Where to find your state employer tax id numbers for a retired person

lanaslocum — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 18:58:14 GMT

the form is asking for a employer ID number. I am retired and can not find out how to fix it. The form will not let me continue without fixing it. Thanks

That shouldn't really pose a problem; or at least not one...

GeoffreyG — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 18:58:16 GMT

That shouldn't really pose a problem; or at least not one that will prevent you from filing your tax return. Please allow us to explain.

The only truly meaningful elements on a W-2, or 1099-R, for income tax filing purposes are the federal EIN (Employer's ID number), your own Social Security Number (SSN), and your actual wage or retirement income data. If there was a mistake made with any of these items, then that would definitely be something that requires attention.

However, with respect to the state number ID issue, it won't really matter what you input here, as long as the software will accept it (explained below), and as long as your federal EIN is correct (if you don't have a federal EIN, then we suggest contacting your employer or pension company and obtaining that vital bit of information).

Simply try leaving the State ID space entirely blank at first. If there is any issue that prevents e-filing your tax return with a blank here, and it absolutely requires some value in the software, then either try using your Federal EIN here (i.e., over again in the State ID field), or enter a clearly "fictitious" value such as 12345 67890 (with a space in the middle, or not).

If the TurboTax program asks you for a State ID number in a specific format, such as needing exactly 9-digits and ending in XYZ, for instance, then just enter a value that conforms to that format . . . such as 123456XYZ. This should enable you to bypass the issue and file your tax return. In other words, try to be a little creative here, and just give the software some value (even a made-up one) that it will accept.

In fact, the IRS computers and your state department of revenue really won't care, as, they're really just looking for the federal EIN, SSN, and relevant wage or retirement income data.

The State ID is simply a bureaucratic convention for your state; the state department of revenue can, and will, still be able to easily and uniquely identify your employer or pension firm by their federal EIN, even if they have to cross-reference the Federal / State ID numbers in their database. In other words, this single issue should not affect the processing of your tax return, as long as you can satisfy the software with some acceptable input (or none at all).

Once again, your state should still be able to understand and process your tax return. As a very last resort, if nothing else works, you attempt to e-file and your state return is still rejected, then you can always ask your employer or pension company's payroll office, human resources department, or customer service center for the actual State ID number.

Thank you for asking this question.

topic Where to find your state employer tax id numbers for a retired person in Retirement tax questions

Where to find your state employer tax id numbers for a retired person

That shouldn't really pose a problem; or at least not one...