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Social Security Online		 History
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Social Security Numbers

Tax Reform Act of 1986
 

photo of Reagan signing 1986 law

On October 22, 1986 President Reagan signed into law the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Among its provisions, the law required that every dependent age 5 or older listed on a tax return had to have their own Social Security number. This new requirement doubled SSA's enumeration workload in the following year. White House photo. SSA History Archives.
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