The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that it has resumed the practice of sending “no-match letters” to employers whose reported employee social security numbers (SSNs) do not match SSA records. The SSA stopped sending no-match letters in 2008 due to threatened legal challenges to the proposed Department of Homeland Security regulations relating to them. The SSA now plans to resume sending the letters for tax year 2010. It will not reach back and send letters for tax years 2008 or 2009.

Background

The SSA is required to maintain earnings records for U.S. workers for federal income tax and benefits purposes. To assist with this process, employers are required to report employee wages annually to the SSA on W-2 tax forms (Wage and Tax Statement). For various reasons, the SSN and name submitted by an employer for a particular employee on these forms may not match SSA records.