@ SweetieJean wrote:
Here's an update on my own situation: The Tax Advocate advised me that the IRS declined my Form 8888, which it flagged as possible Identity Theft due to (1) my large total refund, and (2) the fact that this request was inconsistent with how I had chosen to receive my refunds in previous years. She went on to say that she had received several similar claims from other taxpayers.
Sorry that happened to you. ☹️ Frustrating indeed, when you did absolutely nothing wrong. I'm glad the Taxpayer Advocate Service experience was a positive one in terms of helpfulness, even if they couldn't actually change anything.
IMO, the IRS didn't think that through well. That would be a dumb way for an ID thief to steal part of a refund, since the I-bonds cannot be cashed by anyone for at least a year. And even after a year, additional notarized/verified ID is required when cashing it.
In the future, I wonder if having a voluntary IP PIN would be helpful in a prophylactic sense. Then the IRS would always know it was indeed you filing the return, no matter how large the refund, or whether or not I-bonds were selected. Of course, as you know, that would obligate one to using a new IP PIN every year after that, too.
