[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15702-15703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07427]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

ACTION: Notice of a modified 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

[[Page 15703]]

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 notice must be received no later than 
30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register. If no public 
comment is received during the period allowed for comment, the re-
established agreement will become effective July 1, 2018, provided it 
is a minimum of 30 days after the publication date. 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: Written comments may be submitted through 
www.Regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to Director, Regulation 
Policy and Management (00REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Ave. NW, Room 1064, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202) 
273-9026 (not a toll-free number). Comments should indicate that they 
are submitted in response to a CMA between the IRS and VBA for DIFSLA. 
Copies of comments received will be available for public inspection in 
the Office of Regulation Policy and Management, Room 1063B, between the 
hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except 
holidays). Please call (202) 461-4902 for an appointment. (This is not 
a toll-free number.) In addition, comments may be viewed online at 
www.Regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy C. Williams, Pension 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, 2018. 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 
and Education and Rehabilitation 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).
    Authority for Conducting the Matching Program: The Privacy Act, 5 
U.S.C Sec.  552a, and 38 U.S.C Sec.  6103 authorize VA to enter into 
this CMA with IRS.
    Purpose(s): To re-establish a CMA with IRS to provide VBA with 
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.
    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 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 Information Return Master File (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, Executive Director for Privacy, Department of Veterans Affairs 
approved this document on March 7, 2018 for publication.

    Dated: April 6, 2018.
Kathleen M. Manwell,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office of Privacy Information and 
Identity Protection, Office of Quality, Privacy and Risk, Office of 
Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-07427 Filed 4-10-18; 8:45 am]
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