Overview
- Beginning in Tax Year 2015—following the lead of the IRS—New York began to capture taxpayers’ driver license or state-issued ID (non-driver ID) information for their electronically-filed personal income tax returns as an additional verification device to deter fraud. Providing this information was optional for Tax Year 2015.
- Beginning with Tax Year 2016, this information is required for New York State personal income tax returns that are prepared using software. The requirement applies to driver licenses or state-issued IDs from any state.
- For NYS-issued licenses or IDs, NYS also requires the taxpayer/tax professional to input the document number for either the prime taxpayer or spouse. (The document number is specific to NYS IDs and is typically found in the bottom right corner on the front, or on the back of the ID.)
- If any taxpayer on a return, (you or spouse) has either a driver license or state-issued ID, the following information is required:
- license or ID number;
- issuing state;
- issue date;
- expiration date; and
- document number (NYS-issued licenses and IDs only). Note: For married filing joint returns, enter only on document number.
- If you don’t have a driver license or state-issued ID (or is deceased), we have the option of indicating that they don’t have either one. This will fulfill the requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t find the answer to your question, please call me, 732-673-0510.
Acceptable documents and information
Q. What documents are acceptable to fulfill the requirement?
A. There are only three options accepted—regardless of what states, cities, or the IRS accepts:
– driver license – most recent, whether active or expired.
– State-Issued ID – most recent, whether active or expired.
(for purposes of this verification requirement, state-issued ID refers specifically to a nondriver ID, generally issued by a state Department of Motor Vehicles)
– If the taxpayer does not have either option 1 or option 2 (or is deceased), select no available ID.
Q. I can’t locate the document number for a New York State-issued ID. How many characters is it?
A. The document numbers for New York State driver licenses and state-issued IDs consist of either 8 or 10 alphanumeric characters. To view the standard placement of document numbers on New York State-issued licenses and IDs, visit New York State Department of Motor Vehicles: Sample Photo Documents.
Q. How will New York State use the information they collect?
A. They use the driver license and state-issue ID information as an additional verification step to protect taxpayers from fraud and identity theft.
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Chris Whalen, CPA
(732) 673-0510
79 Oak Hill Road
Red Bank, NJ 07701
www.chriswhalencpa.com
