Victims of Identity Theft Continue to Experience Delays and Errors in Receiving Refunds

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should complete an analysis of identity theft case reassignments and revise inventory management processes to reduce the number of times cases are reassigned.

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop a comprehensive identity theft training course to ensure that assistors are capable of handling complex cases so that managers do not delay assignment waiting for a trained assistor.

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop processes and procedures to ensure that case closing actions and account adjustments are accurate.

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop processes and procedures to accurately calculate the average time it takes to fully resolve taxpayer accounts affected by identity theft. The time should be based on the average period between the date the IRS receives the taxpayers' tax returns and the date the tax refunds are issued.

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop processes and procedures to accurately report the number of identity theft cases resolved, including only those taxpayers for whom the IRS fully resolves their account and issues any refunds due. Until these processes and procedures are established, the IRS should disclose in reports the difference between cases resolved and taxpayers assisted.