[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24278-24279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08234]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

ACTION: Notice of a re-establishment for a matching program.

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SUMMARY: This computer matching agreement sets forth the terms, 
conditions, and safeguards under which the Internal Revenue Services 
(IRS) will disclose tax return information to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VA/VHA). VA/VHA will 
use the tax return information to verify veterans' employment status 
and earnings to determine eligibility for its health benefit programs.

DATES: Comments on this matching program must be received no later than 
May 19, 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 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 www.Regulations.gov or 
mailed to VA Privacy Service, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, (005R1A), 
Washington, DC 20420. Comments should indicate that they are submitted 
in response to Computer Matching Agreement Between The Internal Revenue 
Services and The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health 
Administration. Comments received will be available at regulations.gov 
for public viewing, inspection or copies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stacey Echols, Director, Health 
Eligibility Center VHA Member Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, 
2957 Clairmont Rd. NE, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30329, Email: 
[email protected], Telephone: 404-828-5303.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Health Eligibility Center (HEC) verifies 
the self-reported income of certain veterans whose eligibility for 
medical care is based on income level. HEC is an entity within the VHA, 
Member Services.
    ``Tax return information,'' for purposes of this agreement, means 
IRS records obtained under the authority of 26 U.S.C. 6103 concerning 
the amount of an individual's earnings from wages or self-employment 
income, the period(s) involved, and the identities and addresses of 
employers.

Participating Agencies

    Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VA/
VHA), and Internal Revenue Services (IRS)

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, as defined by relevant sections of the IRC, to VHA for 
the purposes or administering certain health care programs under 
sections 1710(a)(2)(G), 1710(a)(3), and 1710(b) of Title 38, United 
States Code (U.S.C). The authority for VHA to enter into this matching 
program with IRS is contained in 38 U.S. C. 5317. VHA has a statutory 
obligation to collect income information from certain applicants for 
benefits and to use that income data to determine the applicant's 
eligibility for the benefits sought.

Purpose(s)

    This computer matching agreement sets forth the terms, conditions, 
and safeguards under which the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) will 
disclose tax return information to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
Veterans Health Administration (VA/VHA). VA/VHA will use the tax return 
information to verify veterans' employment status and earnings to 
determine eligibility for its health benefit programs.

Categories of Individuals

    Veterans applying for VA Health Care Benefits

Categories of Records

    VA/VHA will provide IRS with the following information for each 
individual for whom VA/VHA requests tax return information: SSN and the 
Name Control (first four characters of the surname) in accordance with 
the current IRS Publication 3373, Disclosure of Information to Federal, 
State, and Local Agencies Handbook. The IRS will then disclose, when 
there is a match of individual identifier, to the VHA the: payee 
account number, payee name and mailing address, payee Tax 
Identification Number (TIN), payer TIN number, payer name and address, 
and the income type and amount.

System(s) of Records

    VHA will provide the IRS with identifying information with respect 
to applicants for and recipients of benefits available under programs 
cited in Article I.B. of this Agreement from VHA's System of Records 
entitled ``Income Verification Records--VA'' (89VA10NB) (Routine use 
nineteen (19)), as published at 73 FR 26192 (May 8, 2008), and updated 
at 78 FR 76897 (December 19, 2013). IRS will extract return information 
with respect to unearned income from the Information Return Master File 
(IRMF), Treas/IRS 22.061, as published at 80 FR 54081 (September 8, 
2015), through the Disclosure of Information to Federal, State and 
Local Agencies (DIFSLA) Program.

[[Page 24279]]

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 March 10, 2023 
for publication.

    Dated: April 14, 2023.
Amy L. Rose,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office of Information Security, 
Office of Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-08234 Filed 4-18-23; 8:45 am]
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