Form 1042-S withholding discrepancy with IRS - what to do?

This is actually a pretty common issue with 1042-S reporting. The IRS often has trouble matching the information they receive from withholding agents with what taxpayers report on their returns. The first thing you should know is that you did the right thing by copying the amount from box 7 on your 1042-S to line 62d on your 1040NR. There's no additional calculation required - that amount should transfer directly. What's likely happening is one of three things: 1) The withholding agent submitted a different version of the 1042-S to the IRS than what they gave you, 2) There was a processing error when the 1042-S was entered into the IRS system, or 3) The IRS is mistakenly looking at the wrong tax year or has some other administrative error. Definitely contact the issuer of your 1042-S right away. Ask them to confirm not only the amount reported, but also verify that they properly filed the form with the IRS and that all your identifying information (name, taxpayer ID, etc.) matches exactly. Even small discrepancies like a hyphenated last name or transposed digits can cause matching problems. Once you hear back from the IRS with more details, you'll need to respond with a copy of your 1042-S and a clear explanation. If the withholding agent confirms everything is correct, request a letter from them stating this fact to include with your response to the IRS.

Hey, I went through almost the same nightmare last year with my 1042-S form and tax withholding. After weeks of stress, I finally discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which literally saved me thousands of dollars. They have this document analysis tool that compares your forms against what the IRS expects to see and flags these exact types of mismatches BEFORE you hear from the IRS. In my case, it turned out my university had submitted a slightly different amount than what was on my copy (off by just $78), but taxr.ai caught it. They analyzed all my tax documents and showed me exactly what the problem was - turns out there was a reissued form that had a different income code marked in one of the boxes that I completely missed. The best part was their explanation of how to fix it - super clear instructions for contacting both the issuer and the IRS. Might be worth checking out if you're dealing with complex forms like 1042-S that have so many boxes and codes.

Hey, I went through almost the same nightmare last year with my 1042-S form and tax withhol

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after reading about it here and it was incredibly helpful for my 1042-S issue! Uploaded my documents last night and the analysis showed that my university had used the wrong income code on my 1042-S (they used code 15 when it should have been code 16 based on my fellowship type). The service generated a detailed explanation I could send to both my university and the IRS, explaining the exact issue and citing the relevant tax regulations. My university's international office immediately understood the problem when I showed them the analysis and they're issuing a corrected form. What impressed me most was how it highlighted the specific boxes on the form where problems occurred and explained the implications in plain English. Didn't realize how many potential pitfalls there are with these international tax forms! Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with 1042-S issues.

Ugh, dealing with the IRS directly is always a nightmare. I had a similar issue with a 1042-S discrepancy and spent WEEKS trying to get through to someone at the IRS who could actually help. After three failed attempts and hours on hold, I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They have this system that navigates all the IRS phone menus for you and then calls you back when they have an agent on the line. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent was able to look up exactly what version of the 1042-S they had on file and confirmed it didn't match what I had. Saved me from sending in documentation that would have just been rejected again. Instead, I knew exactly what to ask my university for in terms of corrections. Honestly, I was super skeptical at first because I'd tried everything to get through to the IRS, but this actually worked when nothing else did.

Just wanted to follow up on my skepticism about Claimyr - I actually tried it yesterday after nothing else was working, and I'm shocked to say it actually got me through to the IRS! After weeks of failing to get anyone on the phone, I had a 45-minute conversation with an extremely helpful IRS representative who pulled up my 1042-S records. Turns out the withholding agent (my former employer) had submitted a 1042-S with my name misspelled, which is why the IRS couldn't match it to my return. The agent gave me specific instructions on what documentation I needed to submit and even provided a direct fax number for faster processing. I still can't believe I wasted so many hours trying to call myself when this service got me through in one attempt. The agent mentioned they're seeing tons of 1042-S matching issues this year because of some system changes on their end. If you're dealing with this issue, definitely worth getting an actual human at the IRS to look up what's in their system.

Random question, but did your income come from multiple sources? I had this same 1042-S problem last year and it turned out that I was supposed to combine all my 1042-S forms from different payers and THEN put the total on my 1040NR. One of my 1042-S forms got reissued mid-year and I accidentally counted it twice. Could something like that have happened?

Double check that the TIN (taxpayer identification number) on your 1042-S matches exactly what's on your 1040NR. I had a case where my university had an old ITIN for me on the 1042-S but I had since gotten an SSN and used that on my tax return. The IRS couldn't match them up even though all the dollar amounts were correct.

I've been through this exact situation and it's absolutely maddening! The good news is that these 1042-S matching issues are usually resolvable, but they do require some patience. A few things to check immediately: 1) Make sure your SSN/ITIN on the 1042-S matches exactly what you used on your 1040NR. Even if you recently switched from ITIN to SSN, if your withholding agent still has your old number on file, that could be the culprit. 2) Since you mentioned getting a reissued 1042-S, there's a real possibility that your withholding agent accidentally submitted BOTH versions to the IRS - the original and the corrected one. This would show up as duplicate reporting and could trigger the discrepancy notice. 3) When you contact your withholding agent, ask them specifically to verify: a) What version they submitted to the IRS, b) The exact dollar amount in box 7, c) Your name spelling and TIN as it appears on their submission. The IRS notice should include a phone number for questions about the discrepancy. While their phone lines are notoriously difficult to reach, if you can get through, they can tell you exactly what 1042-S information they have on file for you. This eliminates the guesswork about what went wrong. Don't panic - I've seen these resolved in the taxpayer's favor more often than not, especially when the amounts actually do match correctly like in your case.