Back on March 15th, I called the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line about this exact issue. They confirmed that the 14-digit control number is assigned during the e-filing process and appears on your acknowledgment receipt after successful submission. The community consensus here is correct - this isn't something you need to obtain before filing. Focus on getting your 1099s submitted before the April 30th deadline instead!

Just went through this exact situation last week! I was panicking about the same thing with my freelance income reporting. After reading through all these responses, I can confirm what everyone is saying - you literally cannot get this number ahead of time because it doesn't exist until you actually submit your forms. I was about to spend hours on hold with the IRS before I realized this. Your tax software (whether it's TaxAct, TurboTax, or whatever) will handle this automatically during the e-filing process. The control number shows up on your confirmation receipt after successful submission. Don't stress about it - just focus on getting all your contractor information entered correctly and hit submit before the deadline!

I had this exact same situation last year and it caused me so much anxiety! I work for a tech startup but my W-2 showed our payroll company first, then my actual employer underneath. What finally helped me was calling my company's HR department directly. They explained that when they switched to using a PEO, all employee W-2s would show both entities. The HR rep confirmed that I should enter it exactly as printed on the W-2 - PEO name first (since they have the EIN), then my actual company name on the next line. She also mentioned that this is becoming more common as smaller companies use PEOs to handle payroll complexity. The IRS sees these arrangements all the time, so as long as you match the W-2 format exactly, there shouldn't be any issues. One tip: take a photo of your physical W-2 before entering anything into tax software, so you can double-check that you're matching the exact format if the software tries to rearrange things during import.

This is a really helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar W-2 situation where my company uses ADP TotalSource as their PEO. My W-2 shows "ADP TotalSource, Inc." first, then my actual employer "GreenLeaf Marketing" underneath in Box C. What's been confusing me is that when I look at my paystubs throughout the year, they only show my actual employer's name (GreenLeaf Marketing), but the W-2 format is completely different. I was worried there might be an error on my W-2. Based on all the advice here, it sounds like this is totally normal and I should just enter both names exactly as they appear on the W-2. The explanation about PEOs being the "employer of record" while your actual company is the "worksite employer" really clears things up. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's reassuring to know this is a common situation and not something to stress about!

I'm going through the exact same nightmare right now! Filed my 2024 return on February 18th, got acceptance immediately, but my transcript shows a 810 freeze from February 25th with that same "RETURN NOT PRESENT" message. It's like our returns just disappeared into thin air after being accepted. Reading through everyone's experiences here, it's pretty clear that waiting isn't going to solve this. The consensus seems to be that 810 codes need human intervention about 99% of the time. I've been putting off calling because of all the horror stories about wait times, but I think I need to just rip the band-aid off. @Kevin Bell - I'm definitely going to try claimyr.com after your recommendation. The idea of getting a callback instead of sitting on hold for hours sounds like a lifesaver. Even if there's a cost involved, it's worth it to avoid burning a whole day trying to get through. @Oliver Cheng - Also planning to check out taxr.ai to get a better understanding of what's actually happening with my transcript. These codes are so cryptic and the IRS doesn't exactly make it easy to understand what's going on. It's ridiculous that we need third-party services just to communicate with our own tax agency, but if it works, it works! Will definitely update once I make progress. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - at least we're not suffering through this alone! 😤

I'm experiencing the exact same issue! Filed my 2024 return on February 10th, got immediate acceptance, but my transcript shows a 810 freeze from February 17th with "RETURN NOT PRESENT" showing up everywhere. It's so frustrating because everything seemed perfect during filing. After reading all these experiences, it's clear that waiting for it to resolve automatically is probably wishful thinking. The pattern seems consistent - 810 codes almost always need human intervention. I've been dreading the call because of the horror stories about wait times, but it sounds like once you actually get through, the resolution is usually pretty straightforward. @Kevin Bell @Oliver Cheng - Thanks for sharing those resources! I'm definitely going to try both claimyr.com and taxr.ai. It's absurd that we need third-party services just to communicate with the IRS, but if they can save me from sitting on hold for 3+ hours, they're worth trying. The most frustrating part is the complete lack of communication from the IRS. They can accept our returns instantly but then they disappear into some manual review limbo with zero explanation. No letters, no notices, just a cryptic code that most people wouldn't even think to look for. I'll try calling tomorrow morning right at 7 AM, but if that doesn't work, I'm definitely using one of those callback services. Will update with my progress!

Had the same issue last week! The about:blank screen is super annoying but it's definitely on their end, not your connection. Since you already got it working with incognito mode, that's actually a pretty common fix - it bypasses cached data that might be causing conflicts. For future reference, you can also try clearing your browser data (cookies/cache) or using a different device entirely. The IRS website is notoriously glitchy during peak hours and tax season makes it even worse. At least you can check your refund status now! $3,789 is definitely worth the hassle of troubleshooting 💪

Been dealing with this exact same issue! The about:blank screen has been plaguing the IRS website for weeks now. What's really frustrating is that it happens randomly - sometimes the site works fine, other times you get that blank white screen no matter what you do. Since incognito mode worked for you, it's definitely a browser cache/cookie issue rather than server problems. Pro tip: bookmark the direct transcript URL and try accessing it during off-peak hours (like early morning 6-7 AM) when the servers aren't as hammered. Also, if you're on mobile, the desktop version tends to be more stable. Hope you get good news about that $3,789 refund! 🤞

Quick question - will this affect your refund if you're getting direct deposit? Like if the bank account is in the name of whoever was originally the primary filer?

Just to add another perspective here - I work as a tax preparer and can confirm that for married filing jointly returns, the primary/secondary spouse designation is really just an administrative detail. The actual tax calculation and liability remain exactly the same regardless of which spouse is listed first. Your situation is actually pretty common, especially with couples who have moved states or had account access issues. Filing through your wife's account with her as the primary filer is completely fine. Just make sure all your income ($78,000) gets properly reported on the return, even though she had no income in that state. The key things to verify: 1) Use the same filing status (married filing jointly) as your federal return, 2) Report all income accurately, and 3) Make sure you're filing as a part-year resident if you moved mid-year. The state tax software should walk you through the part-year residency calculations automatically. Don't stress too much about this - you're making the right choice by moving forward with what works rather than getting stuck on account access issues!