Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991                   TAG: 9102140394
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Tammy Poole
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER NEEDED BY AGE 2

It's going to take weeks to get a Social Security number for her, but we would like to fill out our taxes without waiting. Can we submit the forms without a Social Security number for her? What information is necessary to obtain a number for her? And when did the age requirement for a Social Security number change from age 5 to age 2? - S.W., Roanoke

A: You can send in your tax forms without having a Social Security number for your daughter after you have applied for a number for her through your local Social Security Administration office.

Once you have filled out Social Security Form SS5 for your daughter, you may write "Applied for" in the blank on the tax form where her number is supposed to be. You might want to also write the date you made the application beside the blank where the number is supposed to be.

It takes 21-28 days to receive a Social Security number from the Social Security Administration.

You might want to wait that long to file your taxes, because the tax code calls for a $50 penalty for taxpayers who fail to fill in a Social Security number for any person listed on a return or those who fill in an incorrect number.

If you do file your tax form without the complete information on your daughter, you likely will receive a letter from the IRS asking for your child's Social Security number before the form is evaluated. If that happens, you can send in a copy of the Social Security card with your child's name as soon as you receive it.

The age at which a person is required to have a Social Security number was changed from 5 to 2 on Jan. 1, 1990. A child who turned 2 anytime during 1990 was required to have a Social Security number by Dec. 31, 1990.

To apply for your daughter's Social Security number, you can pick up form SS5 from the Social Security Administration office in the Poff Federal Building or you can call 982-6188 to have a form sent to you.

You will need her birth certificate as well as another form of identification such as a copy of her birth record from the hospital in which she was born. There will probably be a charge of about $5 for this. If you have not gotten a birth certificate for the child, then the hospital birth record may be used as a substitute.

In addition to the birth certificate, other documents that may be used include an original bill from a clinic or doctor's office or a church record for the child.

This information was provided by the Internal Revenue Service's Federal Tax Information and Assistance program. For more information, contact the IRS at (800) 829-1040.