Filing taxes is rarely an enjoyable experience, but this year brought an additional agony. For the first time, the IRS is cross-checking their records with the Social Security Administration. Presumably this is designed to catch people fraudulently paying someone else's taxes. I dunno. Whatever their intent, my filing failed their standard. Apparently when I was first issued a social security card some dunce put in the wrong birthday. Without going into specifics it will suffice to say that my birthday was not even plausible.
This was kinda neat. On the one hand, records of the Federal Government showed that I was the oldest person to ever have lived. But on the other hand, I couldn't access my tax return. I considered writing a book (the secret to eternal youth? typographical error!) but decided that I should probably get this thing sorted out.
Dealing with a government agency requires forethought. You can't just walk in at any convenient time because you'll find lines out the door. I chose Good Friday, 90 minutes before lunch time. Good decision. There was only one person in front of me.
My case was a complicated one, but the agent helped me through it. The process required (no joke) nine separate documents. I had them, and he knew what to do with them. The whole episode, from entering the building to leaving with a corrected birth date, took about 20 minutes. That's pretty great. But behind me was a line of 12 people. I guarantee their experience will not be so smooth.