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Year after year, one of the most common mistakes taxpayers make on their returns is misreporting their social security numbers, or the social security numbers of their dependents. If the numbers you report don't match the ones in social security's computers, your return can be stopped dead in its tracks until the discrepancy is resolved.
There's another threat, too: forgetting to report your number altogether.
Until recent years, the mailing label on the tax instructions you received from the IRS -- which could be peeled off and stuck on your return -- included your social security number, and your spouse's if you're married. Now, however, the label does not include the numbers. It's been removed due to privacy concerns. A pirated social security number is one of the key tools used by identity thieves.
The IRS still encourages the use of the peel-off label and says it will speed the processing of your return. (The agency wants you to use the label even if you use a computer to print your return.) But you must enter your social security number separately, as well as the number of your spouse if you file jointly. Be sure to list the numbers in the same order as you list the names. If the husband's name is first, for example, list his number first and list the wife's number in the box for the spouse's number.
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