Odd telephone call today

[DTS]

I just received a call from a client that I am preparing. She told me that she found her birth certificate while cleaning out her parents home getting it ready for sale. The birthdate stated on this certificate shows she is two years older.

She has no idea how this mistake has been a part of all her records, etc. All she knows is what was told to her as a young girl and that's what she's used her whole life.

I have known this woman for many years and she is very honest, upstanding person with no reason, whatsoever, to lie about something so important as this.

Obviously, it won't do me any good to change the date for e-file due to rejection. I did tell her to get to the SS office nearby and take care of this.

Has anyone ever run into something this bizarre? Any responses on how it should be settled?

I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone here!

Dennis

[veritas]

Wow two years older in one day! It would be something of a shock.

[S T]

Birth Records

Dennis,

Is she actually looking at her "Certified" Birth Record, or one of the Hospital "Souvenir" Birth Records.

If she is not really sure, she should request a "Certified" Birth Record from her county and State of Birth. If she has access to the internet, I used a Service last year that was really quick http://www.vitalchek.com/?clicked=1. So might be a good idea for her to obtain a New "certified copy".

I don't think the birth date is transmitted on the efile returns, we just use it in our tax system to determine if over age 65. ***Correction, it is transmitted, but IRS won't reject if the DOB is incorrect. Altho the acknowledgement should state a mismatch on the DOB.

You can go to SSA.gov and look up questions regarding correcting records. One of the questions I found is http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/...i=&p_topview=1

Sandy

[veritas]

I understood the IRS matched the year of birth to ss# and name.

[S T]

Yes

Yes Irs matches the name, DOB and SSN to a master list that is provided to them from SSA. I "mis-stated above" and entered a **Correction.

From IRS

Why is a Date of Birth required with the Self-Select PIN method?

The Date of Birth is required as part of the authentication process for the taxpayer. It will be matched against Social Security Records. The return will not be rejected if the Date of Birth does not match. However, the Acknowledgement Record will contain the field Date of Birth Validity Code. It will advise you if the dates of birth submitted were valid or mismatched. The following values will be returned:

"0" = Date of Birth Validation Not Required
"1" = All Dates of Birth Valid
"2" = Primary Date of Birth Mismatch
"3" = Spouse Date of Birth Mismatch
"4" = Both Dates of Birth Mismatch

If you do an SSN match online with SSA or a phone in match with SSA, and you receive a non-valid match. (As was explained to us) doesn't mean we don't have the "valid" info, it just doesn't match what is in the SSA system. Actually a lot of errors! We use it alot for new hire employee verification checks.

Sandy

[DTS]

Reject

Sandy,

I don't use the PIN. Over the years, I have had a handful of rejects for e-file due to incorrect DOB. Put in the correct one, it goes through. That's been my experience.

Thanks for looking that up. Interesting!

Dennis

[DTS]

Certified birth certificate

Sandy,

When this gal called today, I did ask this client that very question about the certificate being from the County courthouse where she was born. It is.

I don't have time to look into the site you gave me, but I will in the morning, but she does know what a "real" copy looks like and I believe this is what is so troubling to her. It's not life or death, but she would like it straightened out.

Also, I would think the government wants the correct date. Not because of e-file, but social security. Although, she's a long way from that nor does she need it!

Thanks for the leads, I will check into them.
Dennis

[S T]

Forgot you don't use PIN method

I use the PIN Method, and I know that I have some incorrect birthdates on my files, gradually get them corrected, some the year probably matches but not the actual month and date and actually a couple the year of birth was off by 1 or 2 years. So far no rejects and no notations on acknowledgments.

Here is some more info that I found:

1. Last year when filing our returns i accidentally put the wrong birthdate in for my spouse. This year I put the correct date in and my E FILE was rejected for wrong birthdate. I changed it to match the wrong date from last year but it was rejected again, because it does not match the birthdate on file with the SSA which the IRS uses to cross check and verify accuracy. How should I resolve? Print and mail or try and contact the IRS for a solution? Answer: you may want to contact the IRS to see what they have. Keep in mind that the database they are checking is not the same as the efile server your return is hitting, so they still may show the correct info and not have the right info on their server.
2.The IRS rejected my e-file because they think my birth date is incorrect. However it is not. What am I supposed to do? Answer: The IRS gets their information from the Social Security Administration. You should check with your local office and make sure what they have on file is the correct information. You should explain your situation and have them resubmit your correct information to the IRS. This should clear up the confusion. This takes time to resolve and will delay your ability to e-file. Therefore, it may be in your best interest to paper file.
3. Q: What do I do when I am told my e-filed return rejected because my date of birth on the return didn't match the date of birth in the IRS records?
A: Many filers are finding out that their data on file with the IRS is not correct. While this is good because incorrect information is being corrected, it is creating problems for many filers. The date of birth is provided by the Social Security Administration. You can contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to check the current information that is maintained in their files. You can contact the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 or you can call or visit your local Social Security Office and follow their procedures to correct your information.

Unclear as to whether you have efiled prior with a possible incorrect DOB and it was accepted by IRS! At any rate your t/p should seek out the correct info, so if she really is two years older than what she has thought, she will be eligible for retirement benefits and SSN benefits two years earlier ! Then also she might qualify earlier for those senior discounts at the restaurants, etc.

If it were me I would reorder a NEW Certified Birth Certificate. That would be an official document certified from the County/State. Then if that DOB still does not match what the t/p has believed all these years, then go to Social Security to have the records corrected. I have had several soon-to-be-retiree's tell me that they have found errors at SSA when they had contacted SSA regarding their retirement benefits. Another client in her mid 40's had to correct her SSA records last year due to a mismatch discovered at IRS for 2004 filing (I didn't file the return, she prepared it on Turbo-Tax).

Sandy

[Bees Knees]

Also, I would think the government wants the correct date. Not because of e-file, but social security. Although, she's a long way from that nor does she need it!

If none of the tax issues sensitive to a person’s age have come up yet (59 ½ , 70 ½ ), nor any of the Social Security and Medicare age sensitive dates, I would have it taken care of now. If she ever wants to get a passport, she will need the correct birth certificate.

If this were an older client collecting Social Security and having pension benefits distributed under the RMD rules, who calls one day to say oops, we got the age wrong according to this piece of paper I found in the attic, what should we do? I would tell her about that 49.95 shredder on sale at Wal Mart this week….

[sea-tax]

I would tell her about that 49.95 shredder on sale at Wal Mart this week….

Bees are you advocating some "Watergate" type things here? I like your style.

[Bees Knees]

Bees are you advocating some "Watergate" type things here? I like your style.

Sometimes things that happened a lifetime ago are best left buried in the past. Before I was born, my oldest cousin was conceived through an adulteress relationship my aunt was having with a co-worker. We are talking around 1950. She is white; the co-worker was from the Philippines. Long story short, my uncle decided to stick with my aunt and raise the kid as his own. Only grandma and a few others new the truth. As we were growing up, my oldest cousin always looked darker than the rest of us kids, but nobody cared or suspected anything. She would ask her parents about it, but they would always assure her she was theirs. She is now a grandmother herself, many times over. Well, my grandma shortly before her death at age 94 finally spilled the beans. Imagine being in your mid 50’s and finding out your Dad is not really your Dad, and that Mom lied to you your whole life. That family has since split apart with half the kids siding with Mom and Dad and half the kids siding with their (half) sister.

Sometimes it is best leaving things alone.

[JG EA]

Truth is best.

. Imagine being in your mid 50’s and finding out your Dad is not really your Dad, and that Mom lied to you your whole life. That family has since split apart with half the kids siding with Mom and Dad and half the kids siding with their (half) sister.

Sometimes it is best leaving things alone.

There are many, many worse things. (Not the split, but the finding out.) Perhaps if the truth was told when the question was asked? Maybe it was the being lied to for so long that caused the problems.

A true life story: A girl was raised as a daughter to her actual grandparents and as a sister to her to her actual mother. It was the being lied to and the lack of motherly love when she needed it that upset her. Even after the grandmother died the mother did not come clean. Their choice was convenient and easy and so seemed right to them. Perhaps because of the climate at that time it seemed necessary, but why wait so very long to tell the truth.

Truth is best when truth is the goal and not unkindness.

[S T]

Twists and Turns

JG good wisdom!

It is the twist and turns in life and one trying to discern what is thought to be the right judgment to make at that "particular" point in time , and sometimes not always aware of the best or correct end result years later! Are we walking in their shoes?

S

"Falsehood is easy, truth so difficult" by George Eliot

[Armando Beaujolais]

I'm still having trouble with this. Unless there is some physical or mental abnormality, I can't believe that a kid could grow up and from first memory think she was two years younger than she actually was.

It's plausible that a person could uncover a birth certificate that showed them two years older than they thought. However, the person would think "Dang, that's why I was a foot taller than all the other kids in kindergarten...That's why I was always so much better than everybody in reading...That's why I always won every sporting activity I ever tried until I was 8..."

Did she never go to the doctor as a child?

Finding you're two years older and being completely shocked doesn't make sense.

[jainen]

hometown

>>I can't believe that a kid could grow up and from first memory think she was two years younger than she actually was<<

I don't want to get started on that "dominant culture" thing again, but not everybody does things the way we do. In many places, birth dates are not as important as baptism, which might be delayed for any number of reasons including unmarried parents. Come to think of it, the same reason might show up in any hometown.