SSN Policy Manual

Policy Manual

Request for IRS Opinion Regarding Unenumerated Employee

Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Senice P.O. Box 245 DP 102G Bensalem, PA 19020

Dear Gentle person:

I wish to hire a person who claims not to have a social security number. He claims he does not need one and does not want a social security number (for religious reasons). He is an American citizen from birth and has shown me a letter from the Social Security Administration stating, essentially, that there is no law requiring him to get a social security number. I wish to hire him because he has special skills that we need. I have read 26 CFR 601I@)-2 and noticed that the law covers several situations similar to this, but does not address a situation where the person does not wish to obtain or have a social security number. I need assistance in understanding how to proceed. Obviously, I still have certain withholding and reporting requirements, but I am at a loss as to how to do it without a TIN. Can you give me some guidance in this area? Do I still withhoId FICA, income tax and others? What do I write in the SSNITIN space? ... or do I treat this person like an independent contractor?

Thank you for your time and consideration to this question.

Sincerely,