Fed Tax--IRS:"Spouses: Check Name & Number Used On Tax Returns"
Form SS-5 (PDF) + instructions:
ssa.gov
ssa.gov
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>>> ftp.fedworld.gov
FOR RELEASE: 10/5/00 IR-2000-68
IRS ADVISES SPOUSES TO CHECK NAME & NUMBER USED ON TAX RETURNS
WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service is sending letters to 2.4 million
taxpayers who filed a joint 1999 return on which the name and identification number for
the second spouse listed did not match IRS records.
The IRS advises these taxpayers to compare the name and number used on the return with the information on the
identification card issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the IRS. The
mailout began last month and will continue until mid-November.
Taxpayers must provide correct names and identification numbers in order to
claim a personal exemption or the Earned Income Tax Credit. For several years, the
IRS has been increasing its efforts to verify compliance with this law.
In the past, the IRS has not accepted electronic returns with any name/number
mismatch, whether for the taxpayer, the spouse, or a dependent. It has also reduced
tax benefits claimed on paper returns when there was a name/number mismatch for the
first spouse listed on a joint return or for any dependent. This coming year, the IRS will
do the same for both spouses on a paper-filed joint return.
People who change their surnames for any reason -- such as marriage -- should
get updated identification cards, unless they intend to use the former name for legal
purposes.
Form SS-5, “Application for a Social Security Card,” is available from the
SSA Web site at http://www.ssa.gov, or by calling (toll-free) 1-800-772-1213.<<<
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cnnfn.cnn.com
>>>IRS warns on glitch
Married names might not match those on file in IRS records
November 17, 2000: 7:49 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) - Millions of Americans may have to dig out their marriage certificates after the IRS sent out letters warning women that the married names on their tax returns do not match up with their Social Security numbers.
Most of the cases involve women who took their husbands' names when they got married. For various reasons, their new names were entered incorrectly into the Social Security system or weren't entered at all.
The IRS said that unless the taxpayers straighten out the problem with the Social Security Administration, when they file their tax returns in the spring they could be denied the earned income tax credit or the personal exemption a spouse gets when a couple files jointly.
"You may have your refund delayed," added John M. Dalrymple, an Internal Revenue Service commissioner in the wage and investment division, "or you may have to have a lengthy conversation with us."
In some cases, couples who have been married for decades are returning to Social Security offices with their marriage certificates and other documentation.
The Social Security Administration said the documents can be mailed in, but they have to be originals, not copies.
Fred Borsello, an engineer at a Long Island manufacturing company who received a letter dated Oct. 30, said he and others fear the originals might be lost by the same bureaucrats he holds responsible for the mess.
"The only way to clear this up is for my wife to take a day off from work, go down to the Social Security office for the second time and get this taken care of," said Borsello, who insisted his wife contacted the Social Security Administration after their wedding more than 20 years ago and made the appropriate changes.
The letters went out to 2.4 million taxpayers filing joint tax returns. "We sent out an information notice to people, saying that based on the records, your name and Social Security number do not match," Dalrymple said. "They have to match, by law. You've got this time window to get this straightened out with the Social Security Administration."
He said the move is part of an effort to reduce fraud. "Congress passed the law to make sure that there were legitimate people making legitimate claims to offset tax liability or to claim refunds," Dalrymple said.
Social Security and IRS officials said there were various reasons for the discrepancies -- including failure by taxpayers to inform the Social Security Administration of name changes, as well as failure by government bureaucrats to enter the correct information into their computers when it was originally provided.
Social Security spokesman John Clark said the cause could be as simple as a transposed number or some other typographical error. With the increase in the ability of computers to cross-check names and numbers over the past two decades, discrepancies that once were buried deep in file cabinets can now be found with the click of a computer mouse.
Borsello said Wednesday that he was at work, talking with someone at the Social Security Administration about his plight, when a co-worker in an adjacent cubicle overheard his phone call and said his wife had gotten the same letter. "Obviously, this must be a problem that is pretty widespread," Borsello said.<<< |
