taxreff[at]yahoo.com (John F.) wrote:
- quote -

7,000,000

Missy

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John F. wrote:
- quote -

It was about 6 million as I recall.

Cheer$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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taxreff[at]yahoo.com (John F.) wrote:
- quote -

I doubt that a lot of kids were made up. But I'd guess that
a lot of people claimed their pets as dependents.

Stu

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rbristol <rbristol[at]earthlink.net> wrote:

- quote -

Just for fun, I would be interested in the number. I recall
predicting that many such disappearances would occur!

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The recent discussion about SSN's for newborns reminded me
of a memo I wrote several years ago when I was at the
Treasury Department, entitled "Government Infanticide?" I
pointed out that the IRS was apparently responsible for the
disappearance of millions of young children, the first year
the Service required the listing of SSN's for all claimed
dependents. I expressed surprise at how little interest
there appeared to be in this demographic catastrophe!

Ralph Bristol

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jik[at]kamens.brookline.ma.us (Jonathan Kamens) wrote:
- quote -

Sure do- I live in Illinois.

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- quote -

But wouldn't 12 weeks from even December 31 be earlier than
April 15?

Carol
What can one expect of a day that begins with getting out of bed.

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mtrupe[at]angelfire.com (Rupert) writes:

- quote -

Out of the 50 states listed at
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/...php?p_faqid=74,
only four states claim an average processing time of 12 weeks
for SSN applications -- Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi and
North Carolina. Unless you live in one of those four states,
you've been misinformed.

In any case, if you applied for the SSN at the hospital and
the baby was born last year, then 12 weeks still puts you
three weeks before your taxes are due.

Also, as other people have pointed out, if you don't get the
SSN in the mail by then, you can file for an extension and pay
the tax due and file your actual return when the SSN arrives.

Finally, even if you haven't received the SSN in the mail by
April 15, the odds are that it has been assigned. If you call
the phone number listed at the above URL and give them the
identifying information they'll ask for, they'll tell you over
the phone what SSN was assigned and you can file your taxes
even if you haven't received it in the mail yet.

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- quote -

That may be the bureaucracy's party line response but it
doesn't correspond with any real life experiences of which I
am aware. If you take them at their word that it really
does take 12 weeks to get your newborn child a SSN, request
an automatic 4 month extension by filing Form 4868.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf

Barney Byrd

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"John D. Goulden" <jgoulden_news[at]goulden.org> writes:

- quote -

That sounds about right.

Phil Marti
Topeka, KS

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- quote -

My siblings and I all got SSNs at the same when we were
pre-teens (mid 1970s) and I vaguely recall that it was for
our parent's tax returns - was that when this happened? I
also recall a story of an elderly lady who was audited when
she listed seven dependents after years of reporting only
one. Her explanation: "The cat had kittens!"

--
John Goulden

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"Mark Rigotti, CPA" <rigotti[at]wideopenwest.com> wrote:
- quote -

I called the social security office and the hospital - both
have told me 12 weeks.

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- quote -

Yes to all questions. The child has no SSN because it takes
12 weeks!

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"Rupert" <mtrupe[at]angelfire.com> wrote:

- quote -

You should calculate your taxes both with and without the
newborn child as a dependent. If you owe money, you can
file an extension request on 4/15 and pay the balance to the
IRS. Then anytime before 8/15 you can file the return.

If IRS owes you money, you have two choices:

1. You can file your return without the exemption and get a
smaller refund. Then, when you have the SSN, file an
amendment to get the additional refund.

2. File an extension request and then send in the return
when you get the SSN.

You don't explain why you don't think you will have the SSN
before 4/15. Since it normally takes just a few weeks for
SSA to issue a number, it hard to understand. The only
thing I can think of is that you are somewhere outside the
U.S. and have to deal with a local embassy or consulate to
prove the child is a U.S. citizen.

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- quote -

This is my 10th tax season and you have needed the numbers
since I first started doing this.

Carol
What can one expect of a day that begins with getting out of bed.

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Vic Dura wrote:

- quote -

Right form number, wrong length of extension. It's 4
months.

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- quote -

Why would it take so long? My daughter and SIL had twins on
December 1, 2001 and had their SS#s before the middle of
January.

Carol
What can one expect of a day that begins with getting out of bed.

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"John D. Goulden" <jgoulden_news[at]goulden.org> writes:

- quote -

This changed to all children some years ago.

The requirement for SSN's for dependents was a direct
outcome of the much-maligned TCMP. In the first year that
an SSN was required for older children millions of them just
disappeared from tax returns. I imagine that the success of
that change prompted Congress to extend it to all children.

Phil Marti
Topeka, KS

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"Wayne Brasch" <waynebrasch[at]stowetel.com> writes:

- quote -

Isn't it nice how we take care of things at both ends of
life? Usually. When my parents dies the funeral home took
care of the paperwork to notify SSA. When a friend receiving
SSDI died in between and I was his executor, I assumed that
the (different) funeral home would do the same. They
didn't, and I had to call SSA.

Phil Marti
Topeka, KS

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Rupert wrote:

- quote -

An at least 5-week-old, I assume.

Caterpillar's SSN came well before she was 4 months old (I
want to say she was closer to 2 months old) - we marked the
bit on the birth certificate that asks the state to send the
birth info to the SSA directly.

If not received by 4/15, you can either get an extension, or
file without the new baby then amend.

Phoebe

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