Is identity theft always a case of criminal activity with the purpose of getting refunds? I’ve heard that some people use other people’s social security numbers because they’re not citizens and don’t have work permits, and actually do pay taxes, etc.
It seems that either way, we need to stop the identity fraud. But I wonder how it would be possible to do that.
I mentioned upthread, H and I had state and federal returns filed fraudulently on our behalf this year. The filing date of the state return was 2/5 or thereabouts. Luckily, I found about it when a state refund check showed up in our mailbox (not a very smart crook) in the middle of February, so was able to take care of it before I needed to file. Since I was able to log in and view the state return I could see the detailed filing- and was so surprised that the filing didn’t trigger any red flags since it was lower (by a ridiculous amount) than our returns filed in the past years, all the employer ID’s were different, and the income amounts for both parties were an “even thousands” amount. Couldn’t view the federal return, nor would the IRS release any info to me (other than the fact that it was efiled and accepted), but I’d imagine it was the same.
Hard to believe they don’t have a system to “red flag” huge changes in a return such as that. Or that they don’t require you to input something simple, like, say, your AGI from the prior year or SOMETHING to validate that the e-filing is valid.
I had to call the IRS and the State Dept of Revenue, both agents with whom I spoke told me that there is quite a spike in this type of fraud this year.
How is this happening? Are these returns mailed? When I efile, I always have to put in identifying info, such as prior year agi, and the pin I set up from last year.
Sorry. I had forgotten that dietz is such a huge proponent of polite behavior on this forum.
In my case, they were e-filed using Turbotax. I don’t think (I could be wrong) that Turbotax requires any identifying info like you describe.
I efile via TT, and I had to look up D’s AGI for last year that was not importied into TT. However, all of my data was imported form the prior year return, and the program used it automatically, ditto the pin. My understanding is that some TT state efile systems lacked security needed to keep that info inaccessible to crooks.
If the government requires and has implemented a system of verifying identities for ACA (ObamaCare) then I think they could implement one for the IRS, but given the hassle factors on ACA and the much smaller audience, they had better upgrade the entire system before they use it!
“Apparently sarcastic humor doesn’t go over well in a tax thread. Only a fool would wish for identity theft and I realize that 90% of the information they use to impersonate you is false”
Since many people here may not know you, @deega123, I guess we don’t know whether you are a fool, or if you are joking. Those little smiley face icons will help you get the point across, until we get it.
However, sarcastic humor goes over just fine in many threads, and will probably be even funnier after April 15th. But people need to understand that you’re going that way. From now on, I’ll assume you’re just messing with us.
@busdriver11 - Thank you for lesson about posting and sarcasm. You may have missed that I DID put a smiley in my identity identity theft post :). So, as I said before, it seems like my particular brand of tongue in cheek posting doesn’t work well in tax threads.
I’m just thankful we now have the funds to pay our tax bill. Dh’s employer has never been able to get withholding right so we end up writing a big check each April when we file an extension (some required paperwork isn’t available until summer.) We get a small refund in the fall, since we have to over estimate the amount due to avoid any penalty.
Back about the time we were hit with enormous medical bills, we had to pay a large amount of tax on stock options which were the bulk of dh’s compensation then. Thanks to multiple quiet periods over the next year (times he was not permitted to trade), we never sold the stock. It then sank like a stone, losing nearly all of its former value. The proceeds from selling the stock would not have covered the tax bill. We ended up borrowing on a HELOC to pay our taxes.
Nah, deega, I think that people may have missed that you’re joking, I don’t think people are humorless in this thread. It does appear obvious that your identity theft post was a joke, but maybe not for everyone. In fact, most of the time I’m joking, and it goes past people all the time. So…keep trying!! I, for one, appreciate sarcastic humor (if I get it).
Borrowing to pay your taxes, really stinks, silpat! We have done that too. Not fun at all.
I usually get it right (saving up a chunk to cover what the co underwitholds), but this time I was off. Pre-paying tax on stock grants sucks, especially when you are not allowed to sell them at will. I know, first world problems. 
I’m lucky to have them, but the accounting aspect of it still sucks.
My other pet peeve (Besides AMT and the extra Medicare taxes) is with the way Turbo Tax displays the running balance as only the amount to be paid/refunded, and not the total tax obligation. Maybe I’m the only one, but what I care about is how much of my income goes to pay taxes, not the minor accounting detail of whether I have paid more than that amount already or whether I need to add more in April to cover the tab. It takes some work in TT to find the total tax obligation for the year. Not that it’s impossible or takes a team of accountants, but it’s not right out front. And they don’t show a total tax burden - Federal/state/FICA, etc. either that I have found.
Coupled with that, I get annoyed at how the tax prep companies advertise with claims of how much of your money they will get back in refunds. It’s like the weather man taking credit for the beautiful day, or apologizing for the hail storm. H&R Block didn’t get me my refund, Congress and my withholding elections did. OK, I know that’s not how advertising works, but I’ll be glad to get past April 15th and quit hearing those ads.
OK, enough tax time ranting for now.
@emilybee <<< Personally, I love paying taxes <<<
lol…oh Emily, is that really true? Who the heck loves paying taxes???
Yes, it’s true. I like the services I get from paying my local property taxes - which are pretty high since I live in NY. I get great public schools, a fantastic library, a beautiful town park with pools, ice skating rink, tennis courts, playing fields, etc. My leaves are picked up twice a week all through fall, my street is plowed constantly in winter - we have wonderful programs and classes offered year round - a wonderful program for seniors where they will pick you up and take you anywhere you need to go - lots of youth programs and services. I could go on and on but I’m sure you get my drift. Then, I like the programs and services my taxes pay for on the state and federal levels - most which I don’t benefit from directly, except for the fact I believe those programs benefit society as a whole (like Medicare and ACA, for example.) I believe paying taxes is a part of my civic duty. About the only thing I don’t like my taxes going to is the MIC - but I’m not in charge, so.
I got your joke at the surface level, deega123, because you could have written the same things in jest, without knowing that the fraudulent filers were just making things up. I just didn’t credit you with the deeper level of the joke. Sorry about that.
. . . and actually, I would like to take some credit for recognizing even part of a joke, in a tax thread. Doing taxes generally ruins my mood.
“Doing taxes generally ruins my mood”
Mine, too!!
Bad year for us, we owed and both S1 and S2 owed. S1 owed $1200 and he was not happy and asked if he could pay it in installments. I looked into it as we had never done that and found out about installment plans that have a fee and interest. Not worth the fee for what he owes.
I did learn about a 120 day extension to pay (not to file) and he signed up for that. He filed with turbotax and selected the option to mail a check. Then he went to the IRS site and applied for a payment plan, chose the 120 day plan. He was accepted into the plan, but there is no info about the interest rate or how he will get notified to pay or anything. He got a “Pre-assessed payment plan confirmation” which does say where and when to pay, but not how much. I thought there was a 1/2% interest per month (or maybe 1/4% if you pay online?) but the confirmation doesnt even list the amount. Has anybody ever done this?
I find it interesting that it doesn’t hurt as much when they take the money out all year as it does to pay a chunk at once. We still pay the same amount, and why give the gov’t a loan etc, but it still irks to have to write a check.
Patsam, it is a well documented psychological phenomenon - loss aversion:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/your-money/overcoming-an-aversion-to-loss.html?referrer=&_r=0
I hate paying all the taxes associated with traveling.
Get a great deal on a hotel until you get the bill and see all the taxes.