DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

I’m sure the last thing on your mind when you move is telling the IRS your new address. I know this is true, because I moved last year, and I didn’t think of notifying the IRS until just now — when I opened yesterday’s mail and found that my annual “Social Security Statement” had been sent to my old address.

I’ll explain that connection: the SSA borrows the IRS’ address database.

Fortunately, the document found me at the new house, because I live in a small town and the mail carrier knows me. (We never filed the USPS change-of-address form because the USPS sells that database to direct marketers.) I say “fortunately” because the document contains a lot of very private information:

• my full name
• my birthdate
• my earnings history since 1983

The worst-case seems to be that the person who bought my house would discover how much money I’ve made (for every year for my life). But in fact the person who bought my house doesn’t live there… the house has been rented out. There’s no telling who could have gotten this data.

So, to preserve the privacy of your financial history, add this to your move-in checklist:

• File IRS form 8822, “Change of Address”