From Time:

1. The IRS is dealing with significant delays in resolving identity theft cases, leading to taxpayer frustration and refunds being held up. A new report states that hundreds of thousands of taxpayers are waiting an average of over a year and a half to have their issues resolved and receive refunds.

2. Delays in dealing with identity theft cases by the IRS are directly impacting two groups of taxpayers–those who are victims of identity theft and individuals whose legitimate tax returns have been flagged for possible identity theft. These delays can mean that refunds are held up, and taxpayers are forced to wait for months to resolve their issues.

3. False positives in the IRS’s system for detecting identity theft lead to millions of legitimate returns being flagged each year. Scammers filing a high volume of returns in other people’s names contribute to this issue, making it difficult for the IRS to identify and verify legitimate returns.

4. The IRS is struggling with staffing and training, contributing to the ongoing severity of the delay in resolving identity theft cases. The issues have only worsened since the pandemic-era tax changes and are inexcusable more than three years after they began.

5. The report raises concern that the IRS’s outreach and response to taxpayers affected by identity theft flags is inadequate, contributing to long refund delays. Improving hiring, retention, and training, as well as better allocating resources, could be potential solutions to these ongoing delays.



Read more: Identity Theft Leads to Delayed Tax Refunds From IRS: Report