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Received 12C Letter for verification but it's blank - anyone else experienced this?

I filed my taxes through TurboTax back in March 2025. Initially got an acceptance notification and expected a refund of $3,750 within 21 days. About two weeks after filing, I checked Where's My Refund and it said my return was being reviewed. Last week I finally received a letter in the mail from the IRS - a 12C letter requesting verification of information. The problem is the letter doesn't specify what information they need verification for! The section where they typically list what they need is completely blank. I called the IRS (waited 3 hours) and the representative seemed confused, said they could see notes that verification was needed but couldn't tell what specifically I needed to provide. Has anyone else received a blank 12C letter? How did you resolve it? I really need this refund and don't know what to do next.

Sean O'Donnell

Yes, this happened to me in early 2025. The IRS is having a systemic issue with some 12C letters being generated with blank verification sections. Here's what you need to do: • Call the IRS again and specifically request to speak with someone in the Income Verification department • Ask them to check your IDRS records for specific verification requirements • Request that they document in your file that you received a defective letter • Visit your local Taxpayer Assistance Center with an appointment and bring all supporting documentation for your return • Get the name and badge number of anyone you speak with I went through this nightmare in February. The issue was they needed to verify my W-2 information but failed to specify that in the letter. After visiting my local office with all my documents, they processed my refund within 10 days. You can also check your transcript online if you have access - it might show specific codes that indicate what they're questioning.

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StarSeeker

Thank you for this detailed response! I'll try calling again tomorrow. Do you know how to specifically ask for the Income Verification department? The last person I talked to seemed clueless.

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26d

Sean O'Donnell

When you get through the automated system, press the option for "review of tax return" and then when you reach an agent, immediately say "I need to speak with someone in Income Verification regarding a blank 12C letter." Sometimes you have to be assertive. Good luck!

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Zara Ahmed

Seconding what they said - definitely check ur transcript! The codes can tell you what theyr looking at even when the letter doesn't 👀

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Luca Esposito

I had the same experience but give up after 2 hours on hold. How do you even get through to them? I've been trying for weeks now 😭

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Sean O'Donnell

I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent within 20 minutes. Best money I ever spent after wasting entire days on hold. They basically hold your place in line and call you when there's an agent ready.

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Luca Esposito

OMG THANK YOU I'm gonna try this right now. At this point I'd pay anything just to talk to a human at the IRS

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Nia Thompson

The fastest way to understand what's going on with your transcript and figure out exactly what verification they need is to use taxr.ai - it's insanely helpful for decoding all that IRS jargon! I was in the same situation last month with a weird verification letter and was so confused. The tool analyzed my transcript and explained exactly what was happening and what docs I needed to provide. Saved me hours of research and multiple calls to the IRS. https://taxr.ai

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Mateo Rodriguez

Sounds interesting. How exactly does it work? Does it just read your transcript or does it do more?

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Nia Thompson

It does wayyy more than just read it. It analyzes all your codes, explains what each means in plain english, shows you exactly what the IRS is looking at, and gives you step-by-step instructions for resolving issues. It even predicted when my refund would come and was spot on.

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Mateo Rodriguez

I just tried taxr.ai and HOLY CRAP this thing is amazing! I've been confused for weeks about my transcript and this explained everything in 2 minutes. Everyone needs to know about this tool seriously!!

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GalaxyGuardian

is it safe tho? not trying to have my tax info leaked to hackers lol

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Nia Thompson

Totally understand the concern! Yes it's secure - they use the same encryption banks use. You can read more about their security on their site.

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Aisha Abdullah

After dealing with a similar problem this tax season, I finally found a way to get someone on the phone at the IRS. I used Claimyr.com and got connected to an agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours. The agent was able to tell me exactly what was missing from my verification (they needed proof of my education credits) even though my letter didn't specify. Having a conversation with a real person resolved everything and my refund was released a week later. Worth every penny for the stress it saved me!

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Ethan Wilson

Another Claimyr ad? These are all over reddit lately 🙄

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Aisha Abdullah

Not an ad lol. Just sharing what worked for me after spending literal days on hold with the IRS. Before using it I couldn't get through at all. Believe what you want but when you're desperate to get your money back you'll try anything.

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Yuki Tanaka

I was skeptical too but after 4 failed attempts to reach IRS I tried it and it worked. Saved me hours of my life that I'll never get back.

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Ethan Wilson

Fair enough. Sorry for being aggro. Just annoying how broken the system is that we have to pay extra just to talk to the govt 🤬

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Carmen Diaz

This exact thing happened to me! The letter had the checkboxes but nothing was actually checked and the field for specifying what documents to send was blank. I ended up faxing them EVERYTHING - copies of W2s, 1099s, mortgage statements, the works. Two weeks later I got my refund. I think its just a glitch in their system.

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Andre Laurent

Did you claim any tax credits? In my case I got a blank verification letter and it turned out they were verifying my Earned Income Credit eligibilty. They never actually told me this until I got thru to an agent who explained it. The whole thing is ridiclous tbh.

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StarSeeker

I did claim education credits for my son's college tuition. Maybe that's what triggered it? So frustrating they can't just tell us what they need.

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Andre Laurent

Thats probably it! Education credits are a huge audit trigger this year. The IRS is verifying almost all of them with these stupid letters.

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AstroAce

The IRS is such a joke. They demand perfect accuracy from us but can't even send a proper letter telling you what they want. And then they hold your money hostage for months. I'm still waiting on my 2024 refund because of some verification BS. Good luck.

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Zoe Kyriakidou

Preach!! 🙌

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Jamal Brown

I've been waiting since January for my 2024 refund. Called six times and got six different answers. It's absolutely insane how they operate.

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AstroAce

its like they purposely make the system confusing so they can keep our money longer. total scam.

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Mei Zhang

Dude, blank 12C letters have been a huge problem this tax season. My tax guy says he's seen at least 12 clients with this exact problem. The IRS computer system is from like 1975 or something and keeps glitching out. Try calling the Taxpayer Advocate Service - they might be able to help when regular IRS agents can't.

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StarSeeker

Thanks, I didn't realize it was such a widespread issue. I'll try the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Do you happen to have their number?

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Mei Zhang

1-877-777-4778 is the main number. But heads up they're also super backed up so prepare to wait.

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Liam McConnell

Not to freak you out, but blank letters can sometimes mean ID theft investigation. When that happened to me, the letter was vague on purpose. You might want to pull your credit reports just to make sure nothing fishy is going on.

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StarSeeker

Oh no, I hadn't even thought of that possibility. I'll definitely check my credit reports. Is there anything else I should do if it turns out to be ID theft related?

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Liam McConnell

File an identity theft affidavit (Form 14039) with the IRS right away if you see anything suspicious. Also alert all three credit bureaus. Hopefully it's not that though, probably just a system error!

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Amara Oluwaseyi

Protip: skip calling the IRS altogether and go straight to your local Taxpayer Assistance Center. Make an appointment online and bring EVERYTHING. I spent 15 minutes with a person there and fixed what would have taken months over the phone.

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CosmicCaptain

anyone else notice the trend of these "verification" requests increasing over the last few years? seems like a delay tactic so they can hold onto our money longer. the govt is broke so they make us float them interest-free loans 🤬

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Giovanni Rossi

Conspiracy theory much? They're just understaffed and using outdated technology. Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence.

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CosmicCaptain

"Incompetence" that somehow always benefits them by letting them hold billions in refunds for extra months? Riiiight. Wake up sheeple!

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Fatima Al-Maktoum

I work in government (not IRS). Trust me, it's incompetence not conspiracy. You have no idea how ancient and broken our systems are.

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Dylan Mitchell

I think I can help! I actually work for a tax firm (not IRS) and we've seen these blank letters a lot recently. The IRS printing system has a glitch where certain verification codes aren't properly displaying on the letters. In most cases, they're verifying either income (W-2/1099) or tax credits. Your best bet is requesting your Wage and Income transcript online - if there's a mismatch between what IRS has and what you reported, that's probably the issue.

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StarSeeker

This is super helpful! I'll check my Wage and Income transcript. I did have a side job with a 1099 this year, so maybe that's what's triggering the review.

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Sofia Gutierrez

the irs is held together with duct tape and prayers at this point lmao. my advice? bug them constantly. call every. single. day. eventually you'll get someone who knows what they're doing.

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Dmitry Petrov

I work at H&R Block and we're seeing this all the time this year. It's 100% a glitch in their system. The blank space is supposed to indicate what documents they need to verify your return. Without fail, almost every time it's because there's a mismatch with the W-2 or 1099 info the IRS has on file versus what you reported. Send them copies of ALL your income documents via certified mail.

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StarSurfer

Certified mail is KEY. I sent my docs regular mail and the IRS claimed they never received them. Had to send everything again and it delayed my refund by 2 months!

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Dmitry Petrov

Yes! Always use certified mail with return receipt when sending anything to the IRS. Consider it cheap insurance.

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Ava Martinez

I had this exact issue and I'm so thankful I found taxr.ai because it saved me weeks of stress. I uploaded my transcript and it immediately showed me that the issue was with my child tax credit verification. The IRS letter was blank but the taxr tool found the specific code in my transcript that showed exactly what was being questioned. Seriously check it out at https://taxr.ai because dealing with the IRS is hard enough without having to decode their secret language.

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Miguel Castro

Almost identical situation here! I got a 12C in April with NOTHING checked off. After three calls to the IRS, each with at least 90 minute wait times, I finally found out they needed proof of my dependents even though they didn't tell me that. So annoying!

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