My birthday is June 26, 1973. I know. I was there. That’s also what my mom told me, and she swears that she was there, too.
This has previously never caused a problem for me. Oh, sure, it’s right in the middle of the summer, sandwiched between several other family members’ birthdays. And I never got to have a party in school – birthday skip day and all that. But all in all I like my birthday. I’m actually quite fond of it.
This year I filed my taxes with TurboTax. I used their service last year and had no problems. It’s quick and painless – even on a 56k modem on April 15th.
They handle all the little details to which I hate to pay attention. They ask all the questions that I would just blithely skip and miss much-needed deductions: “Did I install solar heating last year? Did I adopt a child? Did I use my truck to do business on an Indian reservation?” Stuff like that. They even let me file my State of California return, which is only slightly less complicated than particle physics.
It costs forty bucks or so, but it’s well worth the elimination of aggravation and paperwork. I’m hoping that by next year the IRS will completely cave to Microsoft and let me just upload my Money data and be done with it.
A few days after you file, TurboTax sends you an eMail so you can verify that everything was hunky-dory with Uncle Sam and … er … Aunt California. When I visited the page that last year said, “Great! Thanks! Everything went smoothly! Say no more …” I was greeted with a very confusing error. Apparently I entered my birthday incorrectly when I did my taxes.
“eGads!” I thought. It was probably a typo. I must’ve hit 1793 instead of 1973. Or maybe I entered just two digits, like a pre-millennial goof. But when I went through the process of checking all my information, I saw that I had, in fact, entered my birthday just the way they had asked for it. oh-six-two-six-nineteen-seventy-three. Strange.
There was a helpful message saying that the Social Security Administration said that the birth date I had entered didn’t match what they had on file for my Social Security Number. Now, me, I’m thinking that there was probably some bug in the TurboTax system transfer, but I figure I’ll humor them.
I called the Social Security HQ (1-800-772-1213, option 4, option 0, option 2) and spoke with a very nice lady that told me that my birthday is June 23, 1973. <pause> … furrowed brow … <pause> … confused look at telephone … <pause> … “Well … really, see … I was there. My mom was, too. I’m pretty darn sure it was the 26th.” The nice lady explained to me that although this has never been a problem in the previous … oh … 13 times that I filed an income tax return, this is the first time that the IRS and the Social Security Administration are talking to each other about the data on returns. (I assume it has something to do with beefed-up post-911 security. I’m sure terrorists file, right?) “Your birthday has been June 23, 1973 since 1979,” she told me. Funny, that.
So today I have to trudge to the Social Security building and show them my birth certificate, passport, and driver’s license to prove to them that I was born on the 26th. This makes little sense to me. Does it strike anyone else as odd that these other government-issued documents are what I need to prove to the government that they have an error in my file?
Good grief!
My secretary had this same thing happen – she did her taxes online for the first time this year, and found out they had her birthdate wrong at the social security office! Apparently, when they processed her marriage license (like 15+ years ago), they transposed something on her birthdate, and it didn’t get caught until now!
I went at the same time, because somehow, several offices of the government had my name change from getting married in place but several other places didn’t.
Good grief is right!
My entire last name is spelled incorrectly and here is why.
My father joined the army… for the 19 years prior to him entering the army his last name was “M-I-L-L-S-A-P” on the day he enter the army it became “M-I-L-S-A-P”. He promptly showed them that they had made an error. He was told by his commanding office the the “army does not make mistakes, son” and ever since then his name has been misspelled. It became an enormous ordeal when he passed away. He was to have an honorable Military Funeral but when we sent in the birth and death and military certificates we were told the infomration was invalid and that indeed the man (my father) that was in the US Army was not the dead man in the casket. VERY WEIRD… Thank goodness we saved all his military yearbooks and other documentation….it was still a pain in the ass. I still am never sure who I am!!! (LOL)
MY SON’S LAST NAME WAS WRONG ON MY TAXES HIS LAST NAME IS NOT MASTERS IT IS WEST. CAN YOU CHANGE IT TO CORRECT IT OR HOW DO I GO ABOUT IT.
How ’bout that? I just had the EXACT same thing happen to me (did taxes online – was rejected for WRONG birthdate. The IRS is 20 days off on mine.
Now, I’m needing this 5000+ refund check (thanks to the child tax credit and earned-income credit – i used to not like socialism, hmm), so I’m going back to resubmit my return with the “real” birthdate that the SSA told me that I actually have. This ought to be a little faster than going down to the SSA office. I’ll probably get in trouble for it later, but hey, how much trouble can I get into for taking the IRS at their word? At least I’ll have my $5000 to pay for a lawyer. Ooooh, maybe I’ll get one like Michelle Pfieffer in “I Am Sam.”
I have the worst headache….I never applied for my social security number in 1959 or so……my great-aunt did and I think she made a mistake when she did the applications for some of her many grand nieces……or maybe when she passed them to us… we got the numbers to another individual……HELP
I have the worst headache….I never applied for my social security number in 1959 or so……my great-aunt did and I think she made a mistake when she did the applications for some of her many grand nieces……or maybe when she passed them to us… we got the numbers to another individual……HELP
I was filing again with TurboTax for my second year and while I was looking at my 2002 tax return, I discovered (just barely) that I made a mistake on my daughter’s birthdate. I put 9/19/02 instead of 9/13/02–I’m sure it was a typo! This time I entered it correctly. Do you think the IRS will freak out about the different date? What will happen? Should I not worry? Please somebody give me peace of mind!!!!
That’s amazing.
MY birthday is June 26, 1972! and the same thing just happened to me. When i got the rejection letter, i also thought I’d humor the e-filing company by calling the SSA. They informed me that i was born on JULY 26, 1972 and had been since 1981. Again, it’s never been a problem when filing my taxes and applying for jobs in the past.
ONOZ! a conspiracy! Thank god I never pay my taxes, register with the DMV or use my real name. I tell ya, you’d be surprised how little paper work I end up having to do each year …
“Do you think the IRS will freak out about the different date? What will happen? Should I not worry? Please somebody give me peace of mind!!!!”
I probably wouldn’t use any credit cards or the ATM. Also, try to stay away from public cameras, keep the shades drawn on the windows at home, and whatever you do: Don’t. Answer. The. Phone
is this the same dave from highscope dave? this is bobbette
I’ve filed my friend’s taxes with Turbo Tax and got same thing, wrong date of birth. Went back, checked, and it was the right date of birth, compared it to her last year’s return, and again, it was the same date. So I just went back to Turbo Tax and refiled same thing again. So, far I didn’t get rejection letter. Hope it is going to work.
What the hell??? This is some kind of June 26th conspiracy. My birthday is 6/26/82 and they have it listed as 6/26/83. So I’ve filed my taxes under the wrong birthday for a couple years, but I figure I should change it at some point, or else I’ll have to retire at 82 instead of 81, or whatever godawful year we have to retire. If you’re still checking this or getting emails on comments, drop me a line if you remember what form you have to complete to fix this. Thanks!
It is a JUNE conspiracy! I know this post may be a few years late, but my birthday is a month off according to the IRS – May 21 instead of June 21!
Hey, welcome me, or rather, my kid to the club. She just went for her Florida driver’s license (originally issued in PA.) and was told the SS birthdate doesn’t match her birth certificate.
She did, however, get her tax refund. So we don’t know if there’s a nitwit at the DMV or Social Security or perhaps both!
same thing just happened to me! argh! they changed my DOB month from 07 to 09 😐 i hate september..!
Yo, this is craziness with the June 26 conspiracy … my (real) DOB is June 26, 1984. They (SSA) have it on file as 6/14/84. WEIRD.
It seems that not much has changed over the last 6 years because I filed with turbo tax again this year….they just import the data from last year which went through just fine….and now its is rejected for incorrect birthdate. Called
SSA to verify and all were correct so I don’t know what is going on. I guess I will just mail them in.
I guess when the BMV updated their information or something, it showed in their system that the birthdate that the SSA was different than the one I had on the drivers license. The driver’s license one is right, listing it as Dec 26 1987, but the SSA had 1989. Don’t know how this happened, but now somehow I am receiving a new Social Security Number and I can’t drive until their systems are updated (At least 30 days to update) and the day I went to the SSA office I got pulled over (my luck).
Weird indeed. My birthday is June 26, 1987 and the last two years I’ve had to mail in because it says my birthday doesn’t match my SSN. I called the IRS and she said in their files my birthday is June 27.
Weirdness!