Under Appendix Q, there is a requirement for a SIGNED copy of the tax return in multiple places (self-employed, qualify for commission income, etc.). I am unable to find any commentary that speaks to the PIN provided from the IRS for electronic filing. IMHO, this seems to be the individual's electronic signature. If I have a copy of pg 2 "signed" with a PIN instead of an actual signature, would this constitute a SIGNED copy? Would step #2 be to also collect the form which indicates the PIN belongs to the individual referenced (logically would be best-practice, but do you see this as required?). Or do you require the printout that says "thanks for filing" to prove the return was submitted to State/IRS as indicated at 1026.43(c)(4)(i)?

Feel free to PM me if you've encountered the same question previously, I'd love to know what others are doing.

Thanks!

Unless you are ordering tax transcripts from the IRS, borrower provided tax returns are worthless.

Give me ten minutes and I can show you my tax return with any amount you need to approve my $1MM loans.

I'm searching for info on e-signatures and found this post. Randy, agree that tax returns are easily altered, but we require all borrowers to sign the copy of the tax returns they provide for underwriting, to attest that it is a true and correct copy. My understanding this is a common practice, our examiners expect to see signed tax returns, personal financial statements, P&Ls, etc. I am interested if this is no longer the case.

My second question on this topic, are banks accepting electronic signatures (typically through a pdf feature) on these types of borrower provided documents, or do you require wet signatures?