 Income tax 2022-2023. Social security number SSN. Let's do some wealth preservation with some tax preparation. Most of this information comes from the Form 1040 Instructions Tax Year 2022 line instructions. We're looking at the social security number as we do remember. Support Accounting Instruction by clicking the link below, giving you a free month membership to all of the content on our website, broken out by category, further broken out by course. Each course then organized in a logical, reasonable fashion, making it much more easy to find what you need than can be done on a YouTube page. We also include added resources such as Excel practice problems, PDF files, and more like QuickBooks backup files when applicable. So once again, click the link below for a free month membership to our website and all the content on it. The IRS, the government, they see you as a number, so you've got to get the number right. If you don't get the number right, then they won't see you. You'll be like a ghost. It won't be good. So obviously if you don't put the proper social security number that will tie on and match to the name on the tax form, you might not even be able to electronically file because it'll be kicked back. The system will not recognize it. If you send in something by mail that has an incorrect social security number that could delay the process, could confuse the IRS and when the IRS is confused, it delays the process. It causes problems. Typically you want to avoid that. So an incorrect or missing SSN, which is social security number, can increase your tax, reduce your refund, or delay your refund. To apply for an SSN, you can fill in form SS5. You can find that on the IRS website. You can search for it at irs.gov, irs.gov, and return it along with the appropriate evidence, documents to the Social Security Card. The administration, that's the SSA, the Social Security Administration, another government entity, not the same as the IRS, but they're going to handle that type of identification information, which of course the IRS communicates with and will have and needs to line up when their processing the tax returns. So you can get the form SS5 online at ssa.gov forward slash forms forward slash ss5.pdf. So you can find that from your local SSA office, Social Security Administration office, or by calling the SSA at 800-772-1213. It usually takes about two weeks to get an SSN once the SSA has all the evidence and information it needs. So check that both the name and Social Security Number on your form 1040 or 1040 SR, W-2, and 1099 agree with the Social Security Card. So note, you've got your Social Security Number, and then you're going to get documentation from the people you worked for and people that paid you typically, that's going to be the W-2 form. The W-2 form will have your name and Social Security Number. And the IRS is going to have a copy of the W-2 forms having the name and Social Security Number on it as well. And then also you're going to have the 1099s possibly depending on your circumstances, which also have your name, Social Security Number. The IRS has a copy of that as well. So ideally, we have the same names and Social Security Numbers on the tax return that we file, as well as the W-2 forms that were filed by our employer and the 1099 forms. If they are not, then that could cause confusion. Now, obviously, if you file the tax return with an incorrect Social Security Number that doesn't match the name, you might not even be able to electronically file. So you'll see kind of the problem fairly immediately in that kind of situation, or you could file and it'll confuse the IRS. If there's something different on your Social Security Number, then it's on the supporting documentation from the IRS like the W-2s and the 1099s, that could just, you would think, cause the IRS to be confused with the W-2s and the 1099s. They might not tie that W-2 to what you are filing, meaning they don't have the supporting or backup information on their end to tie it to. Now, that might not cause a problem because if you're reporting income that they don't have supporting document for, then they're probably not going to stop you from recording income because you'll end up paying taxes on it. But obviously if the reverse happened, they had a W-2 that you didn't report, that's usually when you would expect it to cause more problems. Right, because then they're going to say that you had income that you did not report, that's going to cause concern on their end. So in any case, so if they don't, certain deductions and credits on Form 1040 or 1040 SR may be reduced or disallowed and you may not receive credit for your Social Security earnings. So remember, that's the other one that you just want to keep in mind, that your withholdings, usually we think about the income tax with the Form 1040, that's what it's there for, but the payroll taxes, Social Security, is important to make sure that it's properly allocated to the right Social Security number and name so that you get the proper benefit calculations maximizing the benefits at retirement age for those items. So if your Form W-2 shows an inaccurate Social Security number or name, notify your employer or the form issuing agent as soon as possible to make sure your earnings are credited to your Social Security record. So note, again, if you probably be able to file the tax return in that case and get your refund, but if the W-2 is not properly recorded in terms of the Social Security number name, then you're not compiling the Social Security credit that you're paying into the program to get the maximum benefit, so you want to make sure to correct that. So if the name or Social Security number on your Social Security card is incorrect, you can call the SSA. So once you are issued an SSM, I use it to file your tax return, use your SSN to file your tax return even if your SSN does not authorize employment or if you have been issued an SSN that authorizes employment and you lose your employment authorization. An I-10, I-T-I-N, will not be issued to you once you have been issued an SSN. So the I-10 would be another identification number, so the primary identification number is going to be the Social Security number. Typically if you don't have the Social Security number, then you might have an I-10, but if you get issued a Social Security number, you're probably not going to go back to having an I-10 after the Social Security number. So if you receive an SSN after previously using an I-10, stop using the I-10. The Social Security number is the one that should take precedence at that point. So IRS individual taxpayer identification number. Identification number. So let's get into those I-10s which are IRS individual taxpayer identification number for aliens. So if you are a non-resident or resident alien and you don't have and aren't eligible to get an SSN, that's a Social Security number, you must apply for an I-10. So now you can't get the Social Security number, you're still a number to the IRS, but now you're an I-10 number. So it takes about seven weeks to get an I-10 apparently. So if you already have an I-10, enter it wherever your Social Security number is required for your tax return. So obviously first page of the 1040 and any other kind of location, you've got to give them the name and the I-10. So some I-10s must be renewed. So if you haven't used your I-10 on a federal tax return at least once for tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, it expired at the end of 2022 and you must be renewed if you need to file a federal tax return in 2023. You don't need to renew your I-10 if you don't need to file a federal tax return. You can find more information at IRS.gov forward slash I-10. Tip, I-10s assigned before 2013 have expired and must be renewed if you need to file a tax return in 2023. So you're going to want to do that. So if you previously submitted a renewed application and it was approved, you do not need to renew again unless you haven't used your I-10 as a federal tax return at least once for tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, because hopefully that will give the IRS the information if you have filed those that who you are and they can keep on going forward from that point. So an I-10 is for tax use only. It doesn't entitle you to social security benefits or change your employment or immigration status under U.S. law. So that's kind of the confusing thing about an I-10. Well, one of the confusing things about taxes is usually the requirement is that you withhold the federal income tax, but also you've got this issue with the social security and the social security and Medicare used to be stuff that you would pay as part of like a benefit program. And it was geared towards the idea that if people live past their life expectancy, they would have no way of being able to save for retirement. So we've got this safety net program in that case. But now, of course, the social security, we think of it more of like a government-like retirement program. We're paying into it and we expect to get a benefit. And we should at this point because we're paying a lot of money into it. It's quite a high amount these days. So then you've got questions. Well, what if you're in a situation where you're not being able to participate because you're not a citizen to get the benefits of social security and then whether or not you're going to be paying into the social security, right? These benefit programs sound kind of basic when you first put them in there, but then you run into all these complications when you think about different businesses trying to apply different business models in order to provide goods and services and whatnot. It gets all messy. Any case, for more information on ITENS, including application, expiration, and renewal, you can see Form W7 and its instructions. If you receive an SSN, that social security number after previously using an ITEM, stop using the ITEN. Use your SSN instead. Visit a local IRS office or write a letter to the IRS explaining that you now have an SSN and want all your tax records combined under your SSN. That's the social security number. Details about what to include with the letter and where to mail it. If you're in that situation, irs.gov forward slash iten, that's the place to go. Non-resident alien spouse. So now you've got a situation where normally you're a single filer or a head of household, then you can be married. But what if you have a non-resident alien spouse? What does that do to the whole, this whole crazy system we're putting together here? If your spouse is a non-resident alien, your spouse must have either an SSN, social security number or an ITEN. If you file a joint return or your spouse is filing a separate return.