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IRS Issues P(T) INs to Preparers

BY JAY A. SCHEIDLINGER

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2000. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

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Beginning this year, tax practitioners can use alternative numbers called PTINs on the individual tax returns they prepare for clients instead of their own Social Security numbers. The IRS is providing this option in response to practitioners’ concerns about privacy and possible misuse of their Social Security numbers by anyone who has access to prepared returns.

The 9-digit PTIN will begin with the letter “P.” Form W-7P, Application for Preparer Tax Identification Number, can be obtained from the IRS’s Web site ( www.irs.ustreas.gov ) or by calling its toll-free forms hot line—800-829-3676.

States get in the act

Most states are allowing tax preparers to use the IRS-issued PTIN numbers on state tax returns. However, thirteen states do not recognize the PTINs; of them, 11 do not require preparers to enter their Social Security numbers on state returns. Arizona and Tennessee are the only states that require practitioners to use their Social Security numbers on state tax returns, but will not permit them to use the PTINs.

—Jay A. Scheidlinger, CPA, Esq., a tax practitioner with Israeloff, Trattner & Co., Valley Stream, New York.



State 		Allows
federal
PTINs

Reason 		 

State 		Allows
federal
PTINs

Reason
Alabama Yes   Montana Yes  
Alaska Yes   Nebraska N/A Social Security number not required
Arizona No   Nevada N/A Social Security number not required
Arkansas Yes   New Hampshire Yes  
California Yes   New Jersey Yes  
Colorado Yes   New Mexico Yes  
Connecticut Yes   New York Yes  
Delaware Yes   North Carolina Yes  
Florida Yes   North Dakota Yes  
Georgia Yes   Ohio Yes  
Hawaii Yes   Oklahoma N/A Social Security number not required
Idaho Yes   Oregon N/A Social Security number not required
Illinois Yes   Pennsylvania Yes  
Indiana Yes   Rhode Island Yes  
Iowa Yes   South Carolina Yes  
Kansas N/A Social Security number not required South Dakota Yes  
Kentucky Yes   Tennessee Yes  
Louisiana Yes   Texas N/A Social Security number not required
Maine Yes   Utah Yes  
Maryland N/A Social Security number not required Vermont Yes  
Massachusetts Yes   Virginia Yes  
Michigan Yes   Washington N/A Social Security number not required
Minnesota Yes   West Virginia N/A Social Security number not required
Mississippi Yes   Wisconsin N/A Social Security number not required
Missouri Yes   Wyoming N/A Social Security number not required

Note: PTINs are allowed in the District of Columbia.

 

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