I received correspondence from the IRS that a TIN we reported on a CTR does not match their records. We verified the number was typed correctly and have confirmed with the customer the TIN that was reported is correct. Where do we go from here???

You may have to contact the IRS, let them know your findings and ask them what they suggest you do next.

Also, have you tried searching one of the public databases to see if the TIN comes up as match there? We subscribe to one of these. Although not 100% reliable, we do use it as a back-up when we need to validate SSN, DOB, etc.

Make sure the NAME is right too. You may have a DBA on your CTR instead of the legal business name. New accounts reps don't always set up CIF correctly.

I agree stongly with the above

and many customers open the account in the name they want customer to know them as and not the legal title or how they registered with IRS when they applied for the number. this is especially tru for those that have multiple business lines

we ask for a copy to the doc they received from IRS when their number was issued and you would be surprised of all the differences there are.

I have had to call the IRS on a couple of those notifications. They have always been very helpful. It cracks me up that they wait months to send the correction notice, but we have 20 days to return it. The last one we had the person on the CTR refused to cooperate and it got down to the deadline when I had to call the IRS.

I had this happen on a CTR as well. The customer had a mortgage with us including tax returns and a lengthy credit report. I thought the IRS was crazy. I called them back and they said, no the name and TIN don't match. Ask the customer for their SS card. It turns out, the customer was in the country illegally from Mexico and had been using someone else's SS #. They eventually provided us with an ITIN.

Would anyone out there be willing to provide an toll free number to the IRS? I am having a difficult time reaching an IRS department that understands my issue. Thanks.

Something I just ran into, if the TIN is for a female who is married but never submitted her name change to the SSSA, this will show up an an error.

Seadevil

Contact numbers for the IRS should be in the blue pages of your phone book. However, it is unlikely you will be able to locate anyone willing/able to have a verbal discussion about what the problem might be with a customer's SSN. Here's a thread about the verification services that are available.

If the customer is willing to cooperate and the number is an SSN, he or she needs to go to the SSA and request a form SSA-7028. If the number is an EIN, the customer needs to go to the IRS and obtain a form 147C. Both forms are referenced in the B Notice. They validate the number and, if you receive a copy, you can forward it to FinCEN.

If the customer is not willing to cooperate further, you should write back to FinCEN and describe your efforts to verify the name/TIN combination and ask for instructions. (You don't mention what verification the customer has offered, but add to that any information reporting you have done on the same name/TIN combination.) It's doubtful that you will get a response.

There are some problems you cannot fix and you can't invest too much more time on this one.

If this was an EIN, I have seen situations where the customer had only recently been issued the number and the IRS reported that it did not match. We confirmed that we had the correct information (exact name, correct number verbatim from the customer's IRS paperwork). The customers this happened to were frequently conducting tranactions requiring CTRs and we noticed that after approximately 3 months we would stop getting those IRS messages. Just something to consider if this is happening with customers who just recently obtained their EINs.