is something in" my account).

What info is shared with private vendors?! Can they access anything in my IRS account? That would be important information to know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes I keep a copy but I mail in my return so ATX  has no efile to reference and believe it or not it is not beyond credulity that I failed to include the 2210 in my mailing but I don't think so. Therein lies my concern CB to setting up an ID.me account. I find it beyond belief that the IRS shares (?) this info with private vendors. How secure can that possibly be? Do I really want to accumulate REWARD points in a federal tax account ? Give me a break !

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

ID.me's policy states,  "by utilizing your ID.me Account at Third-Party Websites, you are expressly authorizing [ID.me] to share certain Personally Identifiable Information or Sensitive Information tied to your ID.me Account with such Third-Party Websites."

ID.me originated as a competitor to Groupon marketing deals which they still do.

Now they also promote their own Digital Wallet which they actively market.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The point is you are trusting them with every piece of your personal identity.

"and releases them to third parties, along with location, occupation, language, the list of pages browsed at ID.me, and the URLs visited before and after using ID.me"

which is the same thing that google does.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I bit the bullet and tried to set up my account after determining I won't be getting text messages from third party vendors. I did not quite succeed as I do not use my cell for email messages only texts and phone calls. I evidently will need to speak in video to a rep on my webcam to complete the process. In all probability this will be my one and only use of this account to determine if I did send in a needed form with my return. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, Christian said:

Well I bit the bullet and tried to set up my account after determining I won't be getting text messages from third party vendors. I did not quite succeed as I do not use my cell for email messages only texts and phone calls. I evidently will need to speak in video to a rep on my webcam to complete the process. In all probability this will be my one and only use of this account to determine if I did send in a needed form with my return. 

Please keep this thread going as you go through the process.   I am interested to see how hard it is and what value it provides.

Tom
Longview TX

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Christian said:

determine if I did send in a needed form with my return. 

Did you prepare and efile this return through ATX? If so, why not look at the forms that were actually  transmitted. As I recall, ATX does show that information. 

ETA:  Now that I've merged the two topics, I see that you paper-filed this return so that ATX will not have an e-file record of the forms.

Edited by jklcpa
ETA
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • jklcpa changed the title to ID.me and IRS Account

Well after being interviewed I finally got to review my info. I printed the transcript and brotherrr is it jockablock with info. I rarely have reason to obtain one of these and have in fact not reviewed one in more years than I can recall. I swear if a taxpayer passes gas I believe they would have a record of it. But needless to say they could not show me the actual forms I sent with my return. I could send in the original I thought I filed but IRS mail correspondence is so slow and likely they would simply inform me that I had computed it incorrectly. By the time resolved I would accrue additional penalties so I just sent them the cash and cussed profusely. As a curiosity I am wondering if I can send in a 1040-X with the Form 2210 and get the money back. What say you ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, Christian said:

they could not show me the actual forms I sent with my return. I could send in the original I thought I filed but IRS mail correspondence is so slow and likely they would simply inform me that I had computed it incorrectly. By the time resolved I would accrue additional penalties so I just sent them the cash and cussed profusely. As a curiosity I am wondering if I can send in a 1040-X with the Form 2210 and get the money back. What say you ?

I'm confused. Did you already send more money or forms after the original filing, and you now believe that you've paid the penalty twice?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was a penalty for under payment of estimated tax for 2020 ! I sent this in in October 2020 and here in July 2022 I get the notice. I think I included a Form 2210 explaining that my income is usually increased in December in some years due to unexpected capital gains. My payments in 2020 were more than my tax bill in 2019 but all to no avail. So I will likely be filing a 1040-X down the road. In 2021 I paid much of my tax through withholding on an annual IRA MRD since these payments are regarded as paid evenly over the year. I doubt I will recover any of the penalty and as noted in attempting to discuss the matter with an IRS rep was politely informed she did not have access to the specific forms on my return. I have rarely ever paid any kind of penalty and have discovered their efforts on behalf of the taxpayer begin with something on the order of "Do you wish to make arrangements to pay your penalty? " and go downhill from there. 🙁

  • Thumbs Down 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did you complete Schedule AI of the 2210?  It is not enough to "explain" that your income varies by quarter, you have to do the math on this schedule.  I've done it for clients multiple times.  It's a pain to fill out and very time-consuming.  Even when huge increases in income occur in the last quarter, I have never seen the result amount to more than a minimal reduction in tax.  I've stopped doing them because it was ridiculous to charge the client $150 for my time to save them $20 in tax.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes I did in fact do the A1 although I have my concerns as to whether it was correct. It will not hurt to try a 1040-X but I doubt I will recoup a dime. I never know until December what my income will be so I plan on continue paying through withholding on my MRD which as you know are considered paid over the year. It is truly irritating to pay all these taxes and then see some young couple get thousands back for Child Credits,  Earned Income Credits, Child Care Credits etc. and the wife drawing a Social Security disability payment and healthy as a horse !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, there are taxpayers out there trying to game the system.

Years ago I fired a Hairdresser filing HOH, once I realized that the income she was reporting every year hit the exact sweet spot to maximize her EITC.

Personally I am far more irritated by the large international tech companies that report billions of profits and pay very little tax.

For example, for years Apple's effective tax rate runs about 8%. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Customer asked us to print the full SSN on a pay stub for use with ID.ME.  We mask the SSN on the stub, per CA regulations, per common sense, and since no state (which is where the stub regulations come from) requires the full SSN.  It is normal, but still shocking, a stub, which anyone can "create" on their own, or via app, can be any sort of identification for any purpose.  The one exception I could even envision is TX, where the stubs are supposed to be signed by the employer.

ID is more subjected than some realize.

Example, for my software downloads, we obtain and use a "code signing" certificate, to avoid the "unknown/possible dangerous" app warnings. There is a simple (cheaper) option where it is likely only automated identity verification is performed, such as looking at a business name in the DUN database, and access to the designated email.  There is an "extended" verification which is supposed to be more thorough.  I suspect it is still automated, as it did not require anything further from me than the regular method.  The difference is for the signing process, I now have to use a secure USB stick, which contains my "key".  The theory is I have to know who I am, the password, AND have the secure stick, to be able to sign my file.  Granted, the stick means no one can copy my signing certificate, but it can still be lost or stolen.

The whole identity "thing" is interesting to play with.  When I have to give ID, sometimes I use my BIA ID or my passport card, just to see what the person looking at my ID says. Until my next BD, my state DL is still the "old" style, not a real ID, nor does it say not federally accepted.  This puzzles some as they expect one or the other to be noted in the upper right.

IN any case, the ID.ME process is another case proving privacy is a fallacy.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...