Potential ID theft on reject code

[AZ-Tax]

Called ProSeries and they believe that is what this is. MFJ been filing their tax returns for 5 yrs straight now & their personal data transfers from one year to another. The error states the TP's spouse SS# has been used already.

First one for me and ProSeries tells me I am going to need to file a paper tax return.

Question: For those of you that had this happen to your client(s), do you charge extra for this?

[appelman]

I don't.

But that's me.

[David1980]

No extra charge. Bad enough I have to tell them that someone stole their identity (assuming they didn't get their return done elsewhere incorrectly, but that seems unlikely with a 5-year client), telling them on top of someone stealing their identity they owe me more money ... no, I couldn't do it.

[OtisMozzetti]

...
the TP's spouse SS# has been used already.
...
I am going to need to file a paper tax return.
...

Particularly if this couple has a refund coming to them, the difficulty might not go away just by filing a paper return. The similar case which I encountered last year consisted of an unmarried woman. Response to the paper return which I provided her consisted of an IRS request for her to bring in her identification documents to the IRS office. I even went to the IRS office with her and they told us it was "a mixed entity", whatever that means.

It went on for 6 months, and on our next trip to the IRS office, it was referred to the Taxpayer Advocate, who got her refund promptly released, along with the explanation that Social Security had typed in her SSN matched with another name (they actually told us that name).

You ask about what you should be charging. Remember that for such a long-term client (5 years you said) you want this couple to come file with you again next year. There is going to be a need to provide them assistance over a period which may turn out to be several months and maybe quite a bit of your time. Ask yourself what you will charge for that assistance.