Mysterious quarterly tax payments showing up on my IRS account

For about the past 5 years, someone has been making quarterly tax payments to my IRS account, and I'm completely baffled. I never made these payments, and neither has my employer or anyone I know. The amounts vary each quarter and don't follow any consistent schedule. Each year, the total payments add up to somewhere between $7,000 and $8,000. I've called the IRS multiple times about this, but they've been absolutely useless (shocking, I know). They claim they can't tell me who's making these payments or where they're coming from since they're processed through a third-party payment system. I've been filing my taxes normally, pretending these mystery payments don't exist, and based solely on my own financial information. In response, the IRS keeps sending me refund checks along with letters saying I didn't account for these payments on my return. At this point, I don't know what to do. Should I try to get them to fix what I assume is some kind of system error? Should I just keep ignoring these payments? Or do I just treat it like a "Bank Error in my favor" Monopoly card and keep cashing the refund checks? Part of me is worried this might come back to bite me somehow.

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18 comments

Jamal Anderson

•8M

This is definitely unusual! What you're experiencing is likely a case of misapplied payments where someone is using your taxpayer information incorrectly - either by mistake or potentially fraud. The good news is you're handling it correctly by filing your actual tax returns based on your real information. The IRS is acknowledging this by sending you refunds for the overpayments. However, you should definitely resolve this rather than just cashing the checks, as it could potentially create problems down the road. Here's what I suggest: Request a tax account transcript from the IRS (you can do this online through their website). The transcript might provide more details about these payments. Next, send a written inquiry to the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service explaining the situation. Unlike regular IRS customer service, they have more authority to investigate unusual situations like yours. Also, check if anyone in your family might be making these payments on your behalf without telling you - sometimes parents or grandparents help out without mentioning it.

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Jamal Anderson

•8M

The Taxpayer Advocate Service has special authorities to dig deeper into unusual IRS issues that normal customer service representatives can't resolve. They can access more detailed payment records that might identify the source of these transactions. The IRS generally has a three-year statute of limitations for most tax issues, so if this has been going on for five years and you've been properly documenting your attempts to resolve it, it's unlikely they'd suddenly demand all the money back. Make sure you keep copies of all your correspondence with the IRS about this issue, including notes about phone calls with dates, times, and representative IDs when possible.

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QuantumQuasar

•8M

I had a similar issue last year and discovered that the solution was much easier than dealing with the IRS directly. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze all my tax documents and account transcripts, and they identified the source of mysterious payments in my account. Their system can detect patterns in payment timing and amounts that might indicate who's making them. In my case, it turned out to be payments from my ex-spouse's business that were incorrectly being applied to my account because of an error in their accounting software. Without taxr.ai's document analysis, I would have never figured it out because the IRS couldn't tell me anything useful. The service analyzes your tax transcripts, prior communications with the IRS, and other relevant documents to identify inconsistencies or patterns that humans might miss.

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QuantumQuasar

•8M

You upload digital copies of your tax documents and transcripts, and their system runs analysis on them. They use bank-level encryption for all documents, and they delete your information after the analysis is complete if you request it. I was hesitant too, but their privacy policy is solid - they don't sell your information to third parties. The IRS simply doesn't have the resources or permission to do the kind of cross-referencing and pattern analysis that taxr.ai can do. Their AI can identify payment patterns, check for similar taxpayer IDs, and spot connections the IRS systems aren't designed to look for. They found that my ex's accountant had transposed two digits in a tax ID, which is why the payments were going to my account.

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Amara Eze

•8M

I have to admit I was super skeptical about taxr.ai when I first read about it here, but I decided to try it since nothing else was working. Uploaded my tax transcripts that showed similar mystery payments to what OP described. Their analysis showed that my elderly father had been making estimated tax payments using my SSN by mistake! He had set up automatic payments years ago when helping me with a business, and never switched them back to his own account after I closed that business. He completely forgot about it and had no idea he was still making payments. Wouldn't have discovered this without their pattern recognition catching the dates matching his retirement deposits. Now I'm helping him recover those overpayments from previous years. Such a relief to solve this mystery!

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Giovanni Greco

•8M

If you're still having trouble after trying other methods, I'd recommend Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent weeks trying to get through to an actual IRS agent who could help with a similar payment issue. The regular phone line had me on hold for hours before disconnecting me. Claimyr got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes who actually had the authority to investigate the source of mystery payments in my account. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with was able to trace the payments to a business that had been using the wrong taxpayer ID number for their quarterly deposits. Without getting through to that specific department, I would have never resolved it.

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Giovanni Greco

•8M

It's not about skipping the queue - Claimyr uses an automated system that continually calls the IRS and navigates the initial phone tree for you. When they finally get through to a real person, they connect you to that call. Basically, their system does the waiting for you instead of you having to sit on hold for hours. The service is completely legitimate. The IRS is aware these services exist - they just don't have the resources to improve their own phone systems. You're still talking to the same IRS agents you would normally, just without the frustrating wait time. Once you're connected, you still need to verify your identity and go through all the normal security procedures.

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Dylan Wright

•8M

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I tried Claimyr after posting my skeptical comment. It actually worked exactly as described. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes after weeks of failed attempts on my own. The agent was able to look deeper into the mystery payments on my account and found they were coming from a former employer who had somehow continued making tax deposits using my information even though I hadn't worked there in years. The agent flagged the account and started the process to get the payments redirected correctly. Saved me countless hours of frustration and helped solve a problem the regular customer service reps couldn't figure out. I'm genuinely shocked that it worked so well after all my failed attempts to resolve this.

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Sofia Torres

•8M

Some practical advice - make sure you keep documentation of EVERYTHING. I had a similar situation (though not as long-term as yours) and when it eventually got resolved, I needed to prove I had been trying to fix it all along. Save copies of: - All letters from the IRS - Dates and times of phone calls - Names of representatives you speak with - Copies of any refund checks you receive - Your tax returns showing you didn't claim these payments If someone is using your SSN by mistake to make payments, this documentation will protect you if the IRS ever questions why you received and cashed refunds.

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Sofia Torres

•8M

You should definitely deposit the refund checks - they'll expire if you wait too long. Just make sure you keep copies of them first. The IRS has already determined those refunds are rightfully yours based on the returns you filed. If it turns out later that someone was legitimately trying to pay your taxes (like a family member trying to help), you can always work out repayment with them directly. But more likely, it's someone using your information incorrectly, and holding onto the checks won't help resolve that situation.

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