Changing your name affects your tax return

When someone legally changes their name there are tax consequences they need to know about especially at tax time.  

People change their names for several reasons: 

• Taking their spouse’s last name after a marriage 
• Hyphenating their last name with their spouse’s after getting married 
• Going back to their former name after a divorce Giving an adopted child the last name of their new family 

The steps that anyone changing their name should take are as follows: 

Report the change to SSA 

Taxpayers should notify the Social Security Administration of a name change.  

When a taxpayer files their taxes the IRS checks SSA records to ensure names and social
security numbers on the forms match. 

Failing to report a name change 

If the name on an individual’s name on their tax return does not match SSA records it will delay the IRS processing of the return which will delay any potential refund due to that taxpayer, and if the married spouse’s as well.  

 
Name Change Due to Adoption 

In the case of adoption if the child has a Social Security number the taxpayer should be sure to inform the SSA of any name change.  

If the child does not have a Social Security number the taxpayer may use an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number on their tax return. 

An ATIN is a temporary number.  

Taxpayers can apply for an ATIN by filing Form W-7A, Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions.  

Form W-7A must be filed with the IRS.

Getting a New SS Card 

After a name change, a taxpayer should file Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card.  

The form is available on SSA.gov.