IRS Says It Won't Allow Alteration of Perjury Jurat on Exemption Form

Thank you for your January 27, 2011, letter to Secretary Geithner on the perjury jurat and Missouri members of the Old Order Amish. Specifically, you requested that we create an exception from section 6065 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) for members of the Old Order Amish. This exception would permit them to alter the perjury jurat on Form 4029, Application for Exemption From Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits, (and presumably other Federal tax forms) by replacing the phrase "Under penalties of perjury, I declare . . ." with "With yes, I say . . ." For the following reasons, we cannot provide this exception that would permit members of the Old Amish Order to alter or strike the perjury jurat.

The law provides that "Except as otherwise provided by the Secretary, any return, declaration, statement, or other document required to be made under any provision of the internal revenue laws or regulations shall contain or be verified by a written declaration that it is made under the penalties of perjury" (section 6065 of the Code). As you note in your letter, the language of the statute allows the Secretary discretion to make exceptions to the requirement of perjury jurats.

Approval of Form 4029, which must be completed under sections 1402(g)(1) and 3127 of the Code, will exempt the individual from social security and Medicare taxes. We must, therefore, assure that the information on the Form 4029 is correct. The perjury charge is one of the principal sanctions available to assure that individuals file honest documents. See Borgeson v. Commissioner, 757 F.2d 1071 (10^th Cir. 1985). Permitting an individual or a specific group of individuals to alter or strike the perjury jurat from the Form 4029 affects our ability to judge the substantial correctness of the document. Accordingly, the presence of a perjury jurat on the Form 4029 is an essential part of the process for applying for the statutory exemption from social security and Medicare taxes, and one that we cannot waive.

We understand the objection to the jurat that members of the Old Amish Order may have. Unfortunately, those who wish to advance frivolous arguments on their liability for taxes sometimes alter or remove the perjury jurat. This practice was sufficiently widespread that, in 2005, we issued published guidance warning against altering or striking the perjury jurat. Revenue Ruling 2005-18, 2005-1 C.B. 817. I recognize that the Old Order Amish do not seek to replace the jurat with their own language as part of an attempt to evade taxation but out of sincere religious conviction. Nevertheless, I am concerned that others whose intent is to escape taxation may use any exception we make for them. Further, any exception made for the Amish would be available to others who profess a faith-based objection to the perjury jurat. We cannot involve ourselves in determining whether faith-based objections are legitimate, nor can we administer a system in which our return processing employees must routinely determine whether an alteration to the jurat is made with the intent to avoid taxation.

I hope this information is helpful in understanding the importance of the unaltered perjury jurat. If you have questions, please contact me or Floyd L. Williams, Director, Legislative Affairs, at (202) 622-4725.