Mystery quarterly tax payments being made on my behalf - what should I do?

This is definitely unusual! The IRS computer systems match payments to accounts using either SSN or EIN. My guess is someone (possibly a business) is accidentally using your SSN when making their estimated tax payments. You're doing the right thing by filing your actual tax situation. The mystery deposits aren't your income or payments, so you shouldn't report them. The IRS is also handling it correctly by refunding you the overpayment. I would recommend keeping detailed records of all these transactions and the notices you receive. Write a letter to the IRS explaining the situation and request they investigate the source of these payments. Send it certified mail to create a paper trail showing you've tried to resolve this. Also, check your credit reports to make sure there's no suspicious activity, as this could potentially be related to identity theft, though in an unusual way since usually identity thieves take money rather than pay it!

After reading your post, I thought I'd share my experience with a similar weird tax situation. I was getting notices about payments I never made, and it took forever to figure out what was happening. After trying everything, I finally used this AI tax document analyzer at https://taxr.ai which helped make sense of all the IRS notices I was getting. The tool let me upload my tax transcripts and notices, then broke down exactly what was happening with these mystery payments. Turns out someone was using an SSN one digit off from mine! The analyzer showed exactly when and how the payments were being applied to my account, which gave me the specific info I needed when talking to the IRS again. Might be worth checking out since the IRS seems to be giving you the runaround like they did with me.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that the previous commenter recommended. It actually helped me figure out what was happening with my tax account! I uploaded my tax transcripts (you can request these from the IRS website) and the system immediately flagged that the payments were coming in under my SSN but with a different name attached to them. Apparently, some business owner was transposing two digits in their EIN, which happened to match my SSN. The analysis gave me the exact dates and transaction codes to reference when I called the IRS back. This time I got transferred to a department that could actually help, and they're now correcting the issue. Seriously saved me hours of frustration!

This situation sounds super frustrating! I went through something kinda similar last year when trying to resolve an issue with the IRS. Called like 15 times and spent HOURS on hold only to get disconnected or told they couldn't help. Finally discovered a service called Claimyr at https://claimyr.com that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the usual hours-long wait. They have this system that holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is available. You can see a demo of how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c For a situation this complex where you need to talk to an actual human who can investigate, might be worth trying since getting through to the IRS directly is basically impossible these days.

Ok I have to admit I was COMPLETELY wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was still stuck with my own IRS issue so I figured what the hell and tried it. Got connected to an actual IRS person in about 20 minutes when I'd previously been trying for weeks! The agent was able to pull up my account and see exactly what was happening. Turns out in my case, a former employer had been filing quarterly payments under my SSN instead of their EIN. For the OP's situation - when you talk to the IRS, specifically ask for a "payment tracer" on those mystery deposits. The agent I spoke with explained they can actually see the source account information with that specific request, which normal customer service reps don't have access to. Saved me a ton of headache!

I actually dealt with something similar about 3 years ago! In my case, it turned out to be a bookkeeping error from a small business I had briefly worked for as a contractor. They somehow had my SSN in their system as an employee AND as their business EIN (the numbers were similar). They were making their quarterly business tax payments using my SSN by mistake. Document EVERYTHING. Keep copies of all the refund checks and letters. Take detailed notes of every IRS call including date, time, and representative name if possible. One thing that worked for me: request your "Wage and Income Transcript" and your "Account Transcript" directly from the IRS. These will show ALL reported income and ALL payments. Look for anything that doesn't match your actual situation.

This happened to someone in my family! It ended up being a case where two people had very similar names and SSNs, and a tax preparer was entering the wrong one. The tax software they used was auto-filling YOUR info instead of the other person's. The most important thing: DON'T JUST KEEP CASHING THE CHECKS without resolving this! When the mistake eventually gets discovered (and it will), the other taxpayer will realize they've been paying your taxes, and the IRS might come after you for the full amount plus interest if they think you were knowingly accepting payments that weren't yours. Request a Tax Identity Theft Affidavit (Form 14039) and submit it. This will flag your account for additional review.