IRS trouble

[tmarquez]

My stepson received a letter from the IRS saying he owes over $2000 in taxes for income he didn't report.

The thing is, he didn't earn the income. He is a college student who has only worked at 2 places in his life (the student union and the airport). They say he has a 1099 from a company in Oklahoma for $8600. He has never been outside the state of Florida.

Anyone have any experience with this? The letter syas he must file a petition in the US tax court. What can he provide that proves it wasn't him? Should we try to contact the company that says he worked for them?

We already checked his credit reports and there isn't anything funky on there.

Thank you!

 

[GinnyEmma]

Wow, talk about stress! I'd provide documentation of his age and information about two jobs he has worked. Better yet, call and talk to them. They were exceedingly nice when I screwed up something a few years ago. Good luck!!

 

[okeydokey]

Call the IRS directly and see what they need him to do. They are very helpful. Somehow it's probably a mix up with SS numbers.

 

[tmarquez]

Do you know if I can call the IRS for him? He's pretty shy and not great at talking to people.

 

[akcire]

My stepson received a letter from the IRS saying he owes over $2000 in taxes for income he didn't report.

The thing is, he didn't earn the income. He is a college student who has only worked at 2 places in his life (the student union and the airport). They say he has a 1099 from a company in Oklahoma for $8600. He has never been outside the state of Florida.

Anyone have any experience with this? The letter syas he must file a petition in the US tax court. What can he provide that proves it wasn't him? Should we try to contact the company that says he worked for them?

We already checked his credit reports and there isn't anything funky on there.

Thank you!

Sounds like it is either a mix up with social security numbers or it may actually be identity theft.

In addition to contacting the IRS to find out how to handle this, and I would be as blunt with them as you have been with us. He is a kid, he has never been to Oklahoma, he didn't earn this money, therefore he can't owe the tax.

I would also pull a credit report, and see if he has any activity that is not his activity. If he does have fraudulent activity then you need to work to resolve that issue additionally.

Good luck.

 

[5forDiz]

I would also add to the excellent advice from GinnyEmma and other posters here, that he gets documentation from his college(high school too if necessary) of dates he attended and it doesn't hurt to give Social Security Administration a call because they may be able to research whether his SS# was used illegally ( probably it was just a mix up but you never know, these days personal data stealing is common )

idk how it works with calling IRS, whether or not he would actually have to speak to them directly or if you can as his representative.

Best wishes

 

[Green Tea]

a 1099 would be for contract work, right? Did he do any computer programming, design etc. remotely?

 

[Green Tea]

But if it isn't really him, I think it won't be as scary to clear up as a letter from the IRS sounds. As others said, explain and go from there.

 

[tmarquez]

No, he never has.

a 1099 would be for contract work, right? Did he do any computer programming, design etc. remotely?

 

[GinnyEmma]

Do you know if I can call the IRS for him? He's pretty shy and not great at talking to people.

Call, explain, and ask. The worst they can say us no. Inthat case you might be able to have him over and use speaker phone or conference call.

 

[GinnyEmma]

Btw I was scared to pieces, and they were extremely kind and talked me through what I needed to do.

 

[Brer Shay]

This happened to me while I was a college student (20 years ago). Indeed, someone else used my SSN. I lived in Maryland but had somehos earned $52,000 in Arizona. Definitely not me. Call the IRS, they will likely be pretty kind about it. You'll be reporting a fraud issue and they'll give you a case number, request documentation, etc.. It will take several months to sort out, but it will happen eventually. In my case, it wasn't until the following January that I got the refund I was expecting and that came after I got my congresswoman involved. As these cases have become more common, they are generally expedited more quickly.

 

[dis-happy]

I'd also try contacting the company directly. If they look into it and find out it's a clerical error (ie. transposed SSN entered into their system) they can issue a corrected 1099 to the IRS from their end. It may speed up the process. GL!!!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

One thing worries me about the original post. If his only option, at this time, is to petition the Tax Court, it is possible that he may have ignored previous letters and would actually be in trouble.

If it is just a routine correspondence which asks for additional payment and gives detail, it can be responded to in writing.

If it is not just the routine correspondence you may wish to find the location of the nearest Internal Revenue Service office and have him set up an appointment with a Revenue Officer; you will be able to accompany him to the appointment and the matter can be discussed in person.

Mike (CPA Retired)

 

[cvjw]

My youngest son got a letter from the IRS stating that he didn't pay his taxes - we actually had paid his taxes, the IRS just deposited the payment into a different account. But, we just got a letter telling us that he didn't pay, with an envelope to mail the check in, and a number to call. I would also be worried about going to Tax Court - no where on my son's letter was this mentioned. All it took to clear up our situation was an hour on the phone with a really nice IRS agent. They figured out their mistake, and everything was fixed.

 

[eliza61]

Do you know if I can call the IRS for him? He's pretty shy and not great at talking to people.

Tell him it really is a new "kinder and gentler" IRS. I have to say the last couple of times we've called the person has been polite and informative. They gave us suggestions and went over the procedure step by step.

Generally they will not talk to the person who is not the ss holder. the speaker phone suggestion is great.

Encourage him to call himself. YOu can be his support in case he doesn't understand a question.

 

[ljcraw555]

Personally, I would call the IRS direct. I would not call the contact number in the letter, just in case it is a scam! These days, you never know! Good luck!

 

[cglaura]

Did he have any debt or cc that was written off/charge off/canceled debt?

I believe the cc will 1099 you on that.

 

[leight]

Does the letter give the name and address of the company in Oklahoma that he supposedly recieved the 1099 from? As well as contacting the IRS immediately- I would also contact the company and ask for a copy of said 1099-see what info they can provide on the employee listed on the 1099.

 

[Bungle]

Did he have any debt or cc that was written off/charge off/canceled debt?

I believe the cc will 1099 you on that.

This 1099C.

Have the son call. It really is best for the person to call in whenever possible. They don't bite