Validate Tax IDs

Overview

Tax ID Validator works by analyzing the format and structure of US Tax IDs, validating checksums and rules for SSN, EIN, and ITIN. It detects the type automatically, validates against known invalid patterns, and returns formatted and masked versions.

Live Test Validate Tax IDs Source →

Formula

One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the rest are its inputs, and the "field" pair says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.

=VERVE("taxidvalidator", A2, "field", "valid")

A2 holds the taxid you are looking up. Drag the formula down and each row resolves on its own.

With literal values

Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.

=VERVE("taxidvalidator", "123-45-6789", "field", "valid")

Inputs

Required inputs are positional, in the order below. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after them — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Input	Type	Where it goes	Description
`taxid`Required	string	argument 2 (A2)	The US Tax ID to validate (SSN, EIN, or ITIN format)

What lands in your sheet

The "field" pair is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.

Seeing everything at once

Drop the "field" pair and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.

=VERVE("taxidvalidator", A2)

Good for exploring, not for filling down

The second row's table would land on top of the first's, and every cell after the first reads #REF! (#SPILL! in Excel). Keep one per sheet, or name a field, and leave the cells below and to the right empty.

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the "field" pair accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.

Use as "field"	Type	Example cell value	Description
`valid`	boolean	`true`	Whether the Tax ID passed validation checks
`taxid`	string	`123-45-6789`	The formatted Tax ID with standard formatting applied
`type`Premium	string	`SSN`	Abbreviated Tax ID type: SSN, EIN, or ITIN
`type_full`Premium	string	`Social Security Number`	Full name of Tax ID type like Social Security Number
`format`Premium	string	`XXX-XX-XXXX`	Expected format pattern for the Tax ID type
`normalized`	string	`123-45-6789`	Tax ID normalized to standard format with hyphens
`digits_only`	string	`123456789`	Tax ID with all non-numeric characters removed
`masked`	string	`*--6789`	Tax ID with sensitive digits masked for privacy protection
`last4`	string	`6789`	Last four digits of the Tax ID only
`is_placeholder`Premium	boolean	`true`	Whether the number is obvious filler (all-identical digits or a simple sequence like 123-45-6789) — true even when it structurally validates
`validation_details`	object	`{…}`
`validation_details.format_valid`Premium	boolean	`true`	Whether the Tax ID matches the expected format
`validation_details.area_number_valid`Premium	boolean	`true`	Whether SSN area number is valid (first three digits)
`validation_details.group_number_valid`Premium	boolean	`true`	Whether SSN group number is valid (middle two digits)
`validation_details.serial_number_valid`Premium	boolean	`true`	Whether SSN serial number is valid (last four digits)
`risk_score`Premium	number	`35`	Composite 0-100 risk score combining structural validity and placeholder detection (higher is riskier)
`risk_level`Premium	string	`medium`	Risk band derived from the score: low, medium or high
`error`	object	`null`	Error message if validation failed, otherwise null

Filling a whole column

Both platforms make one batched call for a column rather than one request per cell, and both cost the same — 10 credits per row looked up. How you write it differs, because the two runtimes batch at different points.

Rows 2–100 in one call

=VERVE("taxidvalidator", A2:A100, "field", "valid")

In Google Sheets, give the arguments ranges and the answers spill down from the cell you typed in. Custom functions there run synchronously and in isolation, so dragged cells cannot be coalesced — the range form is how a column becomes one call. The "field" pair is required here: a per-row two-column table has nowhere to spill. Use a full column per input (A2:A100, not A2) — a single-cell reference is read as row 1 only and the rest of the column comes back blank.

In Excel, type the formula once and fill down — no range form and none needed, because its runtime is asynchronous and the add-in coalesces the calls a fill produces into a single batched request. Do not hand VERVE.CALL a range: Excel flattens it into positional arguments, so A2:A100 arrives as a hundred separate arguments and the cell reads #ERR rather than filling.

Either way, column A holds your taxid values and the answers land beside them, one row each, blank rows skipped.

When a cell doesn't fill

A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.

Cell reads	What happened
`#ERR Not connected`	No API key saved. Open the side panel and connect your account.
`#ERR Replace <name> with a cell or value`	A preview formula was copied as-is. Swap the placeholder for a cell reference.
`#ERR No "x" in taxidvalidator`	An option name this source does not take. The message lists the ones it does.
`#ERR No data point "…"`	The `"field"` path is not in the response. Check it against the table above.
`#PREMIUM(field)`	The field exists but your plan does not include it.
`#ERR Out of credits`	The cycle's credits are spent. Usage resets on your billing date.

Before the formula works

The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.

Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
Type the formula above into any cell.

Use cases

Form Validation: Validate Tax IDs in online forms and applications to ensure correct format before submission
Compliance: Verify Tax ID format compliance for tax reporting, payroll processing, and financial services
Data Quality: Validate Tax IDs in databases during data cleaning and migration to identify invalid entries
Identity Verification: Check Tax ID format as part of identity verification processes while maintaining privacy with masking

Other ways to use Validate Tax IDs

Set up Validate Tax IDs on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

Call it as a REST APIOne HTTPS endpoint and an x-api-key header, with SDKs for Node, Python and .NET.APIVerve →Reference →

Give it to an AI agentConnect over MCP and your agent calls it as a native tool — Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT.VerveKit →Reference →