SSN and Name must match the IRS database | AIR

You filed electronically and the file status is "Accepted With Errors". You open the results report and find one or more of the following errors:

Form 1095B 'ResponsibleIndividualName' and 'TIN' within 'ResponsibleIndividualGrp' must match the IRS database.
The Information Return 'CoveredIndividualName' and 'SSN' within 'CoveredIndividualGrp' must match the IRS database.
Form 1095C 'OtherCompletePersonName' and 'SSN' in 'EmployeeInfoGrp' must match IRS database.

You have to make a good faith effort to correct name/SSN mismatches. It takes time and the more mismatches you have, the more time you have to spend following up with employees, researching and TIN matching. But the time invested now will pay off because the IRS will eventually move from warnings to penalties. In tax year 2015, the IRS gave the error TIN Validation failed.

How to Read the Error

Consider this example error:

1094C-20-00000001|1|4
1095C-010-01
Form 1095C 'OtherCompletePersonName' and 'SSN' in 'EmployeeInfoGrp' must match IRS database.
/Form109495CTransmittalUpstream/Form1094CUpstreamDetail/Form1095CUpstreamDetail/EmployeeInfoGrp/SSN

Its Form 1095-C. The Receipt ID is 1094C-20-00000001. The name and SSN of the 4th employee from your data file does not match IRS records.

The first step is to double check the W-9 form and contact the employee. Is the last name spelled correctly? Did the recipient recently get married and has a new last name? The IRS TIN matchiness the first 4 characters of the last name only so focus on the last name. Is the SSN correct? Go back to the employee and keep asking questions. We can run TIN matching to verify if the name/TIN matches IRS records before efiling 1095 data to the IRS and we can file corrections on your behalf.

Consider this error:

1094C-20-00000001|1|4
Shared-008
The Information Return 'CoveredIndividualName' and 'SSN' within 'CoveredIndividualGrp' must match the IRS database.
/Form109495CTransmittalUpstream/Form1094CUpstreamDetail/Form1095CUpstreamDetail/CoveredIndividualGrp[1]/SSN

Same form. Same Receipt ID. Here the 4th employee again but the 1st covered individual (you see that here CoveredIndividualGrp[1]) in Part III of Form 1095-C does not match the IRS database. Double check that the covered individual last name is correct and that the SSN used is correct. Does the covered individual use their father's or mother's last name?

Often the employee is the first covered individual listed as well in Part III. If the name/SSN didn't match in Part I, then the error arises again for the covered individual.