Deatbeat client no undergoing background check

[Y2KEA]

I would tell them, without any type of acknowledgement as to the client, that all requests must be submitted in writing through the USPS.

If you get that then I would do the following:

1. Tell them before you answer, they will need to provide a 7216 release before you can make a determination as to whether or not they are a client.

2. If you then determine the release is valid & they are a client, tell them you will not release any info if the account is not current.

3. A 1099C is for banks & lenders. I would use a 1099MISC with the amount in box 3. Assuming, of course, I would want to get involved in that can of worms.

[Roland Slugg]

Third, if I decide to write off the debt do I have the right to issue him a 1099-C?

Did you also loan your "deatbeat" client some money? If you did, and if you are in the business of lending money, and if he didn't pay you back and won't pay you back, and if the amount was $600 or more, then yes, you should issue a 1099-C. You might want to read the instructions for form 1099-C.

[oceanlovin'ea]

U S I A - according to Wikipedia it is United States Information Agency.

oh, I didn't read all of the post before I responded. It does say it existed until 1999.

So what's with that?

Linda, EA

[Koss]

Background Check

What is U S I A?

I can't really form an opinion on this without knowing what the so-called authorization form says, and who the third party is.

I don't think it would be appropriate to even acknowledge that the guy was your client unless you get a proper 7216 authorization.

But you can't send a 7216 authorization to her, because then you are effectively revealing that you have tax information about the guy. You may end up having to tell them that you simply can't provide any information, or answer any questions, unless the guy calls you first. And then you can explain to him what he needs to sign, and ask him if he ever plans to pay you.

I don't think you are legally obligated to respond to this kind of request, in any manner whatsoever. If it was an active client, who was paying you, then you would be motivated to address it somehow, to preserve the client relationship.

But it sounds a little screwy to me.

They need to know "what kind of work" you did for him?

You provided professional services. You certainly weren't "working" for him as an employee.

Did he also give them the name of his physician, his dentist, his attorney, and his veterinarian? What about his plumber, and the neighborhood kid who cuts his grass?

All of which comes back to my first question: Who, or what, is USIA?

Google search comes up with a federal agency that ceased to exist in 1999.

I would be very, very careful with this. Caller ID doesn't prove that anything is legitimate.

BMK

[erchess]

I have a call on my voicemail. The Caller ID and the recording identifies the caller as being with the U S I A and gives a number at which she can in fact be reached. She wanted my fax number which I provided on her voicemail alolng with a note later in the day repeating the number and saying I had not gotten her fax. She told me in her voicemail that she is investigating the guy for a security clearance and needs to know what work I did for him. The fax will detail what she wants and include his signed permission for me to provide it. This is a client for whom I prepared several years of back returns and a collection information statement pursuant to getting him an installment agreement about two years ago. Being naive at the time I did not collect my fee up front and I have yet to collect it. I therefore have three questions.

Please confirm that what he already signed probably does not give me the right to say anything or give anything to her concerning him and that I need the same authorization for release of tax information that I would need before I could provide them to say a lender. Please also confirm that one option that would make the IRS happy would be for me to provide whatever to him and let him provide it to the U S I A or not as he sees fit.

Second, may I decline to cooperate until I get paid? If I take that course of action may I tell the U S I A why I am at least temporarily balking at their request?

Third, if I decide to write off the debt do I have the right to issue him a 1099-C?