Notice2023-10367
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 16, 2023
Issuing agencies
Veterans Affairs Department
Abstract
This re-established Computer Matching Agreement (CMA) sets forth the terms, conditions, and safeguards under which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will disclose return information, relating to unearned income, to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) for the Disclosure of Information to Federal, State and Local Agencies (DIFSLA). The purpose of this CMA is to make available to VBA certain return information needed to determine eligibility for, and amount of benefits for, VBA applicants and beneficiaries of needs-based benefits, and to adjust income-dependent benefit payments, as prescribed by law. Currently, the most cost effective and efficient way to verify annual income of applicants, and recipients of these benefits, is through a computer match.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 94 (Tuesday, May 16, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31310-31311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10367]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.
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SUMMARY: This re-established Computer Matching Agreement (CMA) sets
forth the terms, conditions, and safeguards under which the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) will disclose return information, relating to
unearned income, to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA) for the Disclosure of Information to
Federal, State and Local Agencies (DIFSLA). The purpose of this CMA is
to make available to VBA certain return information needed to determine
eligibility for, and amount of benefits for, VBA applicants and
beneficiaries of needs-based benefits, and to adjust income-dependent
benefit payments, as prescribed by law. Currently, the most cost
effective and efficient way to verify annual income of applicants, and
recipients of these benefits, is through a computer match.
DATES: Comments on this matching program must be received no later than
June 15, 2023. If no public comment is received during the period
allowed for comment or unless otherwise published in the Federal
Register by VA, the new agreement will become effective a
[[Page 31311]]
minimum of 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register.
If VA receives public comments, VA shall review the comments to
determine whether any changes to the notice are necessary. This
matching program will be valid for 18 months from the effective date of
this notice.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through <a href="http://www.Regulations.gov">www.Regulations.gov</a> or
mailed to VA Privacy Service, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, (005X6F),
Washington, DC 20420. Comments should indicate that they are submitted
in response to IRS, DIFSLA CMA. Comments received will be available at
<a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> for public viewing, inspection or copies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Hodge, Lead Program Analyst,
Pension and Fiduciary Service (21P), Department of Veterans Affairs,
810 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20420, 202-461-8394.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CMA between VA and IRS DIFSLA, expires June
30, 2023. VBA has a legal obligation to reduce the amount of pension
and of parents' dependency and indemnity compensation by the amount of
annual income received by the VBA beneficiary. VA will use this
information to verify the income information submitted by beneficiaries
in VA's needs-based benefit programs and adjust VA benefit payments as
prescribed by law. By comparing the information received through the
matching program between VBA and IRS, VBA will be able to timely and
accurately adjust benefit amounts. The match information will help VBA
minimize overpayments and deter fraud and abuse. The legal authority to
conduct this match is 38 U.S.C. 5106, which requires any Federal
department or agency to provide VA such information as VA requests for
the purposes of determining eligibility for benefits or verifying other
information with respect to payment of benefits. The VA records
involved in the match are in ``Compensation, Pension, Education, and
Vocational and Rehabilitation and Employment Records--VA (58 VA 21/22/
28),'' a system of records which was first published at 41 FR 9294
(March 3, 1976), amended and republished in its entirety at 77 FR 42593
(July 19, 2012). The IRS records consist of information from the system
records identified as will extract return information with respect to
unearned income of the VBA applicant or beneficiary and (when
applicable) of such individual's spouse from the Information Return
Master File (IRMF), Treasury/IRS 22.061, at 80 FR 54081- 082 (September
8, 2015). In accordance with the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2) and
(r), copies of the agreement are being sent to both Houses of Congress
and to the Office of Management and Budget. This notice is provided in
accordance with the provisions of Privacy Act of 1974 as amended by
Public Law 100-503.
Participating Agencies: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits Administration
(VBA).
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program: The Internal Revenue
Code (IRC), 26 U.S.C. 6103(l)(7)(B), authorizes the IRS to disclose
return information with respect to unearned income to VBA.
Purpose(s): To provide VBA with certain IRS return information
needed to determine eligibility for and amount of benefits for VBA
applicants and beneficiaries of needs-based benefits and to adjust
income-dependent benefit payments as prescribed by law.
Categories of Individuals: Veterans and beneficiaries who apply for
VA income benefits.
Categories of Records: VBA will furnish the IRS with records in
accordance with the current IRS Publication 3373, DIFSLA Handbook. The
requests from VBA will include: The Social Security Number (SSN) and
name Control (first four characters of the surname) for each individual
for whom unearned income information is requested. IRS will provide a
response record for each individual identified by VBA. The total number
of records will be equal to or greater than the number of records
submitted by VBA. In some instances, an individual may have more than
one record on file. When there is a match of individual SSN and name
control, IRS will disclose the following to VBA: Payee account number;
payee name and mailing address; payee Taxpayer Identification Numbers
(TIN); payer name and address; payer TIN; and income type and amount.
System(s) of Records: VBA records involved in this match are in
``VA Compensation, Pension, Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation
and Employment Records--VA'' (58 VA 21/22/28), a system of records that
was first published at 41 FR 9294 (March 3, 1976), amended and
republished in its entirety at 77 FR 42593 (July 19, 2012). IRS will
extract return information with respect to unearned income of the VBA
applicant or beneficiary and (when applicable) of such individual's
spouse from the IRMF, Treasury/IRS 22.061, as published at 80 FR 54081-
082 (September 8, 2015).
Signing Authority
The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. John
Oswalt, Chief Privacy Officer and Chair of the Data Integrity Board,
Department of Veterans Affairs approved this document on May 4, 2023
for publication.
Dated: May 10, 2023.
Amy L. Rose,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office of Information Security,
Office of Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-10367 Filed 5-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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