For Recently Married or Divorced Taxpayers (from the NCBA Family Law Section Listserv)

Five Filing Facts for Recently Married or Divorced Taxpayers




If your client was married or divorced recently, there are a couple of

things he or she will want to do to ensure the name on his or her tax return

matches the name registered with the Social Security Administration.



Here are five facts from the IRS for recently married or divorced taxpayers.

Following these steps will help avoid problems when your client files his or

her tax return.



1. If your client took his or her spouse's last name or if both spouses

hyphenate their last names, either may run into complications if they do not

notify the SSA. When newlyweds file a tax return using their new last names,

IRS computers can't match the new name with their Social Security Number.



2. If your client were recently divorced and changed back to his or her

previous last name, the client will also need to notify the SSA of this name

change.



3. Informing the SSA of a name change is a snap; just file a Form SS-5,

Application for a Social Security Card at your local SSA office.



4. Form SS-5 is available on SSA's Web site at www.socialsecurity.gov,

by calling 800-772-1213 or at local offices. It usually takes about two

weeks to have the change verified.



5. If your client adopted his or her spouse's children after getting

married, your client will want to make sure the children have an SSN.

Taxpayers must provide an SSN for each dependent claimed on a tax return.

For adopted children without SSNs, the parents can apply for an Adoption

Taxpayer Identification Number - or ATIN - by filing Form W-7A, Application

for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions with the IRS.

The ATIN is a temporary number used in place of an SSN on the tax return.

The W-7A is available on IRS.gov, or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).





6. Links:



* Social Security Administration:
http://www.irs.gov/app/scripts/exit.jsp?dest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ssa.gov


* Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card (PDF):

http://www.ssa.gov/online/ss-5.pdf



* Form W-7A, Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for

Pending U.S. Adoptions (PDF 42K): http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7a.pdf