IRS matching program

Explain it to them.

I don't want to alarm you, but this could be a simple clerical error or someone could be using your name and SSN. You should immediately check your credit reports to make sure there's nothing strange going on.

-- Phil Marti Clarksburg, MD

snipped-for-privacy@alumni.usc.edu (Bow) posted:

You should start by immediately challenging the notice, and pointing out its inaccuracy. IRS official correspondence always includes either a "in reply refer to" line, or is signed by someone -- and you should identify the sender appropriately in your response. Make and keep copies of everything you send. In the event you submit evidence, do it with photocopies and keep the original in your files. If your mail elicits no response in a reasonable time, take a copy of your file, including your response, to a local IRS office and request a meeting with an agent. Again, keep your own records including names, dates and times. Bill

"Bow" wrote

Write them a letter and state that you didn't work for that company (the notice should tell you the source of the income). Explain who you do work for, hopefully full time in a city thousands of miles away from the other employer. If possible, send a similar letter to the other employer (if they provided that info). It's most likely someone is using (either by mistake or intentionally) your SSN and/or name with that employer.

-- Paul Thomas, CPA snipped-for-privacy@bellsouth.net

Tell them is was not you and provide proof that you did not work for the employer issuing the W-2. I once had a client who had this problem. Her purse had been stolen while she was on vacation. Later, IRS claimed she had not reported some W-2 income. Since the empoyer involved was somewhere in New England and she lived in Hawaii, it was not hard to convince IRS she was not the person involved. If the employer issuing the W-2 is in your area, you may have a harder time. You need to show them why you are not the person who earned the money. Lanny K. Williams, CPA Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd. Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

The notice you received was most likely automatically generated by a computerized matching program that checks only SSNs. For starters, there should be a telephone number for a person you can contact at the IRS regarding the notice. Call that number and see if the person you reach can examine the other information listed on the W-2 in question to see if it matches you, e.g., name, address, and employer. If the name and address on the W-2 in question are the same as yours, and you do not recognize the name of the employer who filed it, you may have a case of identity theft (i.e., an illegal alien may have stolen your SSN to use in order to get a job in the U.S. - as a result, the alien's wages and withholdings would be reported to the IRS on a W-2 with your SSN attached). At that point, you will need to move into high gear and move quickly to staunch the damage. Tax-wise, your next call should be to the Taxpayer Advocate's office to see what sort of help they can give you in terms of providing evidence that proves you did not earn the income reported on the suspect W-2 (e.g., if your real employer provides an affidavit that you typically spend 50 hours a week working on-site, it's highly unlikely that you would also have had another job where you also worked full time or longer; you might also be able to get an affidavit from the employer listed on the suspect W-2 stating that you are not the person who worked for him under the SSN in question, in which case you should have almost no trouble having the issue closed without further action against you). Non-tax-wise, if someone's stolen your SSN, you're going to need to check with all of your creditors and all of the credit reporting agencies to see what you can do about undoing any damage, both anything that currently shows up on your credit report, and any unseen damage that might arise later on (not all creditors file credit reports until the debtor stops paying, so the mere fact that your credit report is clean now is no guarantee that whomever stole your SSN hasn't incurred debts in your name that they will be unable to pay).

First - try to call the phone # & explain the situation & make sure to note who you spoke to & when You may need to respond in writing to the address on the notice. If that doesn't work, try contacting your CPA to help you respond to the situation. ___________________________________

-----> real address on hobokeni or hobokenx

I would start with the basics... request a copy of the W-2. It will likely be generated by a computer but that starts the process. Once you have that, you can determine where this income is generated. If you are lucky, it is for a state far from your own and to which you clearly could not have travelled. But if it is local, you can contact them and try to determine for what. This is only the first step which is, as in any court case, must be performed armed with knowledge. In your case, determine what the slip is, from where, and how it got attached to your SSN. From knowing that, you can make your arguments. But start with knowledge, not fear. Because, if you are right, you will win. (Though I got to admit, there are times it can seem pretty tough.)

If it's a local company, you might want to contact them to see what they know about maybe someone using your social security number. If you can perhaps get a statement from them that they do NOT know you, so much the better to answer IRS>

Otherwise, answer IRS telling them the facts and "suggest" that they find out from employer just who that "Joe Blow" really is. ChEAr$, Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

Call the phone # that is listed on the letter. It may be one number off of your social security number. Missy Doyle

Involving the Advocate's office at this point is way premature. If, indeed, someone is using OP's SSN it's not the first case IRS has seen. They have established procedures for resolving it and, once they're satisfied that OP is not the earner in question, they'll even flag OP's account so he doesn't get bothered in future years. Only if normal channels don't resolve it should OP go to the Advocate.

-- Phil Marti Clarksburg, MD