On-Line Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)

MATCHING PROGRAM

PUBLICATION 2108A

INTENDED AUDIENCE

The intended audiences for this Publication are members of the Third- Party Payor Community, and Their 

Authorized Agents, Issuing Form 1099 Statements of Income for Recipients of Proceeds from:

» Real Estate Brokers and Barter Exchange Transactions (1099-B)

» Dividends and Distributions (1099-DIV)

» Interest Income (1099-INT)

» Merchant Card Third Party Network Payments (1099-K)

» Miscellaneous Income (1099-MISC)

» Original Issue Discount (1099-OID)

» Taxable Distributions Received from Cooperatives (1099-PATR)

» Non-employee Compensation (1099-NEC) 

» Payments that are subject to backup withholding under IRC §§ 6041 and 3406(b)(3)(A) which include 

taxable grants and agricultural payments (1099-G Box 6 or 7)

This Publication describes the acceptance criteria for participation in the IRS e-services TIN Matching 

Program, and the operations and procedures of the program.

Guidelines and Instructions for the Interactive and Bulk On-Line Taxpayer Identification 

Number (TIN) Matching Programs
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section 1: PURPOSE 3

Section 2: AUTHORITY 3

Section 3: BACKGROUND 3

Section 4: DISCLOSURE AND PRIVACY 3-4

Section 5: PROGRAM ACCESS AND FEES 4

Section 6: PROGRAM TERMS DEFINED 4-5

Section 7: REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM 5

Section 8: e-services TIN MATCHING PROGRAMS 5

Section 9: INTERACTIVE AND BULK TIN MATCHING APPLICATION 5

Section 10: INTERACTIVE AND BULK TIN MATCHING PROCESS 6

Section 11: BULK TIN MATCHING FILE FORMAT 6-7

Section 12: PENALTY ABATEMENT DUE TO REASONABLE CAUSE 7

Section 13: WHERE TO GET HELP 7

Section 14: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 7-11

Section 15: EXHIBITS 12-17

Section 16: TROUBLESHOOTING 18-20
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GENERAL PROGRAM GUIDELINES AS ESTABLISHED UNDER REVENUE PROCEDURE 2003-9

SEC. 1. PURPOSE

1. These guidelines provide procedures for the Internal Revenue Service’s Taxpayer Identification Number 

(TIN) Matching Program. The program is established for payers of Form 1099 income subject to the 

backup withholding provisions of section 3406(a)(1)(A) and (B) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Prior to filing an information return, a Program participant may check the TIN (Taxpayer Identification 

Number) furnished by the payee against the name/TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) combination 

contained in the Internal Revenue Service database maintained for the Program.

2. The IRS will maintain a separate name/TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) database specifically for 

the program and will inform the payor whether or not the name/TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) 

combination furnished by the payee matches a name/TIN (taxpayer Identification Number) combination 

in the database.

3. The matching details provided to participating payors, and their authorized agents, will help avoid TIN 

(Taxpayer Identification Number) errors and reduce the number of backup withholding notice required 

under Section 3406(a)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY

1. The Interactive and Bulk TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) Matching Programs are established 

under the authority of Revenue Procedure 2003-9. Revenue Procedure 2003-9 and IRC Section 6050W 

expand the IRS authority provided under Revenue Procedure 97-31, to allow the on-line matching of 

taxpayer identifying information as provided by payers of income reported on Forms 1099 B, DIV, INT, 

K, MISC, OID, G and PATR.

SEC. 3. BACKGROUND

1. Section 3406(a) (1) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) provides, in part, that the payor shall deduct and 

withhold income tax from a reportable payment if either:

a) The payee fails to furnish the payee’s TIN (taxpayer identification number) to the payor in the 

required manner, or

b) The Secretary of the Treasury notifies the payor that a TIN (taxpayer identification number) furnished 

by the payee is incorrect.

2. Section 31.3406(j) – 1(a) of the Employment Tax Regulations provides that the Commissioner has 

the authority to establish TIN Matching Programs and may prescribe, by revenue procedure or other 

guidance, the scope, terms and conditions for participating in such programs.

3. Section 31.3401(j) – 1(b) provides that none of the matching details received by a payor through a 

TIN Matching Program will constitute a notice regarding an incorrect name/TIN combination under 

§31.3406(d) – 5(c) for the purpose of imposing backup withholding under §3406(a)(1)(B).

4. Section 31.3406(j) – 1(c) provides that §3406(f), relating to confidentiality of information, applies to 

any matching details received by a payor through a TIN Matching Program. A payor may not take into 

account any such matching details in determining whether to open or close an account with a payee.

5. Section 6721 provides that a payor may be subject to a penalty for failure to file a complete and correct 

information return with the Internal Revenue Service.

6. Section 6722 provides that a payor may be subject to a penalty for failure to furnish a complete and 

correct information statement (payee statement) to a payee. Not including the correct payee TIN on an 

information return or payee statement is a failure subject to §§6721 and 6722 penalties.

SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE AND PRIVACY

1. IRC 3406 permits the disclosure of taxpayer name/TIN combinations to certain third-party payers. Such 

disclosure is allowed for reportable payments subject to backup withholding only.
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2. IRC 6103 protects the confidentiality of TINs.

3. Third-party payers, and their authorized agents, who participate in the TIN Matching Program must 

sign an on-line Terms of Agreement (TOA) clause stating they will only attempt to match name/TIN 

combinations for the types of reportable payments listed in Revenue procedure 2003-9. (See exhibit 3)

4. Failure to adhere to the stated TOA may constitute an unauthorized disclosure and/or violation of the 

Computer Security Act of 1987.

5. Unauthorized use of the Program could cause payers, their agents and authorized users to become liable 

for civil penalties under Internal Revenue Code, Section 7431.

SEC. 5. PROGRAM ACCESS AND FEES

1. The TIN Matching Program is accessible via the eServices Registration home page, located at

https://la1.www4.irs.gov/e-services/Registration/index.htm.

2. Except for scheduled maintenance, users will be allowed to access the system 24 hours a day to submit 

TINs for matching.

3. The IRS does not currently charge a fee to access the name/TIN database maintained specifically for the 

TIN Matching Program.

4. The IRS does not currently charge a fee to participate in the TIN Matching Program.

SEC. 6. PROGRAM TERMS DEFINED

For the purpose of the TIN Matching Program, the following terms will be defined:

1. “Participant” – means a person that is either a payor, or a payors’ authorized agent and, that has applied 

and been accepted to participate in the Program.

2. “Participating Payor” – means a payor that is participating in the Program either on its own behalf or 

through an authorized agent that is a participant.

3. “Payee” – means a person with respect to whom a reportable payment, as defined in §3406(b), has been 

made or is likely to be made by a participating payor.

4. “Account” - means any account, instrument, contract, or other relationship with a payee with respect to 

which a payer is likely to make a reportable payment. (See section 3406-3(e) of the Temporary Employment 

Tax Regulations).

5. “Reportable Payment” – means interest and dividend payments as defined in IRC section 3406(b)(2), 

and other reportable payments as defined in IRC section 3406(b)(3).

6. “TIN” – means the taxpayer identification number that a payee is required to furnish to a payor. The 

TIN may be an Employer Identification Number (EIN), a Social Security Number (SSN), or an Internal 

Revenue Service Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), per IRC section 6109.

7. “Principal” – means a partner or an individual who owns at least five percent (5%) of the firm that is 

applying to participate in the TIN Matching Program. The “Principal” may also be a corporate officer of 

a publicly traded firm, such as President, Vice- President, Secretary or Treasurer. The “Principal” must 

be the person who can legally bind the firm in matters before the IRS and must complete the original 

Application to TIN Match on behalf of the firm.

8. “Responsible Official” – means an individual who holds a supervisory position within the firm. A 

“Responsible Official” has the authority to update an application on behalf of their listed firm and firm 

“Principal”. The “Responsible Official” may also assign/disable “authorized agent” and “delegated user” 

roles, update locations and perform TIN Matching.

9. “Authorized Agent” – means a person or firm that, with the payor’s authorization, transmits specific 

information Returns (IRP) documents to the IRS on behalf of the firm and may match name/TIN 

combinations on behalf of the payor. An “Authorized Agent” may assign/disable user access within their 
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assigned location, update their location address information and perform TIN Matching.

10.“Delegated User” – means an individual who will utilize the TIN Matching session options on behalf of 

the firm. A “Delegated User” may not assign or disable users or update applications on behalf of their 

assigned firm. A “Delegated User” may only perform TIN Matching on behalf of their assigned firm.

11.“Transmitter” - means the Federal agency sending in the magnetic tape cartridge containing the TINs for 

matching purposes.

12.“Transmitter Control Code - TCC” - means the IRS assigned code for each participant.

13.“Authorized Payor” - means a Payor who has filed Information Returns with the IRS in at least one of the 

two preceding tax years.

SEC. 7. REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN TIN MATCHING PROGRAMS

The IRS offers e-services Interactive and Bulk TIN Matching Programs to allow for the matching of name/

TIN combinations on reportable income subject to backup withholding.

Available to members of the third-party payor community, and their authorized agents, who make 

reportable payments subject to backup withholding.

Participants in the e-services TIN Matching Programs must:

a) Comply with all requirements of revenue procedure 2003-9;

b) Transmit only name/TIN combinations relating to accounts with respect to which a reportable 

payment is made, or is likely to be made, on or after the effective date of revenue procedure 2003-9;

c) Transmit only name/TIN combinations that have not been previously transmitted by that participant 

to the Service for matching;

d) Maintain the confidentiality of information obtained through TIN solicitation activities in accordance 

with the requirements of §31.3406(f)-1 of the Employment Tax Regulations;

e) Provide the Service with the information necessary to monitor the effectiveness of the Program.

SEC. 8. E-SERVICES TIN MATCHING PROGRAMS

1. The IRS Office of Electronic Tax Administration (ETA) offers two TIN Matching options through the 

e-services project.

a) Interactive TIN Matching and,

b) Bulk TIN Matching

2. Prior to completing an Application to TIN Match, all prospective users of the TIN Matching Program 

must complete an on-line e-services registration process. Please see the e-services home page for 

information regarding the registration process.

SEC. 9. INTERACTIVE AND BULK TIN MATCHING APPLICATION PROCEDURES

1. An authorized payor of income subject to backup withholding may complete an on-line Application to 

TIN Match. Please see Section 6 of this publication for a definition of an “Authorized Payor”.

2. The “Principal”, on behalf of the firm and/or organization holding the payee account information, must 

complete the Application to TIN Match. Please see Section 6 of this publication for a definition of a 

“Principal”.

3. The “Principal” will assign user roles to others within the firm and/or organization that will have a need 

to access the TIN Matching Program. Please see Section 6 of this publication for definitions of additional 

user roles such as “authorized agent”, “delegated user” and “responsible official”.

4. Please see Exhibits 1 and 2 on pages 12 and 13 of this publication to review the TIN Matching Application.
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SEC. 10. INTERACTIVE AND BULK TIN MATCHING REQUEST PROCEDURES

1. Participants must agree to the stated Terms of Agreement (TOA) prior to accessing any TIN Matching 

applications. Please see Exhibit 3 on page 14 of this publication.

2. Participants will logon to e-services using the Username and Password selected during the registration 

process.

3. The Interactive TIN Matching process will accept up to 25 input name/TIN combination requests online. 

Results will be returned to the user in real time. Please see Exhibit 4 on page 15 of this publication.

4. The results returned to the user will be in a numerical format as follows:

a) “0” – indicates the name/TIN combination matches IRS records.

b) “1” - indicates TIN was missing or TIN is not a 9 digit number.

c) “2” – indicates TIN entered is not currently issued.

d) “3” – indicates the name/TIN combination do not match IRS records.

e) “4” - indicates an invalid TIN Matching request.

f) “5” – indicates a duplicate TIN Matching request.

g) “6” - (matched on SSN), when the TIN type is (3), unknown, and a Matching TIN and name control 

is found only on the NAP DM1 database.

h) “7” - (matched on EIN), when the TIN type is (3), unknown, and a matching TIN and name control is 

found only on the EIN/NC database.

i) “8” - (matched on EIN and SSN), when the TIN type is (3), unknown, and matching TIN and name 

control is found only on both the EIN/NC and NAP DM1 databases.

5. Interactive requests may only be input in groups of up to 25 name/TIN combinations. At this time, there 

is a limit of 999 on the number of interactive requests that may be input during a 24-hour period by one 

User ID.

6. Bulk TIN Matching will allow authorized users to submit up to 100,000 name/TIN combinations for 

matching.

7. Bulk TIN Matching requests will be submitted, via a secure mailbox, in a text file format. Each file 

submission will be assigned a tracking number. Please see Exhibits 6 and 7 on page 17 of this publication.

8. The Bulk TIN Matching file will be returned to the user within 24 hours via a secure mailbox. User files 

will include the numerical response as indicated above for each name/TIN combination submitted.

SEC. 11. BULK TIN MATCHING FILE FORMATS

1. Bulk TIN Matching requests must be prepared by the user in a .txt file format as follows:

TIN TYPE; TIN NUMBER; NAME; ACCOUNT NUMBER (OPTIONAL)

c) TIN TYPE – means a one digit number where

“1” represents and Employer Identification Number (EIN),

“2” represents a Social Security Number (SSN) and,

“3” represents an unknown TIN type.

d) TIN Number is the 9 - digit SSN or EIN for the taxpayer.

e) TIN Name is the taxpayer’s full name or business name.

Note - Users should omit any special characters that are part of the business name with the exception of 

hyphens (-) and ampersands (&). Enter a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 40 alphanumeric characters.
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f) Account Number - is an optional field that may contain payor provided information such as a bank 

account number. Enter a maximum of 20 alphanumeric characters.

2. Bulk TIN Matching files may contain up to 100,000 name/TIN combinations.

SEC. 12. ABATEMENT OF PENALTIES DUE TO FAILURE TO PROVIDE ACCURATE AND COMPLETE

TIN ON INFORMATION RETURNS

1. Section 6721 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that a payor may be subject to a penalty for failure to 

file a complete and correct information return. Section 6722 of the Internal Revenue Codes provides that 

a payor may be subject to a penalty for failure to furnish a complete and correct information statement 

(payee statement) to a payee.

2. Not including the correct payee TIN on an Information Return or payee statement is a failure subject to 

the §§6721 and 6722 penalties.

3. Section 6724 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that the Service may waive the penalties under 

§§6721 and 6722 if the filer (payor) shows that the failure was due to reasonable cause and not due to 

willful neglect. The regulations under §6724 provide that a filer (payor) may establish reasonable cause by 

showing, among other things, that the failure arose due to an event beyond the filer’s control.

4. Section 31.3405(j)-1(d) provides that the Service will not use a payor’s decision not to participate in the 

TIN Matching Program as a basis to assert that the payor lacks reasonable cause under §6724(a) for failure 

to file a correct Information Return under §6721 or to furnish a correct payee statement under §6722.

5. Participating payors may cite a payee name and TIN match as reasonable cause under §6724(a), if the 

Service asserts a penalty under §6721 or §6722 of the Internal Revenue Code.

6. The Service will consider a penalty waiver if the participating payor presents documentation of the match 

in the following manner:

a) Payors must provide to the Service a legible copy of the original match transaction for the name/TIN 

combination on which the penalty has been assessed.

b) Penalties must have been assessed after the date of the original match transaction for the name/TIN 

combination in question.

c) Payors must request the abatement of penalty, in writing, citing the use of the TIN Matching Program 

resulting in a positive match response.

d) Payors may only request the abatement of penalties assessed due to a failure to file a correct Information 

Return. Other penalties assessed under the Information Returns program are not eligible for these 

abatement procedures.

SEC. 13. WHERE TO GET HELP

1. Participants in the Interactive and Bulk TIN Matching Programs may receive assistance in two ways:

a) Via the e-services on-line tutorials at https://la1.www4.irs.gov/eservices/Registration/index.htm.

b) Via the e-Help Desk.

Callers in the United States may dial 1-866-255-0654. This toll – free number is operational Monday through 

Friday, 7:30 AM – 7:00 PM (EST).

International callers may dial 01-512-416-7750.

SEC. 14.TIN MATCHING FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)

1. What is a TIN?

The term “TIN” is defined as the identifying number assigned to a person under Internal Revenue Code, 

Section 6109. Specifically, a TIN may be a Social Security Number (SSN), Employer Identification Number 

(EIN), Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number 
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(ATIN). A valid Social Security Number may only be issued by the Social Security Administration. An EIN, 

ITIN or, ATIN may only be obtained through the Internal Revenue Service.

2. What are the requirements for providing a payee TIN to the IRS?

Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6109(a) (1) provides that any payer required to file an information 

return must include the payee’s correct TIN. IRC 6109(a) (2) requires the payee to furnish their correct 

TIN to the payer. IRC Section 6109(a) (3) requires a payer to request a payee’s TIN and include it in any 

returns filed with IRS. IRC Section 3406(a)(1)(A) provides that reportable payments are subject to backup 

withholding if the payee does not provide a correct TIN to the payer. The payer is required to withhold 

28% of a reportable payment if the TIN is not provided at the time of the payment. IRS sends a CP2100 

or CP2100A, “Notice of Possible Payee TIN Discrepancy”, to payers if the TIN/name combination on the 

information return does not match IRS tax records. Once a payer receives a “Notice of Possible Payee 

TIN Discrepancy”, for a payee, the payer is required to track whether or not another is received within 3 

years. If another “Notice of Possible Payee TIN Discrepancy”, for that payee is received, the second notice 

requires the payer to backup withhold on any proceeds disbursed to the payee until IRS gives permission 

to stop, even if a Form W-9 is provided by a payee. Additional information regarding requirements to 

provide a payee TIN and, backup withholding guidelines, may be found in IRS Publication 1281 “Backup 

Withholding for Missing and Incorrect TINs – Including Instructions for Magnetic Tape and CD/DVD 

Formats ”.

3. What is a Form W-9?

Form W-9, “Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification”, certifies the payee’s name 

and TIN, that the payee is not subject to backup withholding, and they are a U.S. person, including a U.S. 

resident alien.

4. What is the penalty for a payer who furnishes an incorrect name/TIN to IRS?

IRC Section 6721 provides a payer may be subject to a penalty for failure to file a complete and accurate 

information return, including a failure to include the correct payee TIN. The penalty is $50 per return, 

with a maximum penalty of $250,000 per year ($100,000 for small businesses). The penalty for intentional 

disregard is $100 per return, with no maximum penalty.

5. How does IRS differentiate between an ‘invalid’ and a ‘missing’ TIN?

A missing TIN is either completely missing, or contains invalid characters such as alphas or hyphens. An 

invalid TIN is one that doesn’t match IRS records for that name/TIN combination. A TIN not currently 

issued cannot be found in either IRS or SSA records.

6. Who will be able to use the TIN Matching Program and how will it help me to reduce errors on my payee 

TINs?

Payers or their authorized agents, who submit Forms 1099-INT, DIV, PATR, OID, 1099-K, MISC and/or B* 

to IRS may be eligible to enroll in the e-Services TIN Matching program. TIN Matching assists the payer in 

determining if the payee TIN/name combination contained on their Form W-9, matches the TIN/name 

combination contained in IRS tax filing records.

NOTE: The TIN Matching program currently cannot enroll payers who do not submit at least one of these 

seven forms, nor employers submitting Forms W-2, to use the TIN Matching system. Payers may only perform 

TIN Matching for the TIN/Name combinations for income subject to backup withholding and reported on 

Forms 1099-B, DIV, INT, MISC, OID, 1099-K, G and/or PATR.

7. What is an authorized agent?

An individual or company contracted to transmit information returns to the IRS on behalf of the payer 

firm. This would include third party service providers, transmitters, service bureaus, etc. An authorized 

agent must perform TIN Matching research under the account established by the payer firm through 

eServices.
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8. How does TIN Matching over the Internet work?

Enrolled users may TIN Match in one of two ways:

a) Interactively – a user can submit up to 25 name/TIN combinations at a time during a session, and 

receive a response within 5 seconds.

b) Bulk – users may download .txt files composed of up to 100,000 name/TIN combinations and receive 

a response from IRS within 24 hrs.

9. What type of response will users receive?

The TIN Matching program provides a numerical response indicator for each match request. The 

potential responses include:

‘0’ - Name/TIN combination matches IRS records

‘1’ - Missing TIN or TIN not 9-digit numeric

‘2’ - TIN not currently issued

‘3’ - Name/TIN combination does NOT match IRS records

‘4’ - Invalid request (i.e., contains alphas, special characters)

‘5’ - Duplicate request

‘6’ - (Matched on SSN), when the TIN type is (3), unknown, and a matching TIN and name control is 

found only on the NAP DM1 database.

‘7’ - (Matched on EIN), when the TIN type is (3), unknown, and a matching TIN and name control is 

found only on the EIN N/C database.

‘8’ - (Matched on SSN and EIN), when the TIN type is (3), unknown, and a matching TIN and name 

control is found on both the NAP DM1 and the EIN N/C databases.

10.What happens if the name/TIN combination matches IRS records, and I still receive a CP2100 or CP2100A 

Notice for a specific payee TIN?

IRC Section 6724 provides any penalties under Section 6721 may be waived if the payer shows the failure 

to file a correct TIN on an information return was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. Payers 

who use the TIN Matching system may establish due diligence and reasonable cause if the information 

contained in their records matches IRS records.

11.Are there any costs to the payer using TIN Matching?

No. At the present time, the IRS does not impose any monetary charges for use of the TIN Matching 

system.

12.How do I apply to TIN Match?

Application for the TIN Matching program may be made after successful completion of the two-step 

eServices Registration process. Detailed information about how to register for eServices, and apply for 

TIN Matching, is available at, https://la.www4.irs.gov/e-services/Registration/index.htm.

13.Is use of the TIN Matching program mandatory?

TIN Matching is a free assistance tool developed by eServices as a service to our customers. The use of the 

program is completely voluntary and, payers do not face the possibility of increased penalties if they do 

not participate in the program.

14.What are the hours of operation for the TIN Matching system?

Payers will have access to the TIN Matching system 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. There may be short time 
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periods during the evening or night hours while data files are updated that TIN Matching may be briefly 

unavailable.

15.How does Interactive TIN Matching work?

Once you have been established as a user on the TIN Matching system, you will log in with the username 

and password you established during the registration process. Upon login, users must accept the TIN 

Matching Terms of Agreement. You will then be prompted to enter a TIN Type, TIN, and Name to be 

matched against IRS records. You may enter up to 25 TIN/Name combinations during each session. Once 

you enter “Submit”, the system will return the TIN/Name combinations along with the “Match Indicator” 

to tell you whether or not the combination matched IRS records. You also have the option of entering 

each TIN/Name combination individually if you want to do a “Print Screen” and file each printout with 

the payee’s records in order to establish due diligence.

16.How does the Bulk TIN Matching work?

In bulk TIN Matching, you may attach a .txt file with up to 100,000 TIN/Name combinations to be 

matched. The .txt file will be formatted as follows:

TIN Type (1 = EIN, 2 = SSN, 3 = Unknown)

TIN (9 digits Taxpayer Identification Number)

Name * (up to 40 characters)

Account Number (optional field for your use – up to 20 Alpha/numeric – NOTE: the system will not read 

this information)

A semi-colon (;) will be the delimiter between fields. Each line of input will signify a new record.

Example:

TIN Type; TIN; Name; Account Number

TIN Type; TIN; Name; Account Number

TIN Type; TIN; Name;

TIN Type; TIN; Name; Account Number

TIN Type; TIN; Name;

If you submit a record without the required fields (TIN Type, TIN, Name), the response you will receive 

will be Indicator 4, Invalid Request. If you don’t know the TIN Type, enter “3” and the system will check 

both the SSN and EIN master files. Within 24 hours, the response will be sent to a secure mailbox and an 

email notification will be sent to you indicating a response is waiting. You will have 30 days to access and 

download the results file. Once accessed, the results are retained for 3 days before being purged. The 

same information you sent in the .txt file will be returned with one additional field containing the results 

indicator.

*The system will only accept limited special characters in the name line for Bulk TIN Matching. 

Hyphens and ampersands will be accepted. Commas, apostrophes and other special characters 

should be omitted from the name line. For instance, the name O’Malley & Sons should be input 

as OMalley & Sons.

17.What happens if I submit just the TIN or the name? Will IRS provide the correct name or TIN that is 

associated with the information I submit?

You must submit a TIN/Name combination. If you leave either the TIN or name blank, the system will 

consider it invalid (Indicator 4). Due to privacy issues, IRS will not divulge an entity’s name or TIN.
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If you submit the same TIN with various names, or, the same name with various TINs, after four 

attempts, the system will automatically suspend your access to TIN Matching for 96 hours. This 

was done to prevent “phishing”.

18.Is there a limit to the number of bulk files I can upload each day?

No. There is currently no limit. Once the system has been fully implemented, and there are many users 

logged in, the time it takes to upload files may slow somewhat. At this time, e-Services does not plan to 

restrict the number of file uploads per day for any user.

When naming your .txt file, do not use special characters in the file name. Type the file name 

in plain fonts, (Courier works best), and place the dot extension directly before the file name 

extension. Example, a file named TIN Match Vol2 should be saved as TIN Match Vol2.txt. 

Unacceptable file names, such as TIN.Match.Vol2.txt or TIN_Match_Vol2.txt, may cause your 

file to be rejected by the system.

19.What is the process for enrolling in TIN Matching?

Initially, users must register on -line with e-Services and will create a User Name, Password and PIN that 

will allow them to access the system electronically. Once the on-line registration is completed, users 

receive, at their home address, a confirmation token that they must validate on-line within 28 days of 

the initial registration. All users within a firm must complete their own registration to have an eServices 

account established for their individual username and password. Once users are confirmed , the Principal, 

(person at your firm responsible for completing the TIN Matching application and assigning user roles), 

will complete the application and all confirmed users may begin using Interactive or Bulk TIN Matching 

that same day.

20.I am a registered ERO (Electronic Return Originator) with the IRS. After I successfully completed the 

e-services registration process, I attempted to complete an Application to TIN Match. Why did I receive a 

message that I was not authorized to use the TIN Matching system?

The TIN Matching Program is solely intended to assist those members of the Third-Party Payor 

community, and their authorized agents, with meeting their obligation for filing accurate and complete 

annual Information Return documents. At this time, the program is not available to any individual, firm 

or organization that does not fall into the category of a Payor or an authorized Payor agent.

21.When will TIN Matching be expanded to include other Form 1099 or Form W2 payment instruments?

Plans for program expansion are actively being pursued. At the present time, payers of Form W-2 

income, wishing to validate employee SSNs, should contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) for 

information on their SSNVS (Social Security Number Verification Service). Interested parties may find 

more information about this service by visiting: https://www.ssa.gov/bso/bsowelcome.htm

22.How may I find out more about the TIN Matching Program?

Potential users are encouraged to review the e-Services home page at, https://la.www4.irs.gov/e-services/

Registration/index.htm. An On-Line Tutorial provides a full range of information for Interactive and 

Bulk TIN Matching, as well as other e-Services products.

23.What should I do to secure an accurate TIN from my Payee?

It would be useful to refer to the Instructions for Form SS-4, lines 1 and 2, (http://www.irs.gov/pub/

irs-pdf/iss4.pdf) to determine what name may have been submitted to the IRS. Ultimately, the name 

submitted for TIN Matching should be the legal name from line 1 or the trade name from line 2 if a 

return using this name has already been filed and accepted. The legal name of the entity will create the 

best potential to match because IRS maintains prior name controls for an EIN even after a name change 

has been made.
12

SEC. 15. TIN MATCHING ON-LINE SCREEN EXHIBITS

Exhibit 1. Sample pages of the TIN Matching on-line application screens.
13

Exhibit 2. Sample pages of the TIN Matching on-line application screens.
14

Exhibit 3. On-line TIN Matching Terms of Agreement (TOA) screen.
15

Exhibit 4. On-line Interactive TIN Matching request screen.
16

Exhibit 5. On-line Interactive TIN Matching results screen.
17

Exhibit 6. On-line Bulk TIN Matching Request screen.

Exhibit 7. On-line Bulk TIN Matching Acknowledgement screen.
18

MY PROBLEM IS WHAT THIS MEANS WHAT YOU CAN DO

“I’ve already confirmed my registration but when I sign onto the 

system, I don’t see a link for TIN 

Matching.”

Firms’ Principal has not completed 

and submitted the application on 

behalf of the firm.

User may not have been added to 

the application with a designated 

role.

Advise the Principal that the application must be completed and submitted before users will see the TIN 

Matching link.

Advise your Principal or Responsible Official to check to see if you 

have been added and assigned a 

user role that will allow you to perform TIN Matching.

If none of the above works, contact 

the e-Help desk for assistance or 

referral.

“The system will not allow me 

to add other users to our firm’s 

application.”

The role you have been assigned 

does not allow you to update or 

make changes to the TIN Matching 

application on behalf of your firm.

All TIN Matching application 

changes must be completed by the 

Principal or Responsible Official. 

Authorized Agents may add users 

for their location only. Delegated 

Users may not make any changes 

to the TIN Matching application 

for their firm.

If you are still having problems, 

contact the e-Help desk for assistance or referral.

“I am trying to add users from 

another office location but I keep 

getting a message that I cannot 

delegate any users.”

The location address is different 

from the primary location established on the application.

Before adding users who will perform TIN Matching duties from a 

different office location, you must 

first establish that location. From 

the TIN Matching revise application screen, select “Establish Location”. After you have added the 

secondary location, the system will 

allow you to add other users and 

delegate their roles for the secondary location. After all changes have 

been input on-screen, be sure to select the ‘Submit’ button to ensure 

your changes are recorded.

“I am receiving an Error Code 

25000 message.”

This usually indicates that there are 

incomplete or missing data fields 

on your input screen.

Review the data and make necessary corrections. Refer to the HELP 

page for assistance with formats 

and data input fields.

“My TIN Matching account access 

has been locked for 96 hours 

because of a security violation.”

This message indicates you have 

activated the internal security system designed to protect against 

shopping for a TIN/Name combination. See item # 18 of this document for more information on this 

feature.

User access to TIN Matching will be 

blocked until the 96 hour period 

has expired, or, until the account 

can be reviewed by the TIN Matching analyst staff.

SEC. 16. TROUBLESHOOTING

THINGS TO TRY BEFORE CONTACTING THE HELP DESK
19

MY PROBLEM IS WHAT THIS MEANS WHAT YOU CAN DO

“I submitted a .txt file for Bulk TIN 

matching. It’s been more than 24 

hours and I still do not have a response from the IRS in my mailbox. What can I do?”

1. The file did not transmit to 

IRS servers.

2. The file transmitted to the IRS 

servers but, the response was 

unable to be deposited in your 

secure mailbox.

1. If you did not receive a confirmation and a tracking number 

at the end of your transaction, 

this means the file was never 

received by the IRS and you 

will need to re-submit the file.

2. If you have received a tracking 

number for your transmitted 

files, attempt to resubmit.

3. If the second attempt results in 

no response:

a) Contact the e-Help desk 

Monday through Friday 

at 1-866-255-0654 between 

7:30 AM and 7:00 PM, EST.

b) Provide the assistor with the 

TIN/EIN for the firm or organization, the file tracking 

number, file size, date and 

approximate time the file 

was transmitted, a contact 

name, the e-services USERNAME for the transmitter, 

a phone number and email 

address for contact purposes.

The assistor will notify e-Services 

to initiate an investigation which 

could take 5-7 business days.

“When using Bulk TIN matching, I 

receive a message that not enough 

storage is available to complete this 

operation”. What does this mean?”

Bulk Tin file cannot be transmitted 

or uploaded.

1. Contact the e-Help desk Monday through Friday at 1-866-

255-0654 between 7:30 AM 

and 7:00 PM, EST.

2. Provide the assistor with the 

TIN/EIN for the firm or organization, the file tracking 

number, file size, date and 

approximate time the file was 

transmitted, a contact name, 

the e-services USERNAME for 

the transmitter, a phone number and email address for contact purposes.

The assistor will notify e-Services 

to initiate an investigation which 

could take 5-7 business days.

SEC. 16. TROUBLESHOOTING

CONTINUED
20

MY PROBLEM IS WHAT THIS MEANS WHAT YOU CAN DO

“I am receiving a message that the 

firm/EIN entered does not qualify 

for TIN Matching. Is there some 

other way I can enroll my firm?”

The firm you are attempting to 

enroll does not meet basic qualifying criteria. To be eligible to apply 

for TIN Matching, firms must:

1. be a payer of income reported 

on Forms 1099 B, DIV, INT, 

MISC, OID, G or PATR and,

2. have filed an Information Return with the IRS in one of the 

two past tax years.

If your firm/organization does not 

meet these basic requirements, regretfully, you will be unable to participate in the TIN Matching program at the present time.

If you believe your firm does meet 

the minimum requirements, check 

the EIN you are using to enroll in 

the program. Be certain the EIN is 

the same as used to file your annual 

Information Returns for the Forms 

1099 proceeds you paid out.

“Page cannot be displayed.” Usually indicates an overall problem with browser connectivity or 

routing.

Before calling the e-Help desk:

1. Check your browser configuration. You should be using 

Netscape Navigator 4.0 or 

higher or Internet Explorer 

4.0 or higher. If necessary, update your browser to a version 

that will support JavaScript 

and Cascading Style Sheets.

2. Log off of e-Services, close 

your browser completely and 

then, sign back on.

If you are still experiencing problems, contact the e-Help desk for 

assistance.

“My Bulk TIN request keeps coming back with a message that the 

first line input must be 4 fields 

and 4 fields only.”

Configuration of input lines is 

incorrect.

Review your file to ensure it follows 

the .txt input format as shown in 

item #17 of this document. Make 

certain to review for any special 

characters that are prohibited 

and, be certain you are using a 

semi-colon (;) as the field separator. A maximum of 3 semi-colons 

per line of data is acceptable. Resubmit the file once all data has 

been corrected. See CAUTION 

on pg 18 of P. 2108A

You may access the on-line tutorials page for additional assistance 

with Bulk TIN file formats.

SEC. 16. TROUBLESHOOTING

CONTINUED

PUBLICATION 2108A
Publication 2108A (Rev. 1-2020) Catalog Number 37966F Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Services www.irs.gov