What is a name control in Form 941?

Last modified 6/14/2023 2:50:26 AM EST

A name control is a sequence of characters derived from a taxpayer's legal name as indicated on Form SS-4, the Application for Employer Identification Number (EIN).

When the IRS processes a taxpayer's filed return or extension, it uses this name control to verify the accuracy of the name/TIN combination, comparing your data against a comprehensive database of all issued EINs.

If the name control matches the corresponding record in the IRS database, the return is considered correct. However, if there’s a mismatch in the name control, the IRS may reject the taxpayer’s filed return due to this discrepancy.