As previously announced, the IRS has updated IRS Forms 4506-T and 4506T-EZ in order to better protect the private information of taxpayers (see https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/coming-soon-a-new-tax-transcript-to-better-protect-taxpayer-data for details).
As a result of these updates, we will be updating our copies of Form 4506-T to match the latest updates. We do not provide a copy of Form 4506T-EZ, but standard Form 4506-T documents (Cx3095 and Cx17841) as well as all custom Form 4506-T documents will be updated to the September 2018 version.
Notable changes to IRS Form 4506-T include:
- Breaking Line 5 into two lines (Line 5a and Line 5b). Line 5a will be a copy of previous Line 5, but new Line 5b will disclose the “customer file number” if applicable. According to the IRS, “The Customer File Number is created by the requester, not the IRS. This is an optional field for the requester to use as an identifier because the SSN will no longer be fully visible.” New field “Customer File Number” (FI 123763) has been created in ConformX to populate new Line 5b. The IRS allows the Customer File Number to be up to 10 digits.
- Two new paragraphs under “Future Developments” on page 2 providing explanations about the “customer file number” and its purpose:
“What’s New. The transcripts provided by the IRS have been modified to protect taxpayers’ privacy. Transcripts only display partial personal information, such as the last four digits of the taxpayer’s Social Security Number. Full financial and tax information, such as wages and taxable income, is shown on the transcript.
A new optional Customer File Number field is available to use when requesting a transcript. You have the option of inputting a number, such as a loan number, in this field. You can input up to 10 numeric characters. The customer file number should not contain an SSN. This number will print on the transcript. The customer file number is an optional field and not required.”
- Two new paragraphs under “General Instructions” in the middle column on page 2 regarding populating new Line 5b:
“Line 5b. Enter up to 10 numeric characters to create a unique customer file number that will appear on the transcript. The customer file number should not contain an SSN. Completion of this line is not required.
Note: If you use an SSN, name or combination of both, we will not input the information and the customer file number will be blank on the transcript.”
Formatting considerations:
- In order to fit new Line 5b on page 1, and still have room to support barcoding and other document content, the third party’s city, state, zip, and telephone number have been moved up to print on the same row as the third party’s street address in Line 5a. This means the third party’s name and other related text will print on one row, and the full address and phone number will print underneath it.
- In order to fit four new paragraphs on page 2 regarding new Line 5b, the font size of the text on page 2 has been changed from a mix of 7, 7.5, and 8 point font to consistently print the body text in 7 point font.
IRS Form 4506 “Request for Copy of Tax Return” (Cx23) has also been updated. The two address areas in the “Chart for all other returns” section in the second column of page two have been combined into one “Mail to” address.
On a related side note, the IRS has received some updated Form 4506-T requests using the draft version of the form with a 7-2018 revision date. The 7-2018 draft version from the IRS was never intended to be valid for submission, and the IRS has stated they will start rejecting this invalid version of the form on October 22, 2018. No 7-2018 versions of IRS Form 4506-T have ever printed from ConformX. The valid 7-2017 (not 7-2018) copies of the form will continue to print in ConformX until the new valid 9-2018 copies are in place.
These changes will take effect on October 20, 2018. If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please contact Client Support at 1.800.497.3584.
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