Verbal notice from IRS regarding Identity Theft

[AZ-Tax]

Last week the TP was on the phone with the IRS to arrange payments. I was conferenced in. IRS told my client their 2014 tax return was filed back in April of 2015. Nope, I just e-filed in late June 2015. As of now, TP has not received letter from IRS but IRS lady suggest my client mail in the tax return and include form 14039. Anyone had experience with this before?

[Burke]

To arrange payments? What sort of payments? When you e-filed in June, did you get a rejection notice? Form 14039 is where you start with an identity theft case. Your software should show the reason for rejection.

[AZ-Tax]

Software did eventually reject and give reason.

Software did eventually reject and give reason. I didn't check my e-files status daily and for some reason when I did, it seem this return was stuck in limbo meaning it continued to say sent to the IRS & sent to the state. Then finally the status changed to rejection and the reason was tax return was already filed. So the client needs to file a paper return. The TP called the IRS to arrange or make a income tax payment for tax year 2014.

[Burke]

So the process is, complete a signed paper return (send to Austin), along with the 14039 and all the required documentation. Why didn't the TP pay the amount owed when it was first filed? Or did they refund it? Any tax due could be sent with the paper return.

[TAXNJ]

Responsibility

Software did eventually reject and give reason. I didn't check my e-files status daily and for some reason when I did, it seem this return was stuck in limbo meaning it continued to say sent to the IRS & sent to the state. Then finally the status changed to rejection and the reason was tax return was already filed. So the client needs to file a paper return. The TP called the IRS to arrange or make a income tax payment for tax year 2014.

Sounds like your software does not provide "real time" response. If so maybe check periodically during the day or change software vendor to get faster results vs you checking periodically during the day when you remember to do so. May cost more but may solve the timing issue.

[David1980]

Sounds like your software does not provide "real time" response. If so maybe check periodically during the day or change software vendor to get faster results vs you checking periodically during the day when you remember to do so. May cost more but may solve the timing issue.

I'm not a fan of putting too much trust in software myself. But rather, I have an "pending acknowledgement" step in my tracking. So once I submit a return I move the folder to pending acknowledgement and once it gets acknowledged I file it as complete if accepted or deal with it if it gets rejected. This way if something is in "pending acknowledgement" too long, I know to follow up on it.

It would be too easy to lose a return if you simply transmitted and then filed it complete assuming that it must be okay unless you get a reject. My nightmare would be I transmit a return and it doesn't get submitted to the IRS for whatever reason. Since I would never get a reject back on it I might assume it was complete and not know until much later that it never even got submitted. And at that point I would no longer have a timely filed return which could screw up elections and the such.

So I find the acceptance just as important as a rejection.

[manyhappyreturns]

So the process is, complete a signed paper return (send to Austin), along with the 14039 and all the required documentation. Any tax due could be sent with the paper return.

In this situation the Form 14039 needs to be sent along with copies of ID and the paper return, including Form 8948 (reason for not filing electronically, although that is rather obvious!). The whole packet should be sent by certified mail to the address that a person would normally file their paper return. Believe me, I did 46 of these in 2014, although I forgot the 8948 form for several of them and didn't have any repercussions. All of these 46 cases have been resolved, even though they took anywhere from 3 to 8 months. Fortunately, I didn't have any rejects at all in 2015, and none of my 46 clients had any suspicious activity in any other part of their lives, such as bank accounts or credit cards.

[TAXNJ]

Agree

I'm not a fan of putting too much trust in software myself. But rather, I have an "pending acknowledgement" step in my tracking. So once I submit a return I move the folder to pending acknowledgement and once it gets acknowledged I file it as complete if accepted or deal with it if it gets rejected. This way if something is in "pending acknowledgement" too long, I know to follow up on it.

It would be too easy to lose a return if you simply transmitted and then filed it complete assuming that it must be okay unless you get a reject. My nightmare would be I transmit a return and it doesn't get submitted to the IRS for whatever reason. Since I would never get a reject back on it I might assume it was complete and not know until much later that it never even got submitted. And at that point I would no longer have a timely filed return which could screw up elections and the such.

So I find the acceptance just as important as a rejection.

Yes, higher end software (if not most) provides return status in appropriate titled folders tabs and/or columns. Again, with efile the person filing has the responsibility to check return status to completion. No excuse to blame software because if it gets "stuck" in the system, check the folder tabs or columns for status and one can always contact the efile vendor used.

No different as before efile when return was sent by U.S. Mail. If the preparer volunteered to mail the client return they would assume responsibility it gets to the post office.

[JohnH]

Yes, higher end software (if not most) provides return status in appropriate titled folders tabs and/or columns. Again, with efile the person filing has the responsibility to check return status to completion. No excuse to blame software because if it gets "stuck" in the system, check the folder tabs or columns for status and one can always contact the efile vendor used.

No different as before efile when return was sent by U.S. Mail. If the preparer volunteered to mail the client return they would assume responsibility it gets to the post office.

Exactly right. And that my friends is the reasson it's best to be a return PREPARER, not a return FILER. Saves a lot of headaches and ducks what can be significant risk. It also places the filing responsibilty where it belongs - on the taxpayer.

[David1980]

No different as before efile when return was sent by U.S. Mail. If the preparer volunteered to mail the client return they would assume responsibility it gets to the post office.

I think you have to go one step further than that with efile. To complete the comparison, it'd be more like sending the paper return with return receipt and the preparer responsibility would be to verify the IRS received it by receiving the return receipt back - not just dropping it at the post office. Dropping at the post office would be more like transmitting an efile without bothering to ensure it gets accepted.

[TAXNJ]

Maybe

I think you have to go one step further than that with efile. To complete the comparison, it'd be more like sending the paper return with return receipt and the preparer responsibility would be to verify the IRS received it by receiving the return receipt back - not just dropping it at the post office. Dropping at the post office would be more like transmitting an efile without bothering to ensure it gets accepted.

Maybe, but with the post office ceritifed receipt return requested should go to clients address if you provided delivery/courier service (could be start of a new business) to post office. Expensive to do so an extra charge for that service. Better giving the return to client to mail unless that is part of your service.