"Shyster1040" <Shyster1040[at]nospamhotmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

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

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"Bow" <jber...[at]alumni.usc.edu> wrote:

- quote -

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

Missy Doyle

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"Bow" <jber...[at]alumni.usc.edu> wrote:

- quote -

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.)

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Bow wrote:

- quote -

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

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"Bow" <jberman[at]alumni.usc.edu> wrote:

- quote -

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.

___________________________________
<<< Benjamin Yazersky, CPA [NJ & NY] > > -----> real address on hobokeni or hobokenx <-----

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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).

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"Bow" <jberman[at]alumni.usc.edu> wrote

- quote -

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
paulthomascpapc[at]bellsouth.net

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"Bow" <jberman[at]alumni.usc.edu> wrote:

- quote -

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

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jberman[at]alumni.usc.edu (Bow) posted:

- quote -

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

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"Bow" <jberman[at]alumni.usc.edu> wrote:

- quote -

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

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I received a notice from the IRS that I did not report
income. It seems that their matching program has matched me
to a W-2 which is not mine. How do I defend my self?

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