Legal name change

[er1cxoh]

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

[ThomasM]

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.

[Ghobrial22]

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]

@Ghobrial22 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.