Using 2 different social security numbers
While I agree with keshlam@ that the gym had no reason (or right) to ask for your SSN, giving false SSN to obtain credit or services (including gym membership) may be considered a crime. While courts disagree on whether you can be charged with identity theft in this scenario, you may very well be charged with fraud, and if State lines are crossed (which in case of store cards is likely the case) - it would be a Federal felony charge. Other than criminal persecution, obviously not paying your debt will affect your credit report. Since you provided false identity information, the negative report may not be matched to you right away, but it may eventually. In the case the lender discovers later that you materially misrepresented information on your mortgage application - they may call on your loan and either demand repayment in full at once or foreclose on you. Also, material misrepresentation of facts on loan application is also a criminal fraud. Again, if State lines are crossed (which in most cases, with mortgages they are), it becomes a Federal wire fraud case. On mortgage application you're required to disclose your debts, and that includes lines of credits (store cards and credit cards are the same thing) and unpaid debts (like your gym membership, if its in collection). "Social security number should only be needed for things that involve tax withholding or tax payment. Your bank or investment broker, and your employer, need it so they can report your earnings. You need it when filing tax forms. Other than those, nobody should really be asking you for it.  The gym had absolutely no good reason to ask and won't have done anything with the number. I think we can ignore that one. The store cards are a bigger problem. Depending on exactly what was done with the data, you may have been messing up the credit record of whoever legitimately had that number... and if so you might be liable on fraud charges if they or the store figure out what happened and come after you. But that's unrelated to the fact that you have a legitimate SSN now. Basically, you really don't want to open this can of worms. And I hope you're posting from a disposable user ID and not using your real name... (As I noted in a comment, the other choice would be to contact the authorities (I'm not actually sure which bureau/department would be best), say ""I was young, foolish, and confused by America's process... do I need to do anything to correct this?"", and see what happens... but it might be wise to get a lawyer's advice on whether that's a good idea, a bad idea, or simply unnecessary.)"
**Social Security number**  In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, codified as 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2). The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent agency of the United States government. Although its primary purpose is to track individuals for Social Security purposes, the Social Security number has become a de facto national identification number for taxation and other purposes.  A Social Security number may be obtained by applying on Form SS-5, Application for A Social Security Number Card.  ***  ^[ [^PM](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=kittens_from_space) ^| [^Exclude ^me](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiTextBot&amp;message=Excludeme&amp;subject=Excludeme) ^| [^Exclude ^from ^subreddit](https://np.reddit.com/r/business/about/banned) ^| [^FAQ ^/ ^Information](https://np.reddit.com/r/WikiTextBot/wiki/index) ^| [^Source](https://github.com/kittenswolf/WikiTextBot)   ^] ^Downvote ^to ^remove ^| ^v0.27 "If she reported the income on the business return, I'd treat this as a ""mail audit"". Try to get a clear statement from Square confirming what they reported, under which SSN/EIN, for what transactions. Make a copy of that. If at all possible, get them to send a letter to the IRS (copy to you) acknowledging that they reported it under the wrong number. Copy the IRS's letter. Square's letter, and both personal and business 2012 returns. Write a (signed) cover letter explaining what had happened and pointing out the specific line in the business return which corresponded to the disputed amount, so they can see that you did report it properly and did pay taxes on it as business income. End that letter with a request for advice on how to straighten this out.  Certified-mail the whole package back to the IRS at whatever address the advisory letter gives. At worst, I'm guessing, they'll tell you to refile both returns for 2012 with that income moved over from the business return to the personal return, which will make everything match their records. But with all of this documentation in one place, they may be able to simply accept that Square misreported it and correct their files. Good luck. The IRS really isn't as unreasonable as people claim; if you can clearly document that you were trying to do the right thing, they try not to penalize folks unnecessarily." It should be in the name(s) of whomever puts money in the account.  When filing your taxes there will be a question or space to mark the percentage of income in each others name. If you're just looking for small amounts of income splitting, then it's legal for the higher earning spouse to pay household expenses and then the lower earning spouse can save all or some of his/her income. Whether or not to have 2 accounts or not has more to do with estate planning and minimizing account fees if applicable.  It can also help in a small way for asset allocation if that's based on family assets and also, minimizing commissions. In many cases spanning across years will indeed be beneficial. Deductions: You get to take twice as much in deductions (twice the standard deduction, or itemizing - if you can) when you span over two years than in one.  IRA: You can only contribute in years when you have earned income. You have all the income in year 1 and none in year 2 - you can only contribute in year 1. You have half of the income in year 1 and half of the income in year 2 - you can contribute in both years (up to the limit/earned income, whichever is less). Social Security: You get 4 credits for each year you earned ~16K in. You earned 32K in year 1, and nothing in year 2 - you get 4 credits. You split it in half for each year - you get 8 credits. The list can go on. If you can do the planning ahead of time and can chose the time periods of your work freely (which is not something most people can do), you can definitely plan ahead with taxes in mind. This is called Tax Planning. My guess would be a black American express. Or, the accountants will make them switch out throughout the year to get maximum benefits. Sometimes, 1% maxes out at a certain amount, so they'll use a different CC every quarter or so. Your last sentence is key. If you have multiple accounts, it's too easy to lose track over the years. I've seen too many people pass on and the spouse has a tough time tracking the accounts, often finding a prior spouse listed as beneficiary.  In this case, your gut is right, simpler is better. "According to IRS Publication 1635, Understanding your EIN (PDF), under ""What is an EIN?"" on page 2: Caution: An EIN is for use in connection with your business activities only. Do not use your EIN in place of your social security number (SSN). As you say your EIN is for your business as a sole proprietor, I would also refer to Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business, under ""Identification Numbers"": Social security number (SSN).   Generally, use your SSN as your taxpayer identification number. You must put this number on each of your individual income tax forms, such as Form 1040 and its schedules.  Employer identification number (EIN).   You must also have an EIN to use as a taxpayer identification number if you do either of the following. Pay wages to one or more employees. File pension or excise tax returns. If you must have an EIN, include it along with your SSN on your Schedule C or C-EZ as instructed.  While I can't point to anything specifically about bank accounts, in general the guidance I see is that your SSN is used for your personal stuff, and you have an EIN for use in your business where needed. You may be able to open a bank account listing the EIN as the taxpayer identification number on the account. I don't believe there's a legal distinction between what makes something a ""business"" account or not, though a bank may have different account offerings for different purposes, and only offer some of them to entities rather than individuals. If you want to have a separate account for your business transactions, you may want them to open it in the name of your business and they may allow you to use your EIN on it. Whether you can do this for one of their ""personal"" account offerings would be up to the bank. I don't see any particular advantages to using your EIN on a bank account for an individual, though, and I could see it causing a bit of confusion with the bank if you're trying to do so in a way that isn't one of their ""normal"" account types for a business. As a sole proprietor, there really isn't any distinction between you and your business. Any interest income is taxable to you in the same way. But I don't think there's anything stopping you legally other than perhaps your particular bank's policy on such things. I would suggest contacting your bank (or trying several banks) to get more information on what account offerings they have available and what would best fit you and your business's needs." Maybe you should consider setting up a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) for your business dealings as a landlord and consider providing that instead of your SSN for this type of thing. I am assuming (if this is legitimate) they want it so they can send you a 1099 as they might be obligated to do if they are claiming the rent as a business expense. Also, I'd suggest having the tenant tell their employer to contact you directly. There is no need for the tenant in this situation to also get your SSN/TIN. First off, you should contact your health plan administrator as soon as possible.  Different plans may interact differently with Medicare; any advice we could provide here would be tentative at best.  Some of the issues you may face: A person with both Medicare and a QHP would potentially have primary coverage from 2 sources: Medicare and the QHP. No federal law addresses this situation. Under state insurance law an individual generally cannot collect full benefits from each of 2 policies that together pay more than an insured event costs. State law usually specifies how insurance companies will coordinate health benefits when a person has primary coverage from more than one source. In that situation, insurance companies determine which coverage is primary and which is secondary. It’s important to understand that a QHP is not structured to pay secondary benefits, nor are the premiums calculated or adjusted for secondary payment. In addition, a person with Medicare would no longer receive any premium assistance or subsidies under the federal law. While previous federal law makes it illegal for insurance companies to knowingly sell coverage that duplicates Medicare’s coverage when someone is entitled to or enrolled in Medicare Part A or Part B, there has been no guidance on the issue of someone who already has individual health insurance and then also enrolls in Medicare. We and other consumer organizations have asked state and federal officials for clarification on this complicated situation. As such, it likely is up to the plan how they choose to pay - and I wouldn't expect them to pay much if they think they can avoid it.  You may also want to talk to someone at your local Medicare branch office - they may know more about your state specifically; or someone in your state's department of health/human services, or whomever administers the Exchanges (if it's not federal) in your state. Secondly, as far as enrolling for Part B, you should be aware that if she opts not to enroll in Part B at this time, if your wife later chooses to enroll before she turns 65 she will be required to pay a penalty of 10% per 12 month period she was not enrolled.  This will revert to 0 when she turns 65 and is then eligible under normal rules, but it will apply every year until then.  If she's enrolling during the normal General Enrollment period (Jan-March) then if she fails to enroll then she'll be required to pay that penalty if she later enrolls; if this is a Special Enrollment Period and extends beyond March, she may have the choice of enrolling next year without penalty. I am currently a non-voluntary member of four different retirement plans in two different countries. There are a few aspects to this (Caveat: this may be different for each country and change over time) I would consider the following strategy "The tax code is a hodgepodge of rules that are often tough to explain.  The reality is that it's our Congress that writes the tax code, and they often have conflicting goals among themselves.  In theory, someone said ""How about we force withdrawals at some point. After all, these are retirement accounts, not 'give your kid a huge inheritance account'."" And the discussion continued from there. The age 70-1/2 was arbitrary. 70 happens to be the age for maximum Social Security benefits. But the average retirement age is 63. To make things more confusing, one can easily start taking IRA or 401(k) withdrawals at age 59-1/2, but for 401(k) as early as 55 if you separate from the job at 55 or later. One can also take withdrawals earlier from an IRA with tax, but no penalty using Sec 72(t) rules (such as 72(t)(2)(A)(iv) on Substantially Equal Periodic Payments).  To add to the confusion, Roth IRA? No RMDs. Roth 401(k), RMDs once separated from service. Since the money has already been taxed, it's the tax on the growth the government loses. My advice to the reader would be to move the Roth 401(k) to a Roth IRA before 70-1/2. My advice to congress would be to change the code to have the same rules for both accounts.  Whether one agrees that a certain rule is 'fair' to them or others is up to them. I think we can agree that the rules are remarkably complex, from origin to execution. And a moving target. You can see just from the history of this site how older questions are often revisited as code changes occur." I would prefer to see you register in your home state, and then focus on making money, rather than spending time looking to game the system to save a few bucks.  People worry way too much about these trivial fees when they should be focused on making their business successful.  Get registered, get insurance, and then pour it on and start making money. Make $650 your target for a week's income - you can do it!  Next year's goal should be spending $50 a month on a payroll service because you're SO BUSY you can't take the extra time to pay your own social security taxes. Yes, this is common and a perfectly normal use of your ssn#.  The trustees of the estate can get in a lot of trouble with the IRS if they disburse assets to you if you are subject to tax garnishment (i.e. you didn't pay your taxes) As per Chad's request, I recommend that you keep at least one card in each name  as primary card holder, with the spouse being the secondary  card holder, most easily done by each adding the spouse as the secondary holder to his/her own card. Since credit reporting is usually in the name of the primary credit card holder, this allows both to continue to have credit history, important when the marriage ends (in death or divorce as the case may be). When you travel, each should carry only the  cards on which he/she is the primary card holder; not all  cards. This helps in case of a wallet or purse being stolen;  you have to report only one set of cards as lost and request  their replacement, and you have a set of cards that you can  use in the mean time (as long as you are not in different  places when the loss occurs). The purpose of this spammy Motley Fool video ad is to sell their paid newsletter products.  Although the beginning of the video promises to tell you this secret trick for obtaining additional Social Security payments, it fails to do so.  (Luckily, I found a transcript of the video, so I didn't have to watch it.) What they are talking about is the Social Security File and Suspend strategy.  Under this strategy, one spouse files for social security benefits early (say age 66).  This allows the other spouse to claim spousal benefits.  Immediately after that is claimed, the first spouse suspends his social security benefits, allowing them to grow until age 70, but the other spouse is allowed to continue to receive spousal benefits.   Congress has ended this loophole, and it will no longer be available after May 1, 2016.