TMCnet News
IRS Completes System for Electronic Return of Tax Transcripts; System Increases Security, Efficiency and Usability but Brings Additional CostsWASHINGTON --(Business Wire)-- Sept. 18, 2006 -- The Fraud Prevention Coalition, a national alliance of companies formed for the advancement of tools to prevent mortgage fraud, announced the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has completed the development of a system providing secure electronic return of tax transcripts. The new "Express Service" is expected to take effect Oct. 1, 2006, and includes electronic transcripts of personal and business tax returns that will be made available significantly faster than the current two-day program it is replacing. Additionally, W2s, 1099s and K1s will be added to the program within thirty to sixty days. Along with improved turnaround times and an enhanced product, the IRS will impose a user fee of $4.50 per year requested in the new program to recover its costs of program maintenance. All parties will closely monitor procedures to ensure no surplus fees are collected, and that the entire process maintains a high level of confidentiality and security. Income verification is a tool used by mortgage lenders and others within the financial community to confirm the income of a borrower at the beginning of the loan application process in an efficient and cost effective manner. Verifying income via tax transcripts provided by the IRS can detect potential fraud and reduce the risk of repurchase demands. According to Pete Rose, representative of the Coalition and founding partner of The Franklin Partnership, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist firm specializing in comprehensive government relations and public policy analysis, "Expedited processing of 4506Ts enables a faster third-party income verification process to verify a borrower's income at the pre-funding stage. Now, with a system in place for the safe electronic delivery of tax transcripts, the mortgage community, and indeed the financial industry as a whole, has a more valuable tool with which to verify income, creating a better position to take authoritative steps to fight the rapidly escalating problem of fraud at the source." About Fraud Prevention Coalition The Fraud Prevention Coalition is a national alliance of companies providing services to financial institutions including definitive income verification products for the prevention of fraud. The mission is to build and strengthen relationships with government agencies in order to facilitate the improvement of products and services to the financial industry. Members of the Coalition include the following: American Tax Verification, Credit Technologies, DiscoverSource, Interthinx, IRSTAXRECORDS.com, National Tax Verification, NCS/National Credit-reporting System, Rapid Reporting Verification Company, Tax Verification Bureau, U.S. Tax Verification. For more information, please contact Meredith Fletcher at 678.781.7207. |
