There are EIN, PTIN, EFIN and PINs.   What do they all mean?   They are all a means to maintain security in a world that historically maintained security with the signing of a pen.   With the advances in technology and the efficiency gains that come along with it, taxes have moved online.   It once took weeks to get taxes from Appleton, Oshkosh or anywhere in the “boon-docks” of Wisconsin to the IRS, but now with technology, it can be done in a matter of minutes!

It comes with a price; the advances of technology come with inverse regressions of security.   This is something that is difficult to combat, which is probably the reason we have had the internet in the 1980s, but taxpayers still pay taxes through the mail today.   How can someone send something through the internet that carries the same integrity and authenticity as a signed document received in the mail.   Let me introduce to you the PIN.   This number is a five-digit virtual signature used by a tax payer to file his or her return electronically.   In lieu of paper signature, something must be used as proof of taxpayer intent!

This PIN is sufficient only if the taxpayer files his or her own tax return and submits it directly to the IRS.   Most tax payers do not do their own tax returns anymore, due to complexity of the tax code or merely the time involved.   Many have professionals prepare their federal and state tax returns for them.   A professional, as of 2010, needs to have a professional PIN, or PTIN for short.   This number must be used by the professional to sign the return.   A return completed by a professional will need to have the professionals PTIN, as well as the taxpayers PIN, as proof.   Think of these as both signatures.

A tax professional who works for something larger than a sole proprietorship will also need to sign with an EIN, or the employer’s signature.   All these abbreviations seem to have a pattern!   They are all electronic signatures.   The last of the mix I threw out there is the EFIN.   This number is verification for a professional tax preparer  to submit the returns electronically.   The EFIN is the hardest to obtain by a tax professional, as their finger prints, among many other requirements, are required for identification!   All of these signatures require hoops to be jumped through to be received by the IRS.

If you have the required  signatures, then you are ready to E File!   Forget the mail, and submit your return online with the same safety and security as the traditional method of filing.   Tax Relaxer has all of these electronic signatures.   I have the ability to E file your return for you, and I do for all returns (unless you specifically request otherwise).   The E file is included in the quote!