Remember, our tax system is based on the
pay-as-you-go system. You must have paid enough money on every paycheck you
received. Upon calculating and reconciling with the Internal Revenue
Service, you must owe an amount that is closer to zero. If you did not pay
enough to cover your tax during the year and you are really off when you
reconcile and file your return with the Internal Revenue Service, you could
be liable for certain penalties for failing to pay your taxes as you earned
your money.
If you changed your name because of marriage,
divorce, etc., be sure to report the change to the Social
Security Administration (SSA) before you file your tax return.
This prevents delays in processing your tax return and also will
prevent any delay in issuing your refund. You want to update your files with
the Social Security Administration (SSA) to safeguard your social security
benefits.
Notify the Social
Security Administration before you
file your tax return with the IRS if you or your dependents changed your
names. The name and the name of your dependents with the Social Security
Administration must match the name with the reports you
file with the Internal Revenue Service. Avoid filing your tax return without
double checking your Social Security Administration
records first because you will encounter the most difficult problem to try
to fix the mismatch with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if you
entered the wrong identifying information for you or your dependents.
You should do everything in your power to avoid any kind of letter from the
IRS especially a letter something so simple as a a social
security number and name mismatch. It will especially be very difficult to
straightening out the problem if they disallowed a credit such as the Earned
Income Credit because of a social security mismatch. This is where an ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Identity theft occurs when someone uses your
personal information, such as your name, social security number
(SSN), or other identifying information, without your
permission, to commit fraud or other crimes such as getting a
job or filing a tax return to receive a refund. To reduce your
risk, protect your Social Security Number by ensuring that your
employer is protecting your SSN and be careful when choosing a tax preparer.
Also, you can ask your employer how they are
protecting your number to make sure they are protecting your Social Security
Number. You can ask your employer about the company who is doing the
payrolls and whether or not they are a company whom can be trusted with your
personal information. Be wise when supplying other with your personal
information such as your social security number, date of birth and address.
Always ask for the name of individuals who take down your personal
information and keep a record of this information in case you need to speak
to the police in the event you detect identity theft. This is important
information you always wish you kept or asked after you encounter problems.
I think the most common comment people make to themselves is "This will not
happen to me".
If you are a nonresident or resident alien and
you do not have and are not eligible to get an SSN, you must
apply for an ITIN. They must have an Individual Tax
Identification Number (ITIN) in order to file their tax return. It must be
noted and it is extremely important that this identification is only used
for tax filing purposes.
