Frozen Account Due to Unverified Tax Information

[#1]

I formed an LLC in the state of MS and obtained an EIN number for this LLC. I correctly updated the tax information on Etsy. However, my shop was being frozen due to unverified tax information. It has been over two weeks and Etsy has been completely responsive to address the issue. I was not even recognized that I have been having this issue on my account. When I wanted to update the tax information with my SSN, I could not do it. I have been asked to update my tax info, but I cannot make any changes there. Etsy is not addressing the issue at all. Any ideas what to do at this point!

[DAALLC]

Umm you are a bit confused an LLC and sole proprietorship are 2 different things.

[EpiclesisConsulting]

@DAALLC 

But more different for some purposes than for others. The IRS does not seem to want to treat a single-member LLC that has not become a corporation as a distinct entity.

I think it's ridiculous that we are expected to give out our SSN to everyone who paid us enough to have to send a 1099, especially now that the threshold is down to $600.

Trish O'Connor
Owner, Epiclesis Consulting LLC

[DAALLC]

Agreed.  Our account has been frozen for 2 days, entered all tax info and its still froze.  We had a sale moments before they froze me.  I am not going to risk hurting our reputation and will mail myself(etsy won't even let me buy a label through them while froze) and hope to god they pay me later, its a $200 item.  I am going back to Ebay, you can't even talk to anybody at Etsy, what a joke!

[SerenitybyRM]

I had same problem, but my SSN number seems to be working. My EIN number never worked.

[Spottedwoodchuck]

You guys!!  I had my info in correctly the whole time.  Etsy help had someone verify my info and now my shop is up and running.  I started with the chat feature and they sent it up to email support.  Took a little over one week to get it straight.  

[CMcDonoughDesigns]

I am sole proprietor and have been on etsy since 2013 they have never had my SSN before and when I saw the alert to supply this info to stay in business I went to the IRS to get an EIN because I don't trust etsy with my social.  I did make a mistake entering the number early, you must wait at least two weeks to use your new EIN.

Entering my new number triggered etsy to suspend my shop. I tried to delete the number because I hadn't hit the $600 threshold but that didn't work.  I called etsy (yes they do have a number but it's hard to find) I was told that I could enter my SSN-no thanks-or wait for a reply by e-mail from the finance team-OK.  I did get a reply and I scanned and sent the letter from the IRS that states that it is proof of my new EIN, I also updated my name as per instructions from etsy. The next day I was back in business for about 24 hours before I got shut down again for the same reason.

I suspect etsy is overwhelmed with this new reporting requirement. Did they not see this coming? If this is happening to enough people their income will drop also along with their credibility as an artist/small business site. 

[Buntique]

Okay, our tax information was entered years ago. I just went to see how it is entered. We have a partnership LLC. However, Etsy has never recognized partnerships. I don't know why. They just never have. I know when I entered the info years ago I had to seek help from Etsy support. So our info is entered as an individual (which is technically not correct since our business is a partnership) with the EIN number of our LLC and our LLC name entered for the name. The 1099 section is showing the last 4 digits for our LLC EIN. Maybe with a partnership LLC they want it listed as individual since one member in a partnership LLC is designated as the managing member. In ours that would be me. So in that respect I am the individual designated to manage the legalities of the LLC even though it is a partnership LLC. If this is part of the reasoning by Etsy, as usual they do a very poor job of explaining what they expect and how things need to be done.

[DAALLC]

Oh my god, finally got it to work thanks to you!  A 2 week nightmare.  under individual it should also say single owner LLC or something.

[YouHaveArrivedDecor]

I read to do this and it worked immediately! Enter your name as it is exactly on your social security card.

[GrammiesHats]

Mine is EXACT and it won't go.  I have gone in and done it over and over and submitted again and again.  No dice.

[RushCreekVintage]

I finally got my shop up and visible again after trying numerous iterations of my tax info. I finally REMOVED  the period after my middle initial and it worked. 
I still have not seen a response from Etsy after talking to support 3 different times last weekend. 

[CraftyMink]

Finally I'm unfrozen! Solution is to go back into Finances and re-enter your tax payer ID (SSN), even though it says it was accepted, do it again and select both years (last year and this year even though it states that it is already validated for those years...) check both boxes. And now instantly unfrozen! I hope this helps, I just tried again for the hell of it and it worked, going on 3 days with no response from Etsy support. 

Good luck everyone! 

[EntirelyHandmade]

I am trying your solution as we speak.  The little button "submit to Etsy/ or save" is going around and around.  Hopefully that will fix the issue.

[EntirelyHandmade]

Followed your suggestion but I have been in a loop for about 10 minutes.  sigh.  This is a pain in the neck

[KittyHenryVintage]

My account was also unfrozen, but I am finding that my orders are not processing. One customer attempted to purchase an item 8 times and no attempts were successful and unfortunately they never contacted me to help resolve. The second lost sale was this morning where my shop icon had a 1 in the corner--but no sale to be found. It's like my store is still frozen even though visible to shoppers.

[EntirelyHandmade]

My shop just got frozen over the tax information I entered.  I tried to change the information and received the bar notification that I could now sell on Etsy.  Below is another one that says that Etsy is currently verifying my info and to check back in an hour.  I really would like to get my shop back up and running.  Is there a way to contact Etsy today?  Anybody know?

[EntirelyHandmade]

As of this morning, my shop is still frozen.  Tried enter and re enter my edited tax info time and time again but ended up in a loop.  Found a link that another person in the threat had posted and contacted Etsy, asking for a call back and did another submission of my issue via email.  Still waiting for a response.

I understand this is a weekend and I probably have to wait at least until Monday to get anything but this is really frustrating.

[CraftyMink]

So frustrating! Support never reached out to me. So sorry, hope you're able to get it resolved soon. 

[EntirelyHandmade]

Thanks.  It is VERY frustrating for sure.  I just talked to Ets support and they are thinking that it might be the IRS server.  I am supposed to try again in a little while.  I guess you have 5 tries per day to get your info on the IRS server verified.  After that you have to wait for 24 hours before trying again...

[DAALLC]

FOR THOSE WITH LLC’S READ.  First if you are a sole owner check the individual box. Enter your EIN.  For your company name enter your company name in the name box followed by your own name.  That was the part that held me up for weeks,,,very stupid they don’t tell you to do that.  Good luck

[EpiclesisConsulting]

@DAALLC 

Thanks for that info! It sounds VERY helpful.

My IRS Form SS-4 (the one that tells me the EIN) has my last name with no apostrophe, but a space between the "O" and "C", so I have to make sure to get that right. It also has "SOLE MBR" after my name, on the same line, so I'm guessing I am supposed to include that, too.

Did you have to include that to make it go through?

Trish O'Connor
Owner, Epiclesis Consulting LLC

[MissieRabdau]

I did exactly as you stated above, and it says invalid.  This is the most frustrating thing I have every dealt with being on Etsy.  

[Clemomof2boys]

What if our shop is just under our name with soc sec # I cannot get my information that is on my drivers license and my soc sec# to work

[EpiclesisConsulting]

(deleted accidental duplicate post)

[EpiclesisConsulting]

@Clemomof2boys 

I wonder if maybe the spelling of your name on your driver's license may be a bit off from the IRS database, which is supposed to be the same as on your Social Security card. 

This could be something like your name having been typed into the Social Security database with two letters reversed, or with full middle name vs. middle initial or vice versa, but I have another guess in your case:

I notice that your surname, like mine, contains an apostrophe. I'm sure you've experienced how different computer systems often deal with apostrophes differently (if at all). I've encountered my name being spelled O'Connor, Oconnor, O Connor and probably a bunch of other ways.

The last one listed, with a space instead of the apostrophe, is actually how Social Security spells mine. If you can't find the preprinted label from your tax form, or your SS card, and don't have a Medicare card, a Medicare benefit letter, or an earnings statement from Social Security, you could try substituting a space for the apostrophe. 

Good luck!

Trish O'Connor
Owner, Epiclesis Consulting LLC