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Level 1
June 6, 2019
Question

Legal name change

  • June 6, 2019
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views
I have changed my name legally on April, 2016. Do I file my tax under my previous legal name or a new legal name?  My W2 form shows my previous name

1 reply

June 6, 2019

If you reported the name change to the Social Security Administration and received a new card, then you'll file your taxes under the new name.  If you did not let SSA know, then you'll need to use your old name.  IRS matches the SSN to the name on file with SSA.

If you didn't inform SSA, that's something you'll want to take care of after tax season.

Level 2
March 10, 2021

What if I already informed the Social Security Administration about the change to my legal name, but I didn't receive the new card yet. which name should I use?

Cass0317
Level 10
March 10, 2021

@Daniel_Gh If you have submitted the change already but have not received the card, you should try submitting with your new information. If for some reason the change has not taken affect yet, the IRS will reject the return and then you can just resubmit with your prior information.