TN 8 (02-17)

Citations:

Section 6050F of the Internal Revenue Code

A. Purpose and effective date of the Social Security Benefit Statement

1. Purpose of the Social Security Benefit Statement

Beneficiaries use the Forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S (Social Security Benefit Statements) to determine if their benefits are taxable and to determine the amount they are required to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Social Security Benefit Statements are available to the following types of beneficiaries:

• Title II only;

• Title II and Title XVI (concurrent), and

• Title II and Title XVIII claimants.

2. Effective date of Social Security Benefit Statement

In accordance with the provisions of Public Law 98-21 (the Social Security Amendments of 1983), we began issuing Social Security Benefit Statements in 1985 for tax year 1984 when Social Security benefits first became subject to the federal income tax.

CAUTION: Do not confuse the Social Security Benefit Statement with the Form SSA-7004 (Social Security Statement). The Form SSA-7004 provides workers with their wages and self-employment income, estimates of tax contributions, and potential benefits. Also do not confuse Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income with any of the SSA-1099s mentioned in GN 05002.005E. The Form 1099-MISC is a miscellaneous income form used to report payments made during the year, including gross proceeds paid to an attorney in connection with legal services.

B. The Social Security Benefit Statements and accompanying IRS Notice 703

1. Social Security Benefit Statements

We issue the following Social Security Benefit Statements to inform beneficiaries that a portion of their Social Security benefits may be taxable:

• SSA-1099, (Social Security Benefit Statement) for U.S. citizens and residents; and

• SSA-1042S, (Social Security Benefit Statement) for persons outside the U.S. who are not U.S. citizens or residents.

2. IRS Notice 703

IRS Notice 703 (Read This to See If Your Social Security Benefits May Be Taxable) accompanies the Form SSA-1099. Beneficiaries use this notice to determine if any part of their benefit is taxable for federal income tax purposes.

C. Policy for issuing and mailing the Social Security Benefit Statement

1. Timeframe

We issue all Social Security Benefit Statements by January 31 of each year. If a beneficiary requests a replacement Social Security Benefit Statement for the current tax year before January 31, advise the beneficiary that he or she must wait until after January 31 before requesting a replacement Social Security Benefit Statement. For more information on how to request a replacement Social Security Benefit Statement, see GN 05002.220. Do not attempt to request a replacement SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S before January 31.

NOTE: For cases referred to in GN 05002.040B.3., where some beneficiaries are due Social Security Benefits but their Monthly Benefit Amount (MBA) is less than their current Supplemental Medical Insurance (SMI) premium, we take manual actions to include the benefits applied to Part B premiums in the SSA-1099 Box 3. Generally, we complete these actions by February 28^th of each year.

2. Mailing

We mail Social Security Benefit Statements first class between January 3 and 24 each year, for delivery no later than January 31.

3. Mailing to representative payees

Representative payees receive the benefit payments for the use and benefit of the beneficiary. We mail benefit statements to representative payees on the record in all cases.

4. Policy for undeliverable Social Security Benefit Statements

PSC technicians receiving undeliverable Forms SSA-1099/1042S must discard the forms without further development. Benefit statements are informational in nature and do not require a response from the beneficiary (see GN 02605.055A.2.). Since these forms contain personally identifiable information (PII), follow the necessary steps for disposing of PII (for detailed information on PII disposal, refer to the PII portal website at http://eis.ba.ssa.gov/pii/disposal.htm).

D. How the End-of-Year Benefit Statement process works

See details in SM 00630.040

E. Versions of Forms SSA-1099, SSA-1042S, and associated instructions

We issue multiple versions of Forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S, depending on the nature of the transaction and whether the beneficiary’s record reflects his or her preferred language is Spanish. The forms consist of either self-mailers or flat-sheets to replace incorrect or missing statements. In addition to the self-mailers and flat-sheets, beneficiaries can access the mySocial Security (mySSA) portal to request replacement Social Security Benefit Statements. Replacements are available after January 31. For details on how to access the mySSA portal, see GN 05002.220.

1. Self-mailers

We have nine self-mailer versions that we mail out each January for the previous tax year. They are:

1. SSA-1099-SM (Domestic - English),

2. SSA-1099-SM-SP (Preferred language-Spanish),

3. SSA-1099-SM-F (Foreign – English),

4. SSA-1099-SM-UD (Updated Domestic – English),

5. SSA-1099-SM-UF (Updated Foreign – English),

6. SSA-1042S-SM (Domestic – English),

7. SSA-1042S-SM-SP (Preferred language-Spanish),

8. SSA-1042S-SM-F (Foreign – English), and

9. SSA-1042S-SM-U (Updated Domestic - English, Foreign – Spanish).

2. Corrected forms

An automated Central Office System process issues Form SSA-1099-SM-C. The National Computer Center (NCC) prints and mails the benefit statements. These forms include those processed from End of Year Benefit Statement Alerts.

3. Flat-sheets

We have three flat-sheet versions that we issue after the January mailings to replace incorrect or missing statements. They are:

• SSA-1099-U3 (Manual statement when it is not possible to automate the correct data on the benefit statement, see SM 00630.070).

• SSA-1042-S-U3 (Manual statement when it is not possible to automate the correct data on the benefit statement, see SM 00630.070).

• SSA-1099-SP (Spanish).

4. mySSA 1099/1042S replacements

Beneficiaries can view, print, save, or request a mailed replacement Social Security Benefit Statement. We have two versions that are available on mySSA after January 31. For more information on these two forms, see GN 05002.220. They are:

• SSA-1099-R-OP1, and

• SSA-1042S-R-OP1.

5. Instruction sheet

The instruction sheet explains items on the self-mailer, corrected, and replacement Social Security Benefit Statements, as well as information to determine if social security benefits may be taxable. We have two versions of instructions. They are:

1. SSA-1099-F2-INST, and

2. SSA-1042S-INST.