# IRS rejected our taxes because they've already been filed **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 21, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623 "2015-03-21T18:17:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/21 "2015-03-22T21:14:25Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > There is also [direct e-file.](https://www.freefilefillableforms.com/#/fd) I just submitted ours, in fact. It’s just not as user-friendly to some people as using a private tax prep company’s software. There is no such thing as direct e-file. Go to the very bottom of that page. Click on “Privacy Statement.” When you read the privacy statement you will find that this web site is operated by: Free File Alliance 7144 Main Street Clifton, VA 20124 The very first line in the privacy statement is: > [@](#): > > This statement applies to the Free File Forms Utility (“Services”) provided in the name of the Free File Alliance, LLC (“we”, “us” or “our”) at the site located at [http://www.freefilefillableforms.com](http://www.freefilefillableforms.com) Who or what is the Free File Alliance? It is the political lobbying arm of the tax preparation industry. Its mission is to make sure that the IRS never implements any form of direct e-filing that cuts out its members. The IRS has made noises about implementing its own e-filing, but every time it does, the FFA gets a hundred or so of its lapdogs in Congress to promptly co-sponsor a bill knocking them down, and the IRS backs down before the bill makes it out of committee. Why does the FFA sponsor this site? So their lobbyists can say with a straight face “Look, the IRS does not need to implement a free filing site. Private industry has it covered.” ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/22 "2015-03-22T21:29:17Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The idea that this isn’t done automatically in this day and age is completely astounding. The deadline for employers to e-file form W-2 has not yet arrived. Yes, the have to give the employee their copy in January, but the e-filing deadline for the federal copy is not until March 31 with an automatic 30 extension available (all they have to do is ask). To add to that. employers do not file with the IRS. They file W-2 with the Social Security Administration. Then the SSA takes its sweet time in getting the W-2 to the IRS. In the meantime, Congress has mandated that the IRS issue refunds swiftly. All those poor workers who let their employers over-withhold their taxes for a full year need their refunds NOW NOW NOW or their babies will starve. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/23 "2015-03-22T23:51:38Z")
I had a problem many years ago when the IRS said I couldn’t file because I had been listed as a dependent on my parents’ return. I was 27 years old, had not been listed on their return in almost ten years, had been filing Single since then. I finally contacted my Congressman and he got involved, and all of a sudden, “Oops, no problem” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/24 "2015-03-23T00:02:25Z")
> [@SJL4041](#): > > I thought I heard on the news that none of the Anthem data has yet turned up on the black market. Whoever stole it is just sitting on it, so far. Oh, yeah? My household was affected by the Anthem Hack. We have been _deluged_ with phishing phone calls and e-mails. I think whoever has the Anthem Hack Data isn’t sitting on it, they’re trying to complete their files for some really comprehensive identity theft scheme. ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/25 "2015-03-23T02:11:02Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > How is it possible that someone could file taxes in your place? > > I’m not familiar with the US system, living in Canada. Here, the tax folks send you an access code each year, in the mail. You need that code to e-file. If I have received the code then I don’t see how anyone else could file in my name. And, if I’ve not received the code in the mail come tax time, I couldn’t e-file and that would be a red flag for me: has someone swiped the code out of my mail-box? > > I just don’t see how someone else could e-file and you could also try to e-file?? > > ETA: meant to add: sorry to hear about this; sounds scary. **Northern Piper** , Canadians no longer need access codes to Netfile. (According to TurboTax, this has been the case since Jan 2013). The CRA uses your date of birth and SIN to validate your submitted return. They don’t even mail out the codes anymore. Just filed my taxes yesterday w/o an access code and got my confirmation number back in seconds. -DF ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/26 "2015-03-24T00:56:16Z")
There must be a breach in the IRS system. Inside job. Somehow they used mine in 2010. They collected like 20k in taxes and student loans. The kicker is that I was on unemployment practically all 2009 and I owed a few thousand in taxes from previous years. How they manged that is beyond me. Took me 1.5 years of paperwork and phone calls to fix it all with the IRS. I haven’t even bothered dealing with any credit frauds yet. :rolleyes: Good luck with that. (oh, no one noticed it until last years filing when the sent me the bill for $20,000) ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/27 "2015-03-24T08:32:08Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > **…Because we have investment income, we are at an even greater disadvantage because we can’t file until mid-March, even if we wanted to file earlier, because the banks aren’t issuing 1099s until then.** That is giving the crooks a very nice window of opportunity to make up whatever data they want and beat the real taxpayer to filing. Really? I got the 1099’s from all my investment houses over a month ago. And I could have filed even earlier because the yearly statements have all the appropriate information (although I don’t know what kinds of investments you have, so YMMV). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/28 "2015-03-24T15:09:47Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > …wul, THIS is a new thing. > > I’ve known folks who got their credit ransacked. I’ve known people who had their bank accounts rifled. But this is the first I’ve heard of folks having their TAXES filed for them… It’s a new thing the past couple of years. The identity thieves do it to obtain refunds. Anthem, huh? I’d better get ours filed tonight: we got notice of the Anthem breach a couple weeks back and I didn’t pay attention. As we’re due a large refund, this scares me. And, even though you owe money, the IRS may try to say “now you owe that refund money as well”. Sounds crazy but I wouldn’t put it past them, given that they’re now attempting to [withhold refunds from people](http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/04/11/treasury_confiscates_tax_refunds_the_government_asks_children_to_pay_parents.html) whose parents committed fraud (or were simply overpaid) _decades_ ago. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/29 "2015-03-24T17:26:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Oh, yeah? > > My household was affected by the Anthem Hack. > > We have been _deluged_ with phishing phone calls and e-mails. I think whoever has the Anthem Hack Data isn’t sitting on it, they’re trying to complete their files for some really comprehensive identity theft scheme. I’ve been getting a lot of marketing calls the last couple of weeks. Like 2 or 3 missed calls a day and they never leave a message except I don’t have Anthem I have NotAnthem medical insurance. ---
**Author:** ![akwally1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akwally1/32/3220_2.png) [@akwally1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akwally1)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/30 "2015-03-24T17:29:02Z")
This happened to us last year, and in fact I was notified by mail by the IRS that a joint return had already been filed in my name, but since the person I had filed with wasn’t the person on my previous return (my wife), they flagged it. I also use Turbotax, and even though they swear it wasn’t an issue with the software, I still think it was some sort of glitch in their system. Why file a fraudulent \*joint \*return for someone? Anyway, I had to call the IRS and explain, then they sent me a letter, then I had to fill out an affidavit, and fax it, the letter they sent and a copy of my paper return to the IRS. We finally got our refund in October (originally filed in February), what a pain in the ass. I also signed up for lifelock just so they could monitor for any new accounts opening or suspicious activity, and as of now, nothing indicating any further identity theft has popped up so I’ll probably drop it soon. This year, the IRS sent me a PIN that I needed to include on my taxes, so they could verify that it was indeed me filing them this year. Of course, I had no idea that they were going to do this and had already filed my taxes the previous week. :smack: So we’ll see how long it takes to get it straightened out this year. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/31 "2015-03-24T18:01:56Z")
akwall1 - Very similar for me but I got the letter before I filed but opted not to get the PIN. Apparently that was a mistake because they pulled my return for manual review. Four weeks and waiting since efile. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/32 "2015-04-03T10:41:07Z")
Update: The IRS confirmed that we were victims of fraud, however they wouldn’t give us details. I signed up with Anthem’s free credit monitoring and opened a ticket. They didn’t do a thing for us other than repeat what I already knew. (File a police report, notify the credit agencies, blah blah blah.) What blows is that we’d done everything to secure our identity, including signing up for credit monitoring on our own (Costco has one for $7.95/month for Executive members), securing our router, changing passwords, using robust passwords (I let Roboform create them), etc. We couldn’t do a thing about our insurance company except opt out of insurance. I think that this is the tip of the iceberg and the government is going to be shocked at how many dollars they’ve been defrauded as a result of this breach. I personally know 5 people who this has happened to, all Anthem subscribers. Before that, I hadn’t known anyone who was a victim of tax fraud. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/33 "2015-04-03T23:18:39Z")
Wow, what a mess. I did some googling after reading your update, and got hit after hit of sites about fraud, due to the hacking. This one is about 80 employees of Ball State University who have been hacked in various ways. :mad: > **[Ball State University confirms 80 identity theft victims](https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/03/10/ball-state-identity-theft-anthem/24734003/)** > > Ball State University announced this week it has created an identity theft information line and learned that 80 of its employees are victims of tax return fraud. I hope everything works out okay for you. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/34 "2015-04-04T01:08:15Z")
Happened to us, and our taxes are done by an independent CPA. They told us it would take about 6 months to get it straightened out. Fortunately, we don’t have an urgent need for the refund we’re supposed to get. There are enough people getting their identities stolen and false tax returns being filed that my local police department now keeps copies of IRS Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit) at the station for the convenience of the victims when we come in to report. And to top it off, today we got a robocall claiming to be from the IRS telling us that we were being sued and we must call them immediately. At this point I wouldn’t mind getting sued. We might be able to clear the whole thing up faster! ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/35 "2015-04-04T03:48:19Z")
Similar thing has just happened to us. Yes, Anthem insurance members. (Sigh, it’s been pretty crappy insurance, too.) I tried to do our taxes via TurboTax, and had an inscrutable issue regarding excess Social Security withholding, so took everything to a tax preparer. Well, turns out we can’t claim one of my children this year because apparently someone else already has (and my ex hasn’t filed yet, so it wasn’t him). So now we have to file without my son’s deduction, which took us from getting a small refund to now owing Federal, and owing even more for state. Don’t know how much yet, she’ll tell us Monday after everything is recalculated. Anyway, the tax preparer told us that we’ll have to file an amendment in a few weeks explaining why we couldn’t claim my son, and just wait and see what happens. She also advised us to do a credit freeze on him (a 13 y.o.? Is that even possible). Ugh, I thought I had crossed another task off my long to-do list, and of course it’s another mess. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/36 "2015-04-04T04:08:47Z")
> [@Elemenopy](#): > > Well, turns out we can’t claim one of my children this year because apparently someone else already has (and my ex hasn’t filed yet, so it wasn’t him). So now we have to file without my son’s deduction, which took us from getting a small refund to now owing Federal, and owing even more for state. I’m _not_ an accountant, but I’ve been led to believe that this is not the proper procedure. If you are the person who can legitimately claim your son, you should do so. You won’t be able to efile, but you should certainly take all the exemptions you are entitled to. Once the IRS realizes there’s a conflict, things will eventually sort themselves out. Someone on Reddit claims to work for the IRS, and this is his advice. Like all internet advice, take it with a grain of salt. If necessary, call the IRS for help. The number is 800-829-1040. Plan on being on hold for a while. > [@](#): > > I’m assuming you attempted to e-file for 2014 and claim the son, and it was rejected. The reason for the reject was the dependent was claimed on another return, and the person who did so was not entitled to do so. You have determined you are the only persons entitled to claim the son as a dependent. > > File your complete and correct return by mail, and allow eight weeks for processing. Be sure your documents that show federal withholding (Forms W-2) are attached, as well as any other supporting forms and schedules. Triple-check your refund direct deposit information. You must both sign a Married Filing Joint return. > > Do not send a letter. Do not send anything other than your tax return. Do not send breath mints. > > The Service processes your return and pays your refund. > > In September-ish of this year, our Very Old Computer (VOC) runs all the tax returns through a filter and picks up the same dependent claimed on two or more returns. The VOC generates out notices CP 087 to both parties. The notice does not determine who is right or wrong, and it asks both parties to review their returns and be sure they were entitled to claim the dependent. The notice advises the Taxpayer who claimed the dependent in error to amend their return, which would generally result in a balance due. The notice advises the Taxpayer who correctly claimed the dependent to do nothing. > > If neither Taxpayer amends, both returns could be selected for examination. The Service would ask both parties to provide proof that they met the tests to claim your exemption. Since you correctly claimed the dependent, your tax return is unchanged. The other party would then be assessed the tax, penalties, and interest, and face a possible ban from claiming certain credits on future returns. ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/37 "2015-04-04T04:22:41Z")
**RadicalPi** , thanks for your response. Already signed things over with the tax preparer today, so I’m not sure if I can make changes now, but I do appreciate the additional info. Do you have a link to the Reddit thread that you are quoting? I’m an occasional lurker there, I might ask that guy a question or two. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/38 "2015-04-04T04:50:25Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > I’m _not_ an accountant, but I’ve been led to believe that this is not the proper procedure. If you are the person who can legitimately claim your son, you should do so. You won’t be able to efile, but you should certainly take all the exemptions you are entitled to. Once the IRS realizes there’s a conflict, things will eventually sort themselves out. > > Someone on Reddit claims to work for the IRS, and this is his advice. Like all internet advice, take it with a grain of salt. If necessary, call the IRS for help. The number is 800-829-1040. Plan on being on hold for a while. Yes, I have to agree this is the right advice. It frustrates me that too many people think that having their e-file rejected means that the IRS has rejected their return and passed judgement on the merits of the return. The e-file processing program has a few high-level idiot tests built into it. Most of the time they find legitimate problems. But sometimes they catch false positives. Because of this misunderstanding an internet meme has arisen that in cases where there is a dispute between parents about who gets to claim a child “the first one to file wins.” You’ll see people repeating this on boards all over the place. If your e-file has been rejected, that does not mean your return has been rejected. If you are absolutely sure that your return is right, the solution is to print out your return and mail it in. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/39 "2015-04-04T04:59:04Z")
I received a letter in the mail from Anthem yesterday that my information might have been stolen. I had no idea that I was affected–I had BCBS for an 18-month period a few years ago, but it’s under CareFirst down here and I didn’t realize it was linked with Anthem. “Fortunately,” my data was already stolen last year in the breach at the University of Maryland, so I already have credit monitoring set up, plus security freezes on all my credit reports. But based on the content of this thread, I would be extremely pissed right now that it took 2 months to get a notification about this. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623/40 "2015-04-04T07:49:13Z")
> [@Elemenopy](#): > > **RadicalPi** , thanks for your response. Already signed things over with the tax preparer today, so I’m not sure if I can make changes now, but I do appreciate the additional info. Do you have a link to the Reddit thread that you are quoting? I’m an occasional lurker there, I might ask that guy a question or two. Here’s the thread: [http://www.reddit.com/r/taxes/comments/2xhfli/divorced\_parents\_claiming\_a\_child\_as\_a\_dependency/](http://www.reddit.com/r/taxes/comments/2xhfli/divorced_parents_claiming_a_child_as_a_dependency/) The comment I quoted is first. If your return has been filed, you can always refile it with Form 1040X. I believe that you can do this with no penalty if you do so before April 15. (Also, to be quite honest, I advise you to get a new tax preparer for next year.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-rejected-our-taxes-because-theyve-already-been-filed/715623.md?page=3)