The day you decide to dress in a beautiful white wedding dress or a wedding suit and walk down the aisle with your heartthrob, you imagined all the beautiful things that come with being married and a happy ever after. Whoever coined the words "love conquers all" must have forgotten the bureaucracy that accompanies changing of one’s name. Even if you have a marriage license without authorization, your tax situation can be confusing the year of your marriage. If you receive a W-2 form with your maiden name, tax preparation may not be as smooth and simple for you when compared to other filers, although this cannot and should not be classified as a tax disaster. When you get married, divorced, or change your name for any other reason, you must change your name for driver's licenses, current accounts, retirement accounts, and so on. When you create all these documents, remember to change your name with the Social Security Administration.
You do not need to report the change of your name directly to the IRS. However, it is important to inform the Social Security Administration (SSA) before submitting the tax return. You can change your name by email or contact your local social security office. The Social Security Administration updates name records, which can take a long time.
You may have problems if you do not report a name change.
If you submit the tax return with a name that does not exactly match the name of the social security card, the processing of the returns may be delayed. The IRS will not accept the electronically stored return if the social security number and name do not match the records. If you are still waiting for a tax refund, it can mean a long wait for your money. Changing your name with SSA also helps you protect your future social security benefits by ensuring that your lists are published properly.
If you change the name of a child, you must inform the Social Security Administration.
For example, if you adopt a child or if the child is named after a father-in-law, you must enter your name before filing your return. Otherwise, you may not be able to ask for the child as an employee.
If you do not have the right to claim the child as an employee because the name and SSN of the child do not match, you may lose other tax benefits such as training or childcare credits. Also, you cannot claim child credit or extra baby credit.
As Internal Revenue Service indexes your number on your Social Security number, you must make sure that your Social Security Administrator has been informed of your name change. If you are yet to take this step and make this change, you should do it with the administrator using the SS-5 form. Although the IRS and the Social Security Administration are independent organizations, the IRS monitors return information from the administration's databases, and any discrepancies in the registration statement may delay the processing of the return.
If you received a W-2 with your maiden name on it and you have not changed with the Social Security Administration, do not wait until its extremely late to change with SSA. The IRS recommends that respondents test at least ten days after the SSA has modified the records to archive their return to ensure that the change has been recorded in all the databases used to verify the returns.
If you have already asked the Social Security Directorate to change your maiden name to your married name, it merely is a processing fee using your husband's name, even if you receive with your maiden name a W-2. In the W-2 form, stroke out the maiden name, and write your married name. The IRS will use the modified W-2 to check social security records, and if the name and social security number of your requests match those of the SSA database; your returns will be processed usually.
If you have not had the chance to notify the Social Security Administration about changing your name, you can file W-2 with your last name, if you are filing it. The IRS allows couples to dial the girl's name. You must send the return using your last name instead of the name you want to marry if it is the name that the SSA and the IRS have in the registration. Then you can notify your SSA with your new name and present your marriage name in the future.
KAB Bookkeeping and Tax Service