Maiden name in US/Married name in UK

I've changed my name in the UK but not in the US. I was planning to file my US taxes under my maiden name, as that's the name on my Social Security card.

However, the Foreign Earned Income exclusion form asks for my UK employer's name and address. Does that mean that there is a chance that the IRS will contact my UK employer to check how much money I earned? If so, my UK employer won't be able to find my records because they have me listed under a different name.

What is the best way to handle this?

You will have to contact the social security office in London and send them your marriage license and your birth certif. and get it changed over that way..they will post them back to you.

That is what the SSO in Phillie told me.

We filed about 5 yrs worth of income tax forms and my DH filled them in. He put my married name on them and I got several letters back saying we don't recognize the name against the SSN.

I had to send a copy of my marriage license, divorce decree & other stuff to the IRS in the US to proved I had gotten married.

Haven't heard from them since..

Oh wow - I have the opposite problem.  I've changed  my name in the US but use my maiden name in the UK - i.e. all my earnings/taxes/bank accounts here are in my maiden name.  But I wasn't planning on changing that as I use my maiden name professionally.  I'm hoping that won't be a big deal when I file my US taxes....

I was given the same info as MeShell -- the name on your UK payslips/P60 should match the name on your US social security card.  I waited until I visited the US to go to the SS office to change my name in person....I haven't done anything that requires sending my passport or marriage license away.....though I'll have to eventually!   

I was given the same info as MeShell -- the name on your UK payslips/P60 should match the name on your US social security card.  I waited until I visited the US to go to the SS office to change my name in person....I haven't done anything that requires sending my passport or marriage license away.....though I'll have to eventually!   

ooops guess I'm not doing it right then.  i guess I can look into it - might have to call payroll to have them change it all....hmmmmmm will have a think about this.

I was given the same info as MeShell -- the name on your UK payslips/P60 should match the name on your US social security card.  I waited until I visited the US to go to the SS office to change my name in person....I haven't done anything that requires sending my passport or marriage license away.....though I'll have to eventually!   

I haven't sent mine off Lola but I am going home this year Good Idea I will wait till then and change it over

good thinking batman!

Thanks,but I know how to change my name in the US. I don't have time to and I don't want to.  I would be filing with the name on my SS card so the IRS will recognise me.

I don't think I'll attach my P60 because
1) The US and the UK operate on different tax years so the amounts on the P60 isn't going to equal the amount I earned during the US tax year - I've been keeping a spreadsheet of my earnings so I can easily figure out how much I've earned from Jan-Dec, and
2) The US Embassy website says I don't have to.

I guess I'll just leave it as my maiden name and if they question me, I'll figure it out then.

Thanks,but I know how to change my name in the US. I don't have time to and I don't want to.  I would be filing with the name on my SS card so the IRS will recognise me.

I don't think I'll attach my P60 because
1) The US and the UK operate on different tax years so the amounts on the P60 isn't going to equal the amount I earned during the US tax year - I've been keeping a spreadsheet of my earnings so I can easily figure out how much I've earned from Jan-Dec, and
2) The US Embassy website says I don't have to.

I guess I'll just leave it as my maiden name and if they question me, I'll figure it out then.

Ok so sweetpeach it sounds like I want to do what you want to do - NOT change my name in one country and see what happens.  I also don't see why I have to attach my P60 for exactly that reason - tax years are totally different so the number won't correspond to anything. 

Follow up - I checked with my company's HR and they told me that I cannot change my name to one thing for tax purposes and another for everything else - ie my directory listing, my business cards, etc.  It has to be the same across the entire company.  That is what I do NOT want to do so I'm just leaving it as Geeta Marriedname in the US and Geeta Maidenname in the UK!!  The only problem I can foresee with this is trying to open a new account here as my passport is in Geeta Marriedname.....

Surely a legal document such as a marriage certificate linking the 2 names would work if you're trying to open an account? I use my passport/ marriage cert combo all the time, although mine is the other way around (passport in maiden name).

Yeah, mine is the same way (passport in maiden name).  I opened my account in my married name successfully, though the bank manager or someone had to approve that (Barclays).

My bank account is in my married name and they are still sending checkbooks that say Miss Maidenname on them.  They also haven't gotten around to sending me a debit card with my married name, either. It doesn't seem to be a big deal to them.

It took me about a year to get a chequebook with my married name and 2 years for them to change it on my savings account as well as my current account.  And we gave up trying to get a chequebook saying "Mr & Mrs Married" they kept sending us "Ms Maiden & Mr Married"

Going back to the Social Security thing -- changing your name with Social Security is quite easy.  Then once your name is updated, changing your name on your US affairs becomes much easier.  You just need to complete the one-page application found here:  www.socialsecurity.gov/online/ss-5_rev.pdf and mail it to the embassy with your original British marriage certificate.  Their address for this purpose is as follows:

Federal Benefits Unit
American Embassy
24/31 Grosvenor Square
W1A 2LQ London
England
Phone: 44-207-499-9000

The embassy makes a copy of your marriage certificate and mails it straight back to you.  They returned mine within 5 days.  They send off that copy (which they've probably notarized) and your application to the SS headquarters in the US.  Your new card comes to you from the US in about 6 to 8 weeks.  Alternatively, if you don't want to part with your marriage certificate, you can go to the embassy in person, and they'll make a copy of your marriage certificate on-the-spot.  No appointment is needed; however, you must be sure to bring your US passport.

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foreign/foreign.htm#UNITED%20KINGDOM

stuzmrs... question- if you change your name from First Middle Maiden to First Maiden Married can you simply use your marriage certificate to obtain your new SS card?  do you need to do the deed poll thingy first, then send marriage certificate + deed poll + form SS-5?  confused about the order in which these things need to be done.