TIN ComplianceA resource from TIN Comply
🎮 Knowledge game · about 4 minutes

Match Code Rush

You run the TIN Matching desk before the filing deadline. Each vendor record comes with its W-9: call the response code the IRS will send back, fix every mismatch the right way, and scrub a bulk file before upload. Guess at spellings and you lock the account for 96 hours.

You will learn what each TIN Matching response code means, the usual causes of a code 3, and how a bulk file goes wrongPrivacy runs in your browser; scores stay on your device
3 TIN TYPE 1 04-7731052 0

Match Code Rush

You run the TIN Matching desk. Call the code the IRS will send back for each vendor record, then fix every mismatch the right way. Round 2 is a bulk file: catch the bad lines before you upload.

Keys: 1 to 5 pick, Enter next
Score0
Record1/9
Combox1
Spelling guesses
Interactive
Time

How to play

  1. Press Open the session. Round 1 is an interactive TIN Matching session of 9 vendor records. Each shows the record as you would submit it (TIN type, TIN, name) beside the W-9 the vendor gave you.
  2. Call the response code the IRS will send back before the timer bar empties. Click a code or press 1 to 5. Faster calls score more, and every 3 right in a row raise your combo, up to x4.
  3. If the code is not a match, pick the fix. A right fix scores, and fixing a code 2 or 3 counts as a B-Notice avoided. Picking another spelling of the name adds a spelling guess: the fourth one is a 96-hour lockout.
  4. Round 2 is a bulk file of 6 lines. Every name and TIN on it is right, so only the file can go wrong: call each line 0, 1, 4 or 5.
  5. At the end you get your score, how many codes you called, your clean-file rate and the B-Notices you avoided.

Every name and number in the game is made up.

The real rules behind the game

Match Code Rush drills the IRS TIN Matching program from the payer's side: what the response codes mean, why a name and TIN fail to match, and what a bulk file has to look like. The code meanings follow the site's TIN Matching result code decoder, and the program rules come from IRS Publication 2108, the TIN Matching program publication.

The response codes

TIN Matching answers each name and TIN pair with one digit. 0 means the combination matches IRS records. 1 means the TIN is missing or not nine digits. 2 means the TIN is not currently issued. 3 means the name and TIN combination does not match. 4 is an invalid request and 5 a duplicate request. 6, 7 and 8 are matches on SSN, on EIN or on both, and come back only when you send the TIN type as 3, unknown, which makes the IRS check both the SSN and the EIN files. Codes 0, 6, 7 and 8 are matches; 2 and 3 are payee problems that turn into CP2100 lines and B-Notices if the pair is filed as is; 1, 4 and 5 are about your own data or request.

Why a name and TIN do not match

Most code 3 results are name problems, not number problems. The IRS files an SSN under a person and an EIN under the entity's legal name, so the name on line 1 of the W-9 is the one to match. A sole proprietor enters the individual name on line 1 and the business or DBA name on line 2. A single-member LLC that is disregarded enters the owner's name on line 1, the LLC's name on line 2 and the owner's SSN or EIN, so matching the LLC's name with the owner's SSN fails. A corporation or partnership enters the name on its tax return on line 1 and any trade name on line 2; Publication 2108 says the legal name gives "the best potential to match because IRS maintains prior name controls for an EIN even after a name change has been made." A person who changed last name without telling SSA enters the first name, the last name on the Social Security card and the new last name. The When a TIN does not match IRS records page covers the rest.

Never guess spellings

The IRS will not tell you the right name or TIN for a record. If you submit the same TIN with several names, or the same name with several TINs, "after four attempts, the system will automatically suspend your access to TIN Matching for 96 hours." The fix for a code 3 is a corrected W-9, matched again before you file.

Interactive and bulk

An interactive session takes up to 25 name and TIN combinations and answers within seconds. A bulk file takes up to 100,000, one record per line in the order TIN type, TIN, name and an optional account number, separated by semicolons, with TIN type 1 for an EIN, 2 for an SSN and 3 for unknown. Results come back within 24 hours. Leave out the TIN type, the TIN or the name and the line comes back as code 4. Hyphens and ampersands are allowed in the name; commas, apostrophes and other special characters should be left out, so O'Malley & Sons is sent as OMalley & Sons. A TIN that lost its leading zero in a spreadsheet comes back as code 1. The bulk TIN matching guide walks through the file.

What the game simplifies

The game tells you which records are right, so every card has one answer. In real files you do not know whether a code 3 is a typo, a name problem or a bad W-9 until you look. A code 1 for a missing TIN still reaches the CP2100 as a missing TIN if you file it, with backup withholding and annual solicitations but no B-Notice. The TIN matching guide covers enrollment, the program limits and keeping the results as due diligence.

Sources

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