Protecting Your Business: The Propriety Verification Process For Participating Tax Professionals

At Propriety Marketplace, we prioritize trust, compliance, and transparency. Before any tax professional or commercial reporting agent can offer their services on our platform, they must undergo our mandatory vetting process.

This verification standard adds an essential layer of security for taxpayers and businesses, ensuring you connect only with professionals who meet rigorous federal and state criteria.

How Propriety Verifies Marketplace Participants To participate on Propriety Marketplace, all reporting agents and tax professionals must pass our structured multi-tier verification process:

1. State Corporate Good Standing Checks For commercial payroll providers and corporate tax entities, legal authority to operate is governed at the state level. We verify corporate standing through the appropriate Secretary of State (SOS) registry in the entity's state of incorporation to confirm they maintain an active, valid operating status and are not delinquent, suspended, or dissolved.

2. Multi-Tier Credential & License Verification For individual practitioners, we verify licensing and credentials across recognized regulatory authorities:

IRS Directory Validation: We review the Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications.

NASBA CPA Verification: If a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is not listed in the IRS public directory, their active license is validated through the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).

American Bar Association (ABA) Verification: If an attorney is not listed in the IRS public directory, their standing is confirmed through the American Bar Association (ABA) and state bar associations.

Additional Due Diligence for Taxpayers While Propriety requires and executes this verification for all Tax Professional and Reporting Agent marketplace participants, taxpayers should maintain ongoing oversight of their tax administration:

A. Reviewing Disciplinary Histories If you wish to independently review the disciplinary records of individual practitioners (CPAs, Attorneys, or Enrolled Agents), you can consult:

IRS Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR): Use the IRS Search for Disciplined Tax Professionals Lookup Tool to check for censures, suspensions, or disbarments under Circular 230 regulations.

Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB): Review published announcements of disciplinary sanctions issued on a rolling basis.

B. Auditing Active Performance & Tax Filings If you currently work with a third-party reporting agent and want to confirm real-time compliance:

Monitor EFTPS: Log into your IRS business's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) account directly to confirm all federal tax deposits match your payroll schedules under your EIN.

Contact the IRS RAF Unit: Contact the IRS Reporting Agents File validation desk at (801) 620-3852 to ask if the Form 8655 relationship link is still active and recognized by the system.

Important Disclosures Verification Policy: Propriety's verification process is strictly an internal onboarding and qualification requirement for participation on Propriety Marketplace. Propriety does not disclose, distribute, or provide specific background reports or proprietary verification files.

Data Accuracy Notice: Propriety’s standing determinations for tax professionals and reporting agents rely directly on third-party state and federal reporting systems (including State SOS registries, the IRS, NASBA, and the ABA). Our evaluations are based on publicly available records and are only as accurate and current as the information maintained and published by those governing agencies.

Understanding Tax Return Preparer Credentials and Qualifications can help you learn more about the different types of tax professionals.

https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/understanding-tax-return-preparer-credentials-and-qualifications