- 5 - number will not be issued an IRS individual taxpayer identification number.” Sec. 301.6109-1(d)(4), Proced. & Admin. Regs.2 SSN’s are issued by the Social Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the SSA) upon application by a citizen, qualified alien, or by a parent on behalf of a qualified child. See generally 20 C.F.R. secs. 422.101 to 422.112 (2000). The issuance of an SSN entails several consequences, including (i) the creation of a record at the SSA of that person’s earnings for purposes of determining the old-age and other benefits to which the person may be entitled, and (ii) establishing a unique numerical identifier for the individual for use by a variety of governmental and private entities.3 When the SSN was first chosen as the identification 2Sec. 301.6109-1(d)(4), Proced. & Admin. Regs., was added to the regulations by T.D. 8671, 1996-1 C.B. 314, and is effective for any return, statement, or other document required to be filed after Dec. 31, 1995. Previously, respondent had issued ITIN’s to taxpayers who claimed religious objections to the use of SSN’s. See Wolfrum v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1991-370, affd. 972 F.2d 350 (6th Cir. 1992). 3In addition to tax administration, SSN’s are used by Federal and State Governments to administer public assistance programs, veteran’s benefits, driver’s licences, motor vehicle registrations, Federal student grants and loans, child support obligations, the Selective Service System, blood donations, and jury selection. SSN’s are also commonly used in the private sector by credit bureaus, banks, schools, and medical recordkeepers. See Komuves, “We’ve Got Your Number: An Overview of Legislation and Decisions to Control the Use of Social Security Numbers as Personal Identifiers”, 16 J. Marshall J. (continued...)Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011