IRS Mismatch Between 1042-S and 1040NR - Tax Withholding Problem

This is actually a fairly common issue with 1042-S reporting, and it doesn't necessarily mean you made an error. The mismatch could be happening for several reasons. First, make sure you're looking at the correct box on your 1042-S. Box 7 shows the federal tax withheld, which should match what you reported on line 62d of Form 1040NR. But sometimes taxpayers accidentally report the income amount instead of the withholding amount. Second, if your 1042-S was reissued, it's very possible the issuer submitted the corrected form to the IRS but you're still looking at the original. When forms are reissued, they should have a checkbox marked for "corrected" at the top. Check if your form has this marked. Third, the issuer might have made a reporting error when submitting the information to the IRS electronically. This happens more often than you'd think, especially with foreign income reporting. I'd recommend getting confirmation from the issuer about exactly what they reported to the IRS. Ask them to provide you with a statement confirming the correct withholding amount they reported. Then respond to the IRS with a copy of your 1042-S, the issuer's confirmation statement, and a clear explanation of why their adjustment is incorrect.

I had almost the exact same issue last year with my 1042-S forms. After weeks of stress and calling around, I finally found a solution using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). It's a document analysis tool that helped me identify exactly where the discrepancy was between what I had and what the IRS was seeing. In my case, it turned out the withholding agent had submitted an electronic correction to the IRS with a slightly different amount than what was on my paper copy. The taxr.ai system analyzed my forms and flagged the specific boxes where potential discrepancies might exist based on common IRS matching errors. It also generated a perfect response letter that I could send to the IRS explaining the situation. Honestly saved me hours of research and probably prevented me from making things worse by sending the wrong documentation.

Just wanted to follow up here. I went ahead and tried taxr.ai for my tax notice problem, and it was actually really helpful! The system immediately identified that my 1099 had been corrected by the issuer but the IRS was still using the original version in their records. It generated a perfect letter explaining exactly what happened and citing the relevant tax regulations. I sent it to the IRS last week, and I just checked my account online - they've already adjusted my account back to what I originally reported! No penalties, no additional taxes. The document analysis pointed out specific things I wouldn't have known to look for, like checking the submission date of the corrected form and explaining how the IRS matching program sometimes misses corrected forms. Definitely worth checking out if you're still dealing with your 1042-S issue.

If you're still having trouble resolving this with the IRS, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent WEEKS trying to get through to an actual person at the IRS about a similar withholding issue with my 1042-S and 1040NR. The hold times were ridiculous - like 2+ hours every time I called, and half the time I'd get disconnected before reaching anyone. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when an agent is actually on the line. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I finally spoke with was actually super helpful and could see both versions of my 1042-S in their system. They put a hold on any adjustments until they could sort it out internally.

I have to admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperately trying to reach the IRS about my own tax notice (different issue but same frustration). I decided to give it a shot since nothing else was working. It actually did exactly what they claimed. Their system called the IRS, went through all the menu options, and then just waited on hold. I went about my day, and about 45 minutes later, I got a call saying an IRS agent was on the line. The agent was 100% legitimate - they verified my identity with all the usual security questions and had full access to my tax account. The agent resolved my issue in about 10 minutes once I explained the situation. What would have been days of frustration trying to get through was solved in one phone call. I'm still shocked it worked so well, and I felt I needed to correct my previous comment.

Just to add some clarity on the 1042-S issue specifically - I'm a university administrative assistant who deals with these for international students all the time. When a 1042-S is reissued, the issuer (usually the university or employer) is required to: 1. Check the "corrected" box at the top of the 1042-S 2. Submit the corrected form electronically to the IRS 3. Provide you with a paper copy marked "corrected" The most common problem I see is that sometimes the issuer provides the corrected copy to the recipient but forgets to submit the electronic correction to the IRS. Or they submit it late, after the IRS has already started their matching program. Ask your issuer to confirm they submitted the electronic correction AND the date they submitted it. If they submitted it after you filed your tax return, that's likely the source of the problem.

Has anyone actually resolved a 1042-S issue through the IRS website or is calling really the only way? I'm having a similar issue but really don't want to spend hours on the phone if I can avoid it.