Many people look forward to their wedding day when they will be beautifully dressed in a gown and suit with the couple looking forward with enthusiasm to all the beautiful things that will come after marriage. However, the stress and bureaucracy that accompany changing one’s name could be overwhelming.
Even with a marriage license, one's tax situation could be confusing in the marriage year. People who received their W2 with their maiden name should expect tax preparation to have some complications, unlike others. While this is not a horrible situation, it involves other steps that some people might not be prepared for.
On getting married, one needs to change their name on essential documents like retirement accounts, driver's license, the Social Security Administration, and many others.
Essential Things to Remember about Name Change
While you will inform the Social Security Administration of your name change, you might not need to tell Uncle Sam before submitting your tax return. The name change is as simple as sending a mail or getting in touch with the local social security office. The SSA is in charge of updating names which might take a while.
Not Reporting a Name Change might cause Issues.
Submitting a tax return with a name that does not match what is on your Social Security Card will lead to delays in processing your return. Uncle Sam will reject an electronic return if there is a name discrepancy. Also, the time it might take to receive your tax return might be incredibly long. By changing your name with the SSA, you will protect your future benefits from the SSA.
Inform the SSA if you change Your Child’s Name
For instance, you might have a child named after his father-in-law, or you adopted the child. You need to enter your name before filing the return. Failure to do this might prevent you from claiming the child as a dependent.
Inability to claim the kid as a dependent due to discrepancy in the name and SSN might trigger the loss of a series of tax benefits like childcare credits.
Things to Note When Filing
Marriage and Social Security Number
As the IRS indexes your specific number on your Social Security Number, it is essential to ensure that the Social Security Administration is aware of the name change. For people that have not done the name change, it is necessary to contact the SSA and use Form SS-5.
While the IRS and SSA are two separate entities, Uncle Sam monitors return information from the SSAs database. If there is any discrepancy in the registration, the processing of your return will be delayed.
Time Specified for Name Change
For people that got their W2 having their maiden name, and the name is yet to be changed with the Social Security Administration, make sure to take the step as soon as you can. Uncle Sam advises that the respondent can wait for at least ten days after SSA modified the records, then one should try to archive the return to make sure that the change is already effected in all essential databases.
File with your Maiden Name
For people that are yet to inform the Social Security Administration of their name change, it is possible to file their W2 using their last name. Uncle Sam allows taxpayers to file their taxes using their last name, rather than your marriage name, provided it is the name present with the IRS and SSA in their database. After this, you will notify the SSA with your new name and tell them your marriage name in the future.
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