Social Security Number on Checks

Poststructural Pub
1

So, I was making the dreaded Estimated Tax Payment to the good old IRS this morning, and I
noticed that the instructions ask you to write your Social Security Number on the check. Now,
I may be getting senile, but I seem to remember that this is bad](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bad+juju&r=f%22%3E%5Bb%5Dbad) juju. I mean, how many hands is
that check going to pass through, with my SSN and checking acount number visible to all and
sundry? And is the SSN really necessary? I include form 1040-ES, which should have enough
information for a three-toed tree sloth to figure out who the check is coming from…

I would think the Infernal Revenue Service could plug this giant identity theft honeypot quite
easily. What do you guys think? Anyone ever leave their SSN off the check and have problems?

2

I wouldn’t do it.

3

I don’t want to do it, but what about that great American missive:
“Do all that the IRS tells thee, lest ye be audited to within an inch of thy life, Annuit Corruptis.”

I don’t want for my check not to be properly applied to my Est. Tax, and get penalized…

4

I would put the number on the check. Think about it----would you really want to have even a teeny problem with the IRS? What if they sent your check back to get the number on it and then it was late? Wouldn’t you have to pay a fine? I would do everything just as they say. You don’t want to get into their troublemaker file. You don’t want to stand out. Don’t try to reason with them. Just do what they want, how ever many times they want it, and conclude your business!

5

Yeah, that’s the delicate balance I am trying to strike… not pissing off the IRS vs. not having my
identity stolen. That’s why I was wondering if anyone has successfully left the number off their
check. I honestly don’t think they need the SSN on the check, and it is dangerous to have it there.
Maybe I should anonymously call the IRS center from a payphone with a voice discuiser (:)) and
ask them if it’s really necessary.

6

Wel, let me ask you this. What do you think they would say?

7

If there is an IRS office near you, you could always hand-deliver the check and associated forms. That way you minimize the number of people handling your personal information, and know that, if there is any incident of theft of identity information, it occurred within the IRS.

djm

8

Send it as registered mail, making someone at the other end sign for it thus leaving a paper trail.

MarkB

9

GAWD - I hate this kind of stuff…

We’ve been going through this health insurance “verification” here at work. They wanted copies of birth certificates (thank god they are taking photocopies and don’t require a raised stamp one!) marriage license, divorce decrees, and employment verification and option of health insurance for anyone over the age of 16.
First - that insurance thing for age 16 and over - HOW many kids actually have part time or summer jobs that offer health insurance? One of the local employers that hires scads of kids (local amusement park) refused to fill out the forms - said it would take way too much time (and I agree).

But - after you’ve collected all this stuff it goes into a big envelope, marked in big bold letters "CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION FOR INSURANCE VERIFICATION’ and gets sent to an outside company.

People are getting calls back that forms aren’t “correct” or readable (especially marriage license) and lots of other problems.
The outside company swears they are destroying all papers after verification - and are only going to keep the “scans” until verification is finalized. But with the “thefts” from banks, etc. - I feel REAL safe about all this…

If you don’t comply, you loose all medical coverage for dependants.


Missy

10

Regarding the dreaded menace of the IRS and the enormous ‘late fees’ and so on… it really isn’t
that bad. I’ve filed my taxes late more than once, included a little note that says “My taxes
are being filed a bit late, please let me know what, if any, late fees I owe.” They never have
sent me a bill for late fees…

11

Up until a few years ago, the Commonwealth of Kentucky used a person’s SS# as their driver ID number. Consequently, it was actually printed on almost everyone’s check.

Now, it would be careless to not have a paper shredder for anything personal that leaves the house. My, how times change.

Roger

12

Roger - several years ago, Ohio offered the option of not having your SSN on your driver’s license. If you choose this option, however, when your license needs to be renewed (or if you take your 16 year old son to get HIS license - BTDT) you need to have something with your SSN on it to prove who you are. :astonished:
Of course, when Tom and I got married 5 years ago, I needed to get a new SS card. They no longer have printed on them “not to be used for identification purposes”. Guess they finally realized it’s hopeless…

Missy

13

That’s the way. But for what it’s worth, if I’m supposed to have written my SS# on the IRS ransom check, this is the first I ever heard of it, and haven’t had the dread ogre clawing thru my life for the lack of it. Is that just one of the Estimated Tax hoops to jump thru? And as it is, there’s no room at the “memo” section on a personal check for all that extra rigamarole after the other stuff required is written there, too. But then, I just do the regular mode of paying tribute.

14

This is from the Department of Justice. The web link is at the end. The 2nd note seems to say states have legal authority to use SS numbers for tax administration, so I’m guessing IRS does too.

OVERVIEW OF THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974, 2004 EDITION
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER USAGE
Section 7 of the Privacy Act (found at 5 U.S.C. § 552a note (Disclosure of Social Security Number)) provides that:

“It shall be unlawful for any Federal, State or local government agency to deny to any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law because of such individual’s refusal to disclose his social security account number.” Sec. 7(a)(1).

Comment:

Note that although this provision applies beyond federal agencies, it does not apply to: (1) any disclosure which is required by federal statute; or (2) any disclosure of a social security number to any federal, state, or local agency maintaining a system of records in existence and operating before January 1, 1975, if such disclosure was required under statute or regulation adopted prior to such date to verify the identity of an individual. See Sec. 7(a)(2)(A)-(B).

Note also that the Tax Reform Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(C)(i), (iv) (2000), expressly exempts state agencies from this restriction to the extent that social security numbers are used “in the administration of any tax, general public assistance, driver’s license, or motor vehicle registration law within its jurisdiction.” See, e.g., Stoianoff v. Comm’r of the Dep’t of Motor Vehicles, 12 Fed. Appx. 33, 35 (2d Cir. 2001) (finding that plaintiff’s Privacy Act claim would fail because § 405(c)(2)(C)(i) “expressly authorizes states to require the disclosure of social security numbers in the administration of driver’s license programs” and further provides that “any federal law that conflicts with this section is ‘null, void, and of no effect’”); Claugus v. Roosevelt Island Hous. Mgmt. Corp., No. 96CIV8155, 1999 WL 258275, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 29, 1999) (considering housing management corporation to be state actor for Privacy Act purposes but finding that Privacy Act does not apply to income verification process for public housing program because of exception created by 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(C)(i)). Exemption from the social security number provisions of the Privacy Act is also provided for certain other government uses. See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(C)(ii) (authorizing state use of social security numbers in issuance of birth certificates and for purposes of enforcement of child support orders); 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(C)(iii) (authorizing use of social security numbers by Secretary of Agriculture in administration of Food Stamp Act of 1977 and by Federal Crop Insurance Corporation in administration of Federal Crop Insurance Act).

“Any Federal, State or local government agency which requests an individual to disclose his social security account number shall inform that individual whether that disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, by what statutory or other authority such number is solicited, and what uses will be made of it.” Sec. 7(b).


http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/1974ssnu.htm

15

I’m just guessing, but I’d guess the IRS wants the number therre simply to identify your check in case it accidently gets separated from your tax return. There are MANY people in the US with similar names and one random check from “John Smith” floating around the IRS office might not get credited properly and “John Smith” would be listed as defaulting on his tax payments even though he sent it correctly and on time.

16

I’m not worried about what happens to the check between me and the IRS. Here’s the problem:
Let’s say I write you a check. You give it to your bank to be cashed. The bank sends the check
to a check processing company, which sorts it according to which bank will honor the check.
The check (or an electronic copy) is sent to that bank’s processing center to so that the funds
can be transferred to the bank where it was originally cashed. So, every check you write passes
through at least 4 hands:

  1. the person you gave the check to
  2. that person’s bank teller
  3. some dude at the processing center
  4. some dude at your bank’s processing center.

This is no differerent for the IRS. Once they send the check to the bank that handles their
account, they have no control over who sees it. Maybe the IRS has it’s own banking system
through which checks are handled? I doubt it, but that would help a little at least.

17

Checks pass through more hands than that. Years and years ago, I used to work for a microfilm/microfiche company…we would get rolls of microfilm in with checks on them, and use an eye loop (like jewlers use) cut them apart by sequence number, and add them to different rolls depending on which branch they were going to.

Once we had complete rolls made up, the originals would get duplicated (foul hot-ammonia smelling diazo machine!) and both would be sent back to the bank.

In addition to the folks you list above, you have the folks at the bank responsible for taking the photographs of the checks for the microfilm, the 4 or 5 of us at the microfilm duplication place, and then whoever received the films back from us. I’m sure that there are more “hidden” aspects of the banking industry that I’m not aware of where other folks touch your checks, too.

18

thank you, Fearfaoin, for expanding my vocab. I love the term “bad juju” and plan to use it often.

19

You’re quite welcome. IIRC, juju is associated with religions of West Africa…
and therefore what we call “VooDoo” in America.
I think it sounds cool, like “mojo”.

This is the 21st century, surely we don’t use Microfilm anymore.
(But that is an interesting insight into check processing.)

20

Lol…It was nearly 15 years ago. While many banks are moving to digital check images, a quick google search shows me that plenty of banks still use microfilm. Ether way, whoever takes those images has your checks in his hands, and whoever processes them (by cutting as we did, or by putting them on cd, dvd, etc) has access to your checks, so the theory is the same either way.