Experiencing Identity Theft During Tax Filing - Return Rejected Due to Duplicate SSN

This is definitely tax identity theft and you need to take action right away. First, file IRS Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit) which alerts the IRS that your SSN has been compromised. You'll need to mail in a paper return with this form attached since you can't e-file now. You should also place a fraud alert on your credit reports with the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). One call to any of them will place the alert with all three. Consider freezing your credit too, which prevents anyone from opening new accounts. Contact the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov to file a report and get a personalized recovery plan. They'll walk you through all the necessary steps. Unfortunately, resolving tax identity theft often takes months, sometimes up to a year. The IRS will investigate and eventually issue your proper refund, but it won't be quick.

I went through something similar last tax season and was super stressed until I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). It's a service that analyzes your tax situation and walks you through exactly what documents you need for identity theft cases. They helped me understand what was happening with my transcript and explained the differences between what the fraudulent return showed versus what my actual tax situation was. They also had templates for all the letters I needed to send to the IRS and credit bureaus, which saved me tons of time figuring out what to say. The step-by-step guidance for dealing with the IRS was honestly a lifesaver when I was freaking out like you are now. They even have specialized sections for identity theft cases.

I want to follow up about taxr.ai since I was skeptical in my earlier comment. I decided to try it anyway since my identity theft case was giving me major anxiety, and I'm actually impressed with what they provided. The analysis picked up on things in my transcript I would have missed, like specific codes that indicated when the fraudulent return was processed. The service walked me through exactly what to expect during the IRS investigation timeline and gave me specific language to use in my communications that seemed to get better responses. I just received my refund last week - about 3 months after submitting all the paperwork, which is apparently pretty quick for identity theft cases. I especially appreciated the alerts they set up to notify me when I should follow up with the IRS if I hadn't heard anything. Definitely helped me stay on top of my case instead of just waiting and hoping.

Since you're dealing with identity theft, you're probably going to need to contact the IRS directly too. I've been in your shoes - spent DAYS trying to get through to an actual human at the IRS. Complete nightmare with hours on hold only to get disconnected. Finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to answer. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was able to speak with an IRS identity theft specialist who put notes in my file and accelerated the review process. Getting direct confirmation from an agent gave me peace of mind that my case was actually being worked on.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After my identity theft situation dragged on for weeks with no progress, I decided to try it out of desperation. I was shocked when I got a call back in about 45 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line for me. The agent I spoke with was able to confirm my identity theft case was in the system but had been assigned to the wrong department, which is why I hadn't heard anything. They transferred my case to the correct specialist team while I was on the phone. My refund was processed three weeks later. I'm convinced I would still be waiting if I hadn't been able to speak directly with someone who could look at my file. The time and stress saved was absolutely worth it. And frankly, given how many hours I had already wasted on hold before using the service, it actually saved me money in terms of my own time.

Make sure to check your credit reports from all three bureaus ASAP! I had my identity stolen for taxes and a few months later discovered they had also opened credit cards in my name. You can get free weekly reports from annualcreditreport.com. In my case, the thieves filed a tax return with a small income amount to avoid triggering fraud filters but then went on a spending spree with credit cards. So don't assume they're done just because the tax fraud amount was relatively small.

I know this sounds annoying but you might wanna look into if someone close to you did this. When it happened to me it turned out my own parent had filed using my SSN without telling me because they thought they were "helping" since I was in college. Caused a huge mess that took months to untangle.

Don't forget to check if your state taxes are affected too! I had my federal return stolen and assumed my state was fine until I got a notice about "my second state filing" months later. Had to go through a whole separate process with the state tax agency.