How To Check If A TIN Is Valid?

Here’s a simple way to check if a taxpayer identification number (TIN) is valid or not.

If you’re a business owner or a self-employed individual in the gig economy, you must be familiar with Form W-9 and Form 1099-NEC. 

While Form W-9 is used to obtain the TIN/EIN from the independent contractor (also synonymous with vendors or freelancers), Form 1099-NEC is used to report the payee’s TIN along with their legal name. 

Now, if you work with a couple of independent contractors, it can be relatively easy to validate their TINs per the official records through the online TIN Match system offered by the IRS. 

But it can get complicated as you onboard more vendors and as the volume of TINs, you have to validate increases. 

This is when a bulk TIN match and real-time TIN matching come in handy. 

The following will discuss the process of TIN matching and how to check if a TIN is valid.

What Is A TIN?

A TIN (taxpayer identification number) is a legal identification attribution assigned by the IRS and/or Social Security Administration to identify individuals and entities uniquely.

In this context, EIN (employer identification number) is also a TIN.

A TIN is a unique combination of letters and numbers assigned to an entity or individual. 

No two entities have the same TIN/legal name combination.

What Is TIN Matching? 

• When the obtained TIN and legal name of the vendor is validated against the real-time records of the IRS, it’s called TIN validation. 

• When the obtained TIN and legal name match the IRS records, it’s called a TIN match. 

• The process of verifying the TINs against the IRS records is called TIN Matching. 

In a nutshell, validating the TIN along with the legal name of the payee per the IRS records is known as TIN matching.

How To Check If A TIN Is Valid?

If the legal name and the TIN/EIN provided by the payee match the IRS TIN and legal name records, then it’s a TIN Match.

If the payee/vendor provides an incorrect TIN, the IRS TIN match system would notify you that the entered information is incorrect. 

And if the system notifies that the information entered is invalid, it means that the TIN and legal name combination provided by the vendor does not exist in the IRS database. 

How To Check A TIN Online Instantly? 

You can check a TIN within seconds with Tax1099’s real-time TIN match program. 

Tax1099’s real-time TIN matching program enables you to check as many as 100,000+ TINs within a minute and gives you the complete real-time report of the searched TINs in 30 seconds or less. 

Here’s what Tax1099’s real-time TIN match program can do for you

• Get TIN match results instantly. No more waiting around to get your TINs validated.
• Get real-time TIN match results
• Validate your TINs directly against the IRS database 
• Get a comprehensive TIN match report for bulk searches 
• Reduced workload on your accounting teams 
• Faster vendor TIN verification 
• Streamlined KYC process with accelerated TIN match results 

So, start validating the TINs now and check if your vendor has provided the accurate TIN and legal name information.

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