Identity Theft and Taxpayer First Act Resources

Susan B. Anders, PhD, CPA/CGMA

The IRS appears to be making inroads in addressing tax-related identity theft, although the crime continues to feature prominently on its annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams (IR-2019-49, http://bit.ly/32UqCrH), along with phishing and phone scams. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) report on the “Interim Results of the 2019 Filing Season” (Ref. No. 2019-44-030, Apr. 2, 2019, http://bit.ly/2MHRDZC) indicated that IRS identity theft filters captured 3,741 identity theft returns as of February 28, in comparison to 2,204 for the same period in 2018, which may be reflected in the declining number of taxpayers initiating identity theft complaints. Participants in the 2019 Tax Software Survey (p. 16) continue to report identity theft issues, but the level has declined from previous years, with 40% reporting minor or significant problems in 2019 as compared to more than 50% in 2018.