How to deal with tax filings when your identity is stolen.

Hello,

This is the first blog on my new website. First, I want to introduce my son Jeff who will also be a writer and contributor to this site.

Jeff has his Ph.D. in History. He is well disciplined in research and will present a difficult topic in a very readable fashion. His history background will also give us an interesting perspective with information and ideas that look back so you can project forward.
Our primary focus is on taxation. If we have accounting questions, we will be happy to answer those as well.

My first tax advice is to be careful this year. We have had to do special filings due to a number of stolen identifications.

From our standpoint, we will find out if the returns have been rejected. What this means is that another return has been filed using the taxpayer’s stolen social security number.

Here is what you need to do in the event you find your identification has been stolen:

  1. We will give you a paper return to be filed. I will need original W-2s to attach to the Federal, Form 1040 and Oregon Form 40.
  2. Contact the Social Security Administration and tell them that your social security number has been stolen and that a return has already been filed using that stolen number.
  3. Contact your credit card companies. They need to be alerted that your social security number has been stolen.
  4. Monitor your credit cards, especially for small items that you have no idea as to what it is. You will need to keep your credit card receipts to compare with the statements. Note that in some cases, if those small items are not challenged, a larger item/s could appear later. This sometimes happens up to a year later.