The IRS Integrity and Verification Operations IVO group is delaying a number of taxpayer refunds to screen for identity theft and refund fraud.
Taxpayers identified by the program may receive a 4464C letter from the IVO stating that their tax return is being thoroughly reviewed so that the IRS can ensure the accuracy of return information. The letter states that the IRS may contact the taxpayer or third parties for further information and that if the taxpayer does not hear from the IRS or receive his or her refund within 60 days from the date of the letter, the taxpayer may contact the IRS directly. Once the IRS has completed its review, it may send a full or partial refund or no refund. Whatever the decision, the taxpayer can appeal it.
The IRS has indicated that the letters are part of the screening program to combat stolen identity refund fraud and do not mean the taxpayer has been selected for audit. The IRS uses algorithms similar to a discriminate function system score to detect potential refund fraud.
Certain characteristics are:
Those are a couple of instances that can trigger an alert to the IVO to further investigate the taxpayer's return.
Both the IRS and the Department of Justice DOJ Tax Division have increased their efforts to combat stolen identity refund fraud. During an April hearing before Congress, IRS Acting Commissioner Steven Miller said the IRS had stopped 350,000 returns with a total $2.5 billion in fraudulent refunds. In September 2012, the DOJ issued Tax Division Directive 144, which is aimed at increasing cooperation between federal and state governments, and flexibility for U.S. attorneys' offices, to combat stolen identity refund fraud.
TTRebecca- it's not fair to us who have filed the same for years to be held up!!! yet I see no mention of the hack and compromise of customer info that has resulted in hundreds if not, thousands of delays and 4464c letters being sent out. I did my research- Turbo Tax customers are the bulk of the reviews. I have a surgery set up that I was intending on using my money for... This is ridiculous. Also- please offer valid info, this is also found on the IRS website. So you're not really 'helping'. Terrible.
So here is what i can tell u based on my experience. If you rcv'd LTR 4464 in the mail they have 60 days(business days.... dont include Sat/Sun) from the date of the letter to have your issue resolved or by April 15 of that tax year.. Which ever comes first. I will tell you now... This is going to be a loooong slow process. So do not expect you money anytime before April 15. At the most it will finally be processed by April 15 and u will still have to wait at least 21 days after that for u to get you refund and/or DD. First thing you should after rcv'ng this letter is call 877.777.4778 and get at Taxpayer Advocate. Your advocate will be ur liaison between u and the IRS Agent. She stays on top of the agent and push to get things done. Do not call IRS because the will not tell you anything or help you in anyway because the IRS phone agents know absolutely nothing themselves. Dont ever even waste your time calling n sitting on hold for nothing.They one person that knows about your case is the IRS Agent handling it (FYI.. U will never ever speak to ur IRS Agent the only person that will be in contact with ur agent is ur Taxpayer Advocate). Be prepared to only speak with ur advocate once or maybe twice during that first month. She will have specific dates that she will call so you better have ur phone attached to ur hip on those dates. She may call at 8 in the morning or 9 at night. U do not want to miss her call because if u miss her call, she will leave u a message giving u an update n u wont hear from her again until the next scheduled date. Therefore u wont be able to ask questions or get real info. Also get every bit of paper work that u can. That will speed things up tremendously...Ex: SS cards, Birth Certificates, ID,W2, last paycheck stub, proof of employment & income on the companies letter head, proof of insurance, proof of overdue bills and disconnect notices. Another thing check ur return and makes sure everything is legit and income can be proven. If not redo ur return correctly and have it on standby just in case because if it is wrong they will give u an opportunity to correct before it is sent for processing without being fined and charged with perjury. And after u fax everything all u can do is wait. The best way to check the process is to view ur transcripts online irs.gov/transcripts. However im letting you know now that the cycle dates and the processing dates mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! Ex: 20150603 or 03-02-2015. Those are just the next time IRS agent has to update progress on the case in the system for her boss. Im just telling u from what i experienced. If everything is on the up n up, u can provide paperwork and proof of income..u will have ur refund by sometime in May at the latest. I posted this to help out anyone who is hoing thru this. I went thru this with no help, no answers, no knowledge, lost of stress, lots crying and left completely in the dark. These forums and the internet provide absolutely nooooooo answers. So save urself the trouble now n stop goggling n stressing urself out. Just do what im telling u and save urself alot of time n stress!
Thank you, I think? I received this 44464C letter that basically says they've got my return and that if I didn't file it to notify them. I filed January 31st 2018 accepted the same day. received a very small state tax refund but not the federal tax refund. I have filed the same way the last few years, claimed my children who are 12 and 14. I've made 5K less this year in income than the previous year. I don't understand what all could be the issue. Nobody has any answers and when I did finally reach the IRS rep all she could tell me was that a letter went out. There's a delay and that I'd have to wait 45 days past the February 15th processing date for those who claimed child tax credit and earned income credit. So now we're talking April 1st which is a Sunday. I am behind on bills, running out of food and decided maybe this 'tax advocate' could help. Think again. The criteria has to be more like you're being evicted or your electric is being cut off. Being behind on bills isn't enough for you to have the help of a Tax Advocate. You'd think with all the money spent for turbo tax, filing the same way as previous years that they'd be an advocate but apparently they cant do anything to speed up the process. I'm wondering if I should just be proactive and go to the gov identity website I located. You want to talk about crazy google searches. I have searched every which way and back again trying to find out why it's taking 3 months to get my tax refund. It's now March 6th. The WMR site only says it's processing. The status has been the same for 2 months now. I'm very concerned and very upset. I need the money. I have children and obligations just like everybody else.
TAX ADVOCATE???? A waste of time Just Like IRS! they all work together. Turbo Tax NEVER AGAIN!
After receiving the 4464C letter dated 3/2/18, it said that they were reviewing my return for income, tax withholding amounts and tax credits and it would take up to 60 days and if they needed anything,they would let me know by mail and prior to receiving the letter, I spoke with an irs agent on the phone and they told me the same thing and it could take up to 45 days but may not take that long and to keep checking the Where's my refund site and that we can blame our president for this with the new tax reform laws and the WMR site kept saying it was being processed and I was surprised when I checked it last Sat., 3/10 that it was approved and my refund will be sent to my bank on Wed, 3/14 so that was a big surprise that I wasn't expecting so soon after receiving that letter! I've never had this problem before either and it was very upsetting!! They're randomly checking returns and especially the ones that were efiled earlier,from what I'm reading online. I also processed my return on Turbo Tax. They don't have any control of what the irs does to your return after it's accepted. So hang in there and keep checking the WMR site.
Hi, don’t worry about it I received a 4464 c letter, but you know what I got good news for you. Two weeks after the letter I received my refund. Be patient.
Hi and thank you for your reply and the same thing happened to me as I received my refund 2 weeks after I received the letter also. Yay and finally!
Everyone is making progress except wittle ole me! Im now 16 business days post 4464c letter. Will the IRS please update my wmr and give me a stinkin DDD......I'll be your best friend!
@mastewart2018 have you heard anything or reach out to TA amen the same waiting game
Keep checking the WMR site and it'll surprise you with saying that your refund is approved and when they'll be sending it to your bank. It surprised me and 2 weeks after I received the same letter in the mail. They're doing this to many many people and it's very upsetting I know. So hang in there.
@johnandconnie198 thanks I hope that's the case for me am just tired at this point I called IRS twice and tax advocate I am to point I don't even check site no more because when it say still processing I get upset even more
The TA person was like o give it til March 30 they should be releasing hold but I don't believe it
I was getting very tired of all this also but couldn't help but to keep checking the wmr site everyday and Lo and Behold,I was sooooooo very happy to see that my refund was approved! And I never went through a TA person as I just kept waiting. Hang in there!
@johnandconnie198 congrats how long did you have to wait for
Thank you and I just waited 2 weeks after I received the 4464C letter.
I spoke to an agent two days ago who said that she didn't see any notation that a letter went out, but then I got a 4464c dated 3/15/2018. This is crazy. If they are going to send a letter, why not state what they need verified? That is, if they even need anything verified. This is crazy. I was filed/accepted w/ TT 2/9/2018. I've been in this WMR loop of "still being processed" since late Feb. 570 code w/ 3/19/2018 processing date on my transcripts. I am not using TT next year.
It's very crazy and the Irs is randomly selecting many many returns this year and with manually reviewing them to verify everything because of identity theft and fraud and incorrect returns. I received that letter also on 3/2 and then my refund was approved on the wmr site 2 weeks later and I was surprised as thought I was going to have to wait a lot longer. And in my opinion,it has nothing to do with turbo tax.
@johnandconnie198 Happy to hear that you received your return. Seems like the IRS reps are not consistant with info they are telling people. I do recall the rep saying something to the effect that they most likely to verify our income. In my case, I work for the state of IL, and my partner works for a large hospital. First year filing as a married couple joint return. Our w-2s were uploaded at the time we filed.
The Irs told me that my return was delayed because of verification of income,tax withholding or tax credits and ours is a simple return also. They're randomly selecting many returns this year to manually check and verify them as I've seen that with many people on this site. I think that they're trying to basically eliminate the identity theft and fraudulent returns and with the new tax laws.
The IRS said they are doing verification of income on my wife's employment. I spoke with the employer they stated the IRS was very vague on the phone of their needs. The IRS called the HR personal cell for some reason. She attempted to call the IRS back and they did not answer and she had to give information over voicemail. HR said they sent over everything just like everyone in the company. No one has had any problems besides my spouse. I thing it is a good way to withhold funds and earn a bit more interest on the money we hand over throughout the year. Gotta pay for the wall! Anyway one other note is this is the first year I've filed married jointly. I filed Jan 29th 2018. They told me it will be a 45-60 day wait. I said and when does that time frame start? She said March 5th. So you are telling me I file my taxes in January and 6 months later I'll receive my return. Makes a lot of sense.