An official website of the U.S. GovThe IRS must significantly reduce excessive delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases to protect taxpayers from prolonged financial hardship and restore confidence in fair and timely tax administration.
To mitigate harm and improve service for identity theft victims, TAS recommends that the IRS:
Quarter 1 Updates
TAS is reviewing how to incorporate this initiative into an existing or new Collaborative Team, a Systemic Advocacy Project, or a potential FY 2025 Annual Report to Congress Most Serious Problem. Progress during this period was affected by the lapse in appropriations and related operational impacts, including reduced staffing capacity, reassignment of work and priorities, and a reevaluation of TAS’s approach to managing systemic advocacy objectives and associated initiatives.
Quarter 2 Updates
The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) determined that the most effective course of action for this Systemic Advocacy Objective (SAO) is to continue tracking as part of a previously elevated Most Serious Problem (MSP) in the FY 2024 Annual Report to Congress. TAS has provided the IRS with the following recommendations to further address this issue, as outlined in MSP Identity Theft, Recommendations:
Upon receipt of a taxpayer’s Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, timely acknowledge receipt of the form an communicate estimated timeframes for case resolution. Consider procedures for providing updates while case are pending under review.
Establish hardship criteria for expediting IDTVA case and provide a reliable way for identity theft victims with significant hardships who meet the criteria to notify the IRS to prioritize work assignment.
As a result of elevating this issue from an SAO to an MSP, TAS is closing the SAO and will instead track the IRS’s response and ongoing activities through the Annual Report to Congress (ARC) Recommendations Tracker page.
Quarter 1 Updates
TAS is reviewing how to incorporate this initiative into an existing or new Collaborative Team, a Systemic Advocacy Project, or a potential FY 2025 Annual Report to Congress Most Serious Problem. Progress during this period was affected by the lapse in appropriations and related operational impacts, including reduced staffing capacity, reassignment of work and priorities, and a reevaluation of TAS’s approach to managing systemic advocacy objectives and associated initiatives.
Quarter 2 Updates
TAS will continue addressing this recommendation through the Identity Theft Processing Change Collaborative Team. TAS remains actively engaged in these efforts and will continue working toward improvements in identity theft processing. Collaborative teams are established to address current issues affecting taxpayers and may include IRS employees from various Business Operating Divisions (BODs).
