June 3, 2026

Death Master File: What It Is and Why Your Business Should Check It

If your business pays contractors, freelancers, or vendors and files 1099s at year-end, you already know that TIN verification is crucial. What fewer businesses realize is that TIN verification is only part of the picture. A TIN can be valid in the IRS database and still be attached to someone who has died. That is... Read more »

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June 2, 2026

How Much Can the IRS Fine You for TIN Errors? The 2026 Penalty Guide

Filing a hundred 1099s with TIN errors could cost your business up to $68,000,  and as much as $68,000 if the IRS decides the errors were intentional. The catch? Most businesses don’t know they have a problem until months after the penalty clock has already started running. And it’s not just one fine. A single... Read more »

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May 30, 2026

What Happens When a Vendor Gets Sanctioned After Onboarding?

Your vendor was clean at onboarding. You screened them, confirmed no matches, and added them to your vendor file. Six months later, that same vendor appears on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List. The payments you made after the designation date are not just a vendor relationship problem. They are potential OFAC... Read more »

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May 28, 2026

EIN vs SSN vs ITIN for 1099 Compliance

EIN vs SSN vs ITIN: Which Tax ID Do You Need to Verify for 1099 Compliance? When a new vendor submits their W-9, you need to know whether to expect an EIN, SSN, or ITIN, and whether the number provided matches the vendor’s entity type. Filing a 1099 with the wrong TIN type triggers IRS... Read more »

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May 19, 2026

How to Verify a Vendor’s TIN Before Making a Payment

If your team is verifying vendor TINs only at year-end, you are already behind. TIN mismatches caught at filing time trigger IRS penalties, backup withholding obligations, and B Notices, all of which take significantly more time and money to resolve than a pre-payment TIN check would have. This guide covers the exact steps to verify... Read more »

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May 14, 2026

What Is a TIN? The Complete Guide to Taxpayer Identification Numbers in the US

Every vendor payment your business makes is tied to a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). When that number is wrong, the IRS flags it, and the penalties follow. A missing or mismatched TIN can trigger IRS penalties and backup withholding on future payments, pulling you into a B-Notice compliance loop that can take months to resolve.... Read more »

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April 15, 2026

Why Post-Filing Season Is the Best Time to Verify Vendor Data

The filing season is over. The 1099s are out the door. For most AP and finance teams, that means moving on. But the weeks right after filing are actually the best window to do something that prevents next year’s headaches: vendor data validation. The vendors you paid this year are likely the same ones you’ll... Read more »

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April 14, 2026

How Often Should Businesses Recheck Vendors Against IRS, DMF, and OFAC Lists?

Paying a vendor seems simple. But without vendor TIN verification, a single payment can trigger an IRS penalty, require mandatory backup withholding, or violate U.S. sanctions law. The question most businesses get wrong isn’t whether to verify—it’s how often. Why Vendor Verification Is Critical for Compliance Vendor compliance failures fall into three categories: incorrect tax... Read more »

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April 7, 2026

What Is OFAC Verification and How Does It Help Protect Businesses?

Every business transaction carries some level of risk. But when the counterparty turns out to be a sanctioned individual, a terrorist-linked entity, or a narcotics trafficker, the consequences go well beyond a bad deal—they become a federal compliance violation. That’s where OFAC verification comes in. Whether you’re onboarding a new vendor, processing a payment, or... Read more »

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February 18, 2026

How to Stop Backup Withholding: Step-by-Step IRS Guidance

Backup withholding is a federal tax withholding requirement imposed by the IRS when payee information is missing, incorrect, or unverified. If you’re affected, understanding how to stop backup withholding quickly is critical to cash flow and compliance. This guide explains what triggers backup withholding, how to stop it, and how to prevent it from happening... Read more »

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February 16, 2026

What Is a GIIN? Understanding the Global Intermediary Identification Number

What Is a GIIN? A GIIN is a unique identification number assigned by the IRS to foreign financial institutions and certain registered entities under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). It proves the entity has registered with the IRS and agrees to meet FATCA compliance requirements, including reporting foreign accounts and maintaining documentation. Organizations... Read more »

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December 10, 2025

Social Security Number Lookup Guide | How to Verify an SSN

A Guide to Social Security Number Lookup   A Social Security Number is one of the most important identifiers a person has in the United States. Because SSNs tie directly to income reporting, tax compliance, credit history, and government benefits, the accuracy of an SSN matters, especially for employers, financial institutions and compliance-driven organizations.  This guide explains how... Read more »

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December 2, 2025

Employer Identification Number 101

Frequently referred to as EIN, an Employer Identification Number is used to identify a business entity in the United States.  While it may seem simple on the surface, the obligation for organizations to acquire an EIN is nuanced. This is your one-stop shop for information on this type of tax identification number, read on to learn everything you need to know.   ... Read more »

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October 3, 2025

The One Big Beautiful Bill: What It Means for 1099 Reporting — and Why TIN Management Still Matters

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law, marking a significant shift in tax reporting requirements for businesses. While the legislation brings welcome administrative relief through higher reporting thresholds, it also creates new imperatives for robust tax identity management that smart businesses cannot ignore.   What Changed... Read more »

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July 1, 2025

2025 Tax Compliance Changes: New 1099-K Thresholds and Digital Asset Reporting

As we progress through 2025, businesses face a landscape of significant regulatory changes that will dramatically impact tax identity management and verification processes. The convergence of new reporting thresholds, digital asset regulations, and enhanced compliance requirements means your organization must be prepared for substantial increases in verification volumes and complexity.    The 1099-K Revolution: Lower... Read more »

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April 24, 2025

What is a CP2100 Notice and How Should You Respond?

The IRS CP2100, often referred to as a B-notice is a critical document that every business filing information returns should be familiar with. When you receive a CP2100 notice, the IRS is alerting you to a discrepancy between the Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) and names that you’ve reported on your information returns—such as1099 forms—and the... Read more »

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April 16, 2025

First Impressions Matter: The Role of Identity Verification in KYC

First impressions matter—especially in business. When a new client, vendor, or partner is ready to sign on, the last thing you want is to slow them down with clunky paperwork, manual reviews, or endless back-and-forth email chains. And yet, that’s exactly where many onboarding processes fall apart: identity verification. Know Your Customer, Earn Their Trust... Read more »

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April 1, 2025

Wrong TIN on a W-9 or 1099? Here’s What to Do Next

We get it—you’re probably juggling a thousand tasks—making sure vendors get paid, employees are onboarded, and compliance boxes are checked. But there’s one small data point that can cause a surprisingly big problem if it’s incorrect: the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). So, what happens if you get a TIN wrong on a Form 1099 or... Read more »

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March 26, 2025

What is the Death Master File?

If you are involved in your organization’s year-end tax filing process, you know the importance of maintaining accurate individual and vendor tax data. Tax Identification Number (TIN) matching is a critical process that can help protect your organization from errors, B-notices and penalties from the IRS.   TIN matching typically occurs at two points in a... Read more »

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March 10, 2025

Why TIN Matching Services Matter for Tax Compliance

As tax-related identity theft and fraudulent filings continue to pose challenges, the IRS has ramped up its efforts to detect and prevent improper refunds. The agency expanded its use of identity theft filters for the 2024 filing season, implementing 282 filters to flag suspicious tax returns for additional scrutiny before refunds are issued.   The... Read more »

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March 5, 2025

IRS Dirty Dozen: 2025’s Most Dangerous Business Tax Scams

Each year, the IRS releases a list known as the “Dirty Dozen,” a collection of the most prevalent and dangerous tax scams that businesses should be aware of. This list sheds light on one of the most significant challenges in modern tax identity management: tax fraud. These fraud schemes are often highly sophisticated, carefully crafted... Read more »

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February 26, 2025

Top 5 Tax ID Management Challenges & How to Solve Them

Managing tax identity information isn’t just about collecting TINs and names—it’s about ensuring accuracy, compliance, and fraud prevention in a world of ever-evolving regulatory regulations. And with increasing penalties from the IRS and states, businesses can no longer afford inaccurate or incomplete verification processes. In this eBook we break down the top five challenges businesses... Read more »

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January 9, 2025

A Guide to Taxpayer Identification Numbers

A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is more than just a random string of digits—it’s a unique key for all individuals and businesses within the United States tax system. Issued by either the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the Social Security Administration (SSA), these numbers ensure that income tax returns, federal tax filings, and other tax-related... Read more »

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October 18, 2024

How to Maintain AML Compliance with Sanctions Screening

Although most businesses focus on verifying identities, Tax IDs, and sources of funds as part of their standard Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance efforts, they often overlook a critical aspect—sanctions screenings. Let’s explore the role of sanctions screenings in mitigating risk, ensuring compliance with global and federal regulations, and protecting businesses from engaging with individuals or... Read more »

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