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Five
Tips if You Changed Your Name Due to Marriage or
Divorce
If
you changed your name as a result of a recent
marriage or divorce you’ll want to take the
necessary steps to ensure the name on your tax
return matches the name registered with the
Social Security Administration. A mismatch
between the name shown on your tax return and
the SSA records can cause problems in the
processing of your return and may even delay
your refund.
Here
are five tips for recently married or divorced
taxpayers who have a name change.
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If you took your spouse’s last name or if
both spouses hyphenate their last names, you
may run into complications if you don’t
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.
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If you were recently divorced and changed
back to your previous last name, you’ll also
need to notify the SSA of this name change.
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Informing the SSA of a name change is easy;
you’ll just need to file a Form SS-5,
Application for a Social Security Card at
your local SSA office and provide a recently
issued document as proof of your legal name
change.
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Form SS-5 is available on SSA’s website at
http://www.socialsecurity.gov,
by calling 800-772-1213 or at local offices.
Your new card will have the same number as
your previous card, but will show your new
name.
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If you adopted your spouse’s children after
getting married, you’ll 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. Form W-7A is available on
the IRS website at
http://www.irs.gov,
or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
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