efiling Amended return with insufficient address information

[Mike T]

Client self-prepared last year's return and omitted a W-2.  IRS sent him a transcript showing the unreported W-2, but only summarized the employer's name and address with four characters.  He has no recollection of that who that employer was (one of six for the year).  I input the W-2 with "unknown address" but it fails the check for invalid zip code.  How can I work around this and be able to e-file the Amended return?

[kathyc2]

If you have EIN and it's a larger company it will show up on google search what company is attached to that EIN.

[jklcpa]

The client should call employer for the information, but if that isn't possible you could add all the W-2 income together as one entry into your software and e-file that way.  Detail of each individual W-2 isn't transmitted to IRS with the e-file. In the explanation for the amendment, just put that one W-2 with taxable wages of "$XX" and fed witholding of $XX was omitted from the original return. As long as the totals are correct, it should be OK from IRS perspective. You just have to make the software behave.

Which software are you using?

[Lee B]

If he deposited the paychecks, he could go to his bank and get a copy which would give him a name and address.

[Abby Normal]

Just file it with the 4 letter name and partial address. The IRS only verifies that the 4 digit name control matches the EIN, they don't check the address.

[jklcpa]

OP's software must require the address, or at least the zip code be valid, to pass the error checking for e-filing. Does the client have a paystub?  Or just put in the city, st, zip where the client worked. That won't affect the return's figures and will allow e-file to process. 

 

[Abby Normal]

Any address will work and zip codes are easy to look up. I doubt anything other than EIN and Name Control matter. Just pick a zip code in the state and make up an address.

[Lion EA]

I've actually used UNKNOWN for address lines and a zip in the state. Anything that makes it efile!

[Max W]

The client received a Masked transcript, where all the issuers information is truncated.  He should be able to get a unmasked transcript on The IRS website - "get your tax records".