Information Reporting By Passport Applicants

The IRS has issued new proposed regulations describing the information which must be included with U.S. passport applications. (The IRS at the same time withdrew the 1992 proposed rules.) Under the rules, anyone who applies for a U.S. passport, a passport renewal or a green card (permanent resident status) must include tax information with the application. Passport and permanent resident applicants must provide a taxpayer identification number (TIN), if they have one. Passport applicants also must provide:

the applicant's full name and any previous name;
address of regular or principal place of residence within the country of residence and, if different, mailing address;
taxpayer identifying number (TIN); and
date of birth.

The required information must be submitted with the passport application, regardless of where the applicant resides at the time it is submitted. Any applicant who fails to provide this information would be subject to a $500 penalty. The rules will become effective upon finalization.

Click here for a copy of the proposed regulations.

IRS and Justice Department Crack Down On Identity Theft

The IRS and the U.S. Justice Department have undertaken a "massive national sweep" cracking down on suspected identity theft perpetrators as part of a stepped-up effort against refund fraud and identity theft. The nationwide effort targeted 105 people in 23 states. The coast-to-coast effort took place over the last week and included indictments, arrests and the execution of search warrants involving the potential theft of thousands of identities and taxpayer refunds. In all, 939 criminal charges are included in the 69 indictments and informations related to identity theft. (An "Information" is a document used to charge someone with a criminal violation.)

In addition, IRS auditors and investigators conducted extensive compliance visits to money service businesses in nine locations across the country in the past week. The approximately 150 visits occurred to help ensure these check-cashing facilities are not facilitating these illegal activities. The visits occurred in nine high-risk places identified by the IRS covering areas in and surrounding Atlanta, Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Tampa and Washington, D.C. In addition, the IRS has more than 250 check-cashing operations under audit across the country and will be looking for indicators of identity theft as part of the exam effort.

The IRS also has stepped up its internal reviews to spot false tax returns before tax refunds are issued as well as working to help victims of the identity theft refund schemes.

A map of the locations and additional details on the actions are available on IRS.gov, the IRS Civil and Criminal Actions page and at the Department of Justice Tax Division page http://www.justice.gov/tax/taxpress2012.htm has the most recent information.

IRS Special Identity Theft Protection Unit

If you have a client who believes they are at risk of identity theft due to lost or stolen personal information, you should contact the IRS immediately so the agency can take action to secure the client's tax account. The phone number for the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit is 800-908-4490. The taxpayer will need to complete the IRS Identity Theft Affidavit, Form 14039. For more information, see the IRS Identity Theft Protection page on the IRS website.

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Information Reporting By Passport Applicants

IRS and Justice Department Crack Down On Identity Theft

IRS Special Identity Theft Protection Unit

IRS News Archives