A name control is a sequence of characters derived from the last name of the primary taxpayer, spouse, or a dependent. It is the first four characters of their last name. Punctuation marks (except for hyphens), spaces, titles, and suffixes are omitted.
When E-Filing, their Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and name control must match the information in the IRS database. If they don't match, the IRS will reject the return.
Relevant Types of Taxpayer Identification Numbers
- Social Security number (SSN)
- Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
- Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions (ATIN)
Examples
| Individual Name on SSN/ITIN Card(s) | First Name | Last Name | IRS Database Name Control |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Brown | John | Brown | BROW |
| Walter Di Angelo | Walter | Di Angelo | DIAN |
| Ronald En, Sr | Ronald | En | EN |
| Thomas Lea-Smith | Thomas | Lea-Smith | LEA- |
| Joseph Corn | Joseph | Corn | CORN |
| Mary Smith | Mary | Smith | SMIT |
| Roger O'Neil | Roger | ONeil | ONEI |
| Kenneth McCarty | Kenneth | McCarty | MCCA |
| (First Name Unknown) Smith | FNU | Smith | SMIT |
| Smith (No First Name) | Smith | SMIT | |
| Abdullah Allar-Sid | Abdullah | Allar-Sid | ALLA |
| Jose Alvarado Nogales | Jose | Alvarado Nogales | ALVA |
| Juan de la Rosa Y Obregon | Juan | de la Rosa Y Obregon | DELA |
| Pedro Paz-Ayala | Pedro | Paz-Ayala | PAZ- |
| Donald Vander Neut | Donald | Vander Neut | VAND |
| Otto Von Wodtke | Otto | Von Wodtke | VONW |
| John Big Eagle | John | Big Eagle | BIGE |
| Mary Her Many Horses | Mary | Her Many Horses | HERM |
| Ted Smith Gonzalez | Ted | Gonzalez | GONZ |
| Maria Acevedo Smith | Maria | Smith | SMIT |
| Robert Garcia Garza Hernandez | Robert | Garza Hernandez | GRAZ |
| Binh To La | Binh | La | LA |
| Kim Van Nguyen | Kim | Nguyen | NGUY |
| Nhat Thi Pham | Nhat | Pham | PHAM |
| Jin Zhang Qui | Jin Zhang | Qui | QUI |
| Yen Yin Chiu | Yen Yin | Chiu | CHIU |
Note: This is an article on using TaxSlayer's software. It is not intended as tax advice. For more details on this topic, see Additional Information below.
Additional Information