18 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 18, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
NYS Tax Department extends “No ID”
Option for Drivers License Requirement
BY JOHN SAVIGNANO, CPA
Just in time for the launch of the 2017
tax filing season, the New York State
Department of Taxation and Finance confirmed,
on December 8, that it will continue
to allow tax practitioners e-filing
returns with the department to click a “No
Applicable ID” box, if a client refuses to
provide them with driver’s license information
when they are preparing the client’s
New York state income tax return.
The NYSDTF announced in January 2017
that, in the interests of deterring identity
theft, the department would require tax
practitioners to collect and report their
clients’ driver’s license information when
e-filing income tax returns for 2016 tax
year. Practitioners complained that the tax
department informed practitioners after
tax season had already begun.
In the event that a taxpayer does not have
a driver’s license or state-issued ID, the tax
preparer will be prompted by the software to
indicate this. If the taxpayer does not have
a driver’s license or state ID or is deceased,
marking the check box indicating that he or
she has neither will fulfill the requirement.
If the taxpayer refuses to provide the driver’s
license or state identification information,
the tax practitioner should mark the check
box indicating that he or she has neither, and
keep contemporaneous notes regarding the
good faith effort to collect the client information,
if the NYSDTF were to ask.
John Savignano is a partner with Savignano
Accountants & Advisors located at 47-46
Vernon Blvd., Second Floor, in Long Island City.
If you have any questions or require additional
information, please call John at 718-707-0955.
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