SSN Policy Manual

Sample Letters and Forms

IRS Reply

.

Internal Revenue Service Attention CC: CORP: T P. 0. Box 7604 Ben Franklin Station Washington, D.C., 20044

Dear Gentle person:

I am writing on behalf of my business. Please send a policy letter explaining the policy of waiver of penalty provided by 26 USC $6724(a) pursuant to circumstances as provided for in 26 USC $6109(a)(3), 26 USC $6721(a)(2)(B) and $672l(c)(l )(B)? ln the way of explanation, the circumstances are as follows: We are attempting to hire an individual who does not have a Social Security Number, does not believe in Social Insurance on religious grounds, will not permit anyone to make application for a number on his behalf, and does not believe in being numbered by TIN of any sort. We wish to accommodate this individual': religious beliefs but do not want to incur a penalty for failure to provide the lRS with a SSN or TIN number on his W2 return. We are of the understanding that 26 USC $6109(a)(3) requires the employer to REQUEST the number from the employee. If the employee refuses to provide a number, regardless of the reason, then a penalty is normally imposed on the employer pursuant to 26 USC §6721(a)(2)(B). However, the provisions of 26 USC $6721(c)(I)(B) applies because the penalty provided in $6721(a) is only $50.00, which is a "de-minimis failure" and it would only amount to one return for one employee a year. In addition, the employer is able to provide an affidavit to the IRS that it requested the SSN and thus made a good faith effort to obtain the number and so the failure to obtain it was due to "reasonable cause" and not for any wilful neglect by the employer. The ntnnncpd npnaltv chnl~lrlthiic h~ wniv~rln~~rciinntnt 7 6 1 T9C 6677A(a\