Until you comply the IRS will hold your refund hostage ...
IRS tells you we have a suspicious return with your name on it
Often, the IRS Taxpayer Protection Program identifies a suspicious tax return bearing your name and SSN and will send you a notice or letter. The TPP proactively identifies and prevents the processing of identity theft tax returns and assists taxpayers whose identities are used to file such returns. There are many reasons why a return may appear to suspicious to us, and we take this precautionary step to help protect you. Here’s what happens in this situation:
- You may receive a Letter 4883C from the IRS asking you to verify your identity within 30 days.
- Follow the letter’s instructions to verify your identity.
- Call the toll-free number provided in the letter. You must have the letter with you when you call the Taxpayer Protection Program.
- Have a copy of your prior-year tax return, if you filed one, to help verify your identity.
- Verify your identity. If you are unable to verify your identity with the customer service representative, you may be asked to visit an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center in person. https://www.irs.gov/help/contact-your-local-irs-office You should plan on providing picture identification plus the letter and a copy of the affected tax return if you did file one.
- If you receive similar notices about suspicious returns, you do not need to complete the Form 14039 unless instructed to do so.
- Once you verify your identity, you can let us know if you filed the tax return in question.
- If you did not file the tax return in question, we will remove it from your IRS records. Filing a paper tax return may be recommended if you have not yet filed for the current filing season.
- If you did file the tax return in question, we will release that tax return for processing and barring any unforeseen issues (math error, missing return or schedules) your refund will be issued once processing is complete.
How quickly we can work identity theft cases depends upon the volume of work and the complexity of the cases. Once we completely resolve your tax account issues, we will mark your account with an identity theft indicator to help protect your tax account in the future.
