The IRS relies on accurate legal names and taxpayer identification numbers (TINs on information returns to match income, deductions, and withholding to individual and business tax returns. When name and TIN combinations do not match IRS records, that data cannot be reliably matched, contributing to underreporting, enforcement activity, and the nation’s tax gap.
For filers, incorrect tax identity data has real consequences: backup withholding obligations, B-Notices, manual reconciliation between withholding deposits and filed forms, and penalties under IRC Sections 6721 and 6722. These issues are rarely isolated to a single form or filing season and often spill into state reporting and audit exposure.
In this session, Wendy Walker, VP of Regulatory Affairs at Sovos, breaks down why tax identity management is not just a filing requirement, but an ongoing operational discipline that must be embedded into core business processes long before year-end reporting begins.
Key learnings include:
- How the IRS uses legal name and TIN data to match information returns to tax returns, and why mismatches directly trigger backup withholding, enforcement activity, and penalties
- What filers are legally required to collect and maintain under IRC Sections 6109, 6721, and 6722, and how proper documentation supports penalty abatement and reasonable cause relief
- Why incorrect TINs create significant operational burden, including backup withholding calculations, deposits, manual reconciliation, and downstream penalty exposure when amounts do not tie
- Why IRS Name and TIN Matching is a critical but limited control, and which payments and payees cannot be validated through IRS systems
- What effective tax identity management looks like in practice, and how leading financial services organizations embed these processes into onboarding, account maintenance, and year-round reporting workflows
- Live Q&A with practical implementation considerations
Presenters: Wendy Walker | VP Regulatory Affairs, Sovos
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| Date | Time | Duration |
| February 11, 2026 | 12:00 pm CST | 1 hour |
