Phone number -- To give or not to give...

[Yepper22]

The IRS Form 1040 instructions say:  You have the option of entering your phone number…

Yet, before I could e-file my return, TurboTax said:  Daytime phone must be entered.

Why the discrepancy?

I saw a similar question posed back in March 2021.  That poster, as I did, ended up providing the phone number out of concern that not providing it might somehow mess up the e-filing process.  The difference is that, in my case, my phone number did end up on my final Form 1040 signature page (the poster’s did not).

To my knowledge, this question has never been answered:  Why does TurboTax require a phone number when the IRS does not?

Thanks.

[MichelleLO]

Your telephone number is used by TurboTax to help recover your account if you should get locked out. 

Where were you prompted to enter your phone number in the program?  If it was at the filing stage, it might be a requirement of the state you're filing in.

[Yepper22]

Thanks, MichelleLO.

After reading your reply, I checked the California instructions.  (I didn’t think of doing that earlier because California tends to following federal): 

“Include your preferred phone number and email address in case the FTB needs to contact you regarding your tax return. By providing this information, the FTB will be able to provide you better customer service.”

Maybe it is a requirement of California -- or maybe not.  This sounds a little more like a request than a requirement to me.  And as I said, California usually follows federal.  Plus, thankfully, I don’t recall an email being requested by the TurboTax software. 

And if the phone number is used by TurboTax only for account recovery purpose, why then are they putting that information on my tax return?

For me, if the federal and state don’t require that we provide certain information, I don’t want to provide it to them –- and TurboTax should not require it.

(In answer to your question, I tried to complete the e-file process without providing a phone number, but I was unsuccessful.  I kept getting a Check This Entry screen that said:  Personal Worksheet Daytime phone must be entered.)

Thanks again.

[ThomasM125]

The wording you provided regarding a signature is a request to provide it. As with many tax laws, a certain amount of interpretation may be required to determine the correct tax treatment of a regulation. In this case, is seems TurboTax has decided the phone number is necessary for e-filing. It will be difficult to find out the rationale behind that determination, but an acception will not be made for just your return, so you will have to provide the phone number if you want to e-file your tax return. 

[Yepper22]

Thanks, ThomasM125.   I came to the same conclusion you did, so I had gone ahead and provided my phone number.  The e-file completed with no problem.  It’s just that with all the telemarketing, scammers, and robocalls a person gets every day, one doesn’t want his phone number exposed unnecessarily.

[MoniqueLO_]

Rest assured that Intuit will not sell your information. Please see What happens after I share my tax info with Intuit? for more information. 

@Yepper22