Every Tax Identity Theft Victim Should Take These Helpful Steps

What do you do when you experience identity theft?

Tax-related identity theft is when someone steals your social security number to file a tax return and claim a refund under your name. The filed tax return could be completely inaccurate and lead to the IRS thinking you owe more money than you actually do. You normally don’t discover you’ve been a victim until you file your tax return. The IRS will either prevent you from filing because the identity thief filed before you and you’re trying to file a second return under your SSN. Or, they will prevent the thief from filing because you already filed before them. In either situation, you may call the IRS and report tax-identity theft. The IRS may also mark your account under suspicion of fraudulent activity.

What Steps You Can Take as A Victim of ID Theft

The IRS has taken many steps to help taxpayers protect themselves from identity theft. They are working closely with state agencies as the Security Summit. This creates resources for any taxpayer to prevent tax identity theft. According to Experian, “from 2015 to 2019, there was an 80% decline (677,000 to 137,000) in the number of taxpayers who filed the IRS identity theft affidavits… In 2019, the IRS stopped 443,000 confirmed fraudulent returns.”

File Your Taxes With Form 14039

You still need to pay and report your taxes for that year to maintain accuracy. You will likely need to file a paper tax return instead of an online filing so make sure you are as accurate as possible. You should also fill out IRS Form 14039, the Identity Theft Affidavit and attach it to your paper tax return. Fill out the necessary information and you may either fax or mail it to the IRS.

Freeze Your Accounts

Make sure you freeze your accounts with the three primary tax bureaus -- Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You don’t need to report to all three because when you report to one of them, that one must report the freeze to the other tax bureaus.

Maintain Contact with IRS

Always maintain contact with the IRS so they may help you. Just remember that it is a long verification process to get your identity back.

Types of Tax Identity Theft

We mentioned one type of tax-related identity theft: Social security number theft. While the other types also involve social security, it may not relate directly to you. You may experience

Someone else claiming your dependent(s)

Your child or other dependent relative may have had their social security numbers stolen.

Data breach

This is a rare type of identity theft but it is possible. A data breach from other sites you use may lead to your social security number being stolen. Only report the IRS if your SSN is stolen. Other data breaches may involve your credit card or bank account, but not your SSN.

How The IRS Helps With Tax-Related Identity Theft

One important note to remember is that the IRS will never contact you via phone, e-mail, text, or social media. They will send you letters with contact information on the notice for you to contact them. They will never call you to inform you of a lawsuit or arrest against you. In the event that your identity is stolen, they will send you a letter called Letter 5071C that requests ID verification. You will likely need to send them photocopies of your SSN and your driver’s license or other government issued identification such as a passport. As long as you continue communication with the IRS, they will remove the alert on your account and get your tax situation corrected.

Tax Relief & Preparation

America’s Choice Tax Relief will assist your tax related identity theft. We are a secure tax service that solves your tax problems including tax identity theft, wage garnishment, tax liens, and other tax debt. To ensure your taxes are protected, rely on our tax professionals to prepare and relieve you of your taxes.