Illegals working under the wrong social

[Bjorn]

Facts: People present their ITIN and a W2 with another name on it.

Can this be efiled?

Mahalo

[Uncle Sam]

Illegals working under wrong Social Sec

IRS will reject the e-file immediately.
Anytime a Social Security number or ITIN for that matter doesn't exactly match up a person's name, or even if the last name is misspelled (such as a transposition of two letters) IRS will reject.

[Chief]

No

Even if the return is mailed, it will be rejected. When an immigrant gives me a social security I question it as to it validity. I tell the person it will be rejected if not genuine. Many of them are using bogus cards.

[Kong]

No it can not be e-filed.
The purpose of the ITIN is to prepare a return and sumitt W-2. All my clients recieve thier refund. Why all the confusion? I live in Arizona 62 miles from border and I see this issue every year.

[jainen]

It CAN be efiled

It CAN be efiled. Use the correct number, and mark the W-2 as non-standard.

[Bjorn]

illegal working with an ITIN

I would file the tax return under the ITIN name and number.
Thanks for the tip to mark the w2 non-standard.

[Jim R]

It should not be e-filed

You "can" e-file the return under the ITIN number and it will be accepted. However it can not legally be e-file unless the fake social security number is on the e-filed W-2. I know of no software that allows that. To e-file the W-2 with the ITIN number instead of the fake social security number would be filing fraudulent information.

The return needs to be prepared with the ITIN and mailed in with the issued copy of W-2 with the fake social security number.

[jainen]

the same thing

>> it can not legally be e-file unless the fake social security number is on the e-filed W-2<<

I don't believe Pub 1345 supports this statement, but if you feel uncomfortable about efiling you can use a substitute W-2, citing the incorrect one as a source of information, and that can certainly be filed. But marking as non-standard accomplishes the same thing.

[Bees Knees]

However it can not legally be e-file unless the fake social security number is on the e-filed W-2.

It cannot legally be e-filed unless the illegal number is used????

So if the legal number is used, it is illegal.

Do we have a screwed up system, or what?

[Snaggletooth]

Send them packing

...to the unscrupulous guy down the street.

We have green card printers and ss card printers in our area. This guarantees that any employer can hire these folks and not worry about retribution, even though most of this documentation is suspected to be fake.

If they show up here and their SS# doesn't match, that's the end of it, and I tell them to work out the problem with their employer, the SS office, or whatever.. Why can't this problem be incumbent upon those who are creating it, instead of the tax preparer trying to find workarounds for them???

[taxea]

Illegals working under the wrong social

As an E.A. and a tax payer who wants to be sure these illegals are paying their taxes I would make a copy of each document and send it to the IRS. And, no, I would not prepare a return.
If they have an ITIN and the employer was given a SSN in order to issue a W-2 one or the other of them, or maybe both, are engaging in illegal activity and should be investigated.
taxea

[Bees Knees]

That brings up an interesting ethical question. As an EA, can we prepare a return for an illegal alien using a proper ITIN knowing that they used a fake SSN to get the W-2 job?

[DonPriebe]

What the IRS says ...

"• If a client presents an ITIN and a Form W-2 showing an SSN, the tax return must be filed on paper. E-file rules do not permit an Electronic Return Originator (ERO) to alter information on a wage document, and mismatched taxpayer identification numbers will cause an e-filed return to reject."

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=120580,00.html

[taxea]

Illegals working under the wrong social

BeesKnees
My point exactly...wouldn't we becoming involved in the illegal activity by filing the return when the ITIN should make it obvious that the SSN is fake. Don't we have an obligation professionally and morally to report the possible illegal activity?

[jainen]

No, we do not

>>Don't we have an obligation professionally and morally to report the possible illegal activity?<<

No, we do not. We have an obligation professionally and morally to serve our client's interests and protect the confidential information entrusted to us.

When you notice your Schedule C client doesn't have a business license, do you phone up city hall? If your client converts his garage into a rental unit without building permits, do you tell the county planning department to red tag it? Call the cops if an unmarried couple's relationship is "in violation of local law"? Rat out off-the-books work while drawing disability? We see potentially illegal stuff all the time. What's so special about someone just trying to hold down a job?