What happens if an identity thief files a fraudulent return for you, but you owe taxes?
For taxes this year I'm going to owe the IRS, not get a refund, and I won't have any W-2 (although my wife will). So I'm curious what would happen if someone used this Equifax breach to file my tax return to try to get a refund.
As an aside: How do typical fraudulent tax returns work with a W-2 employee? Do fraudsters have to steal your W-2s as well as your SSN? If not, how can the return be valid if it doesn't match the W-2s sent to the IRS?
(1)1 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
When a thief submits a fake tax return in your name, it doesn't matter whether you actually owe taxes in real life or not. The thief will make up numbers and claim a refund. The IRS typically sends out refund checks before verifying that everything claimed on the return is accurate. It is later that the IRS goes through each return and decides which returns need to be audited for accuracy.
So the amount on your W-2s is irrelevant for the thief.
Remember, if this should happen to you, the thief has not stolen from you; they have stolen from the U.S. Government. You are not personally out this money, and you will still be given the opportunity to file your correct tax return.
As mentioned by Michael in the comments, some scammers were using FAFSA's IRS Data Retrieval Tool to obtain W-2 amounts to provide more accurate information on the fraudulent return. Currently, the tool is disabled while they work at making it more secure.
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2025 All Rights reserved.