Taxpayer asks:
Hi Taxgirl,
I just received notice from the IRS that I owe taxes from 2014 for not reporting a 1099. The company they said sent a 1099 I have never worked for. I have no clue who they are and have been at the same job for years and the only income. What do I do? I have to dispute this somehow or pay the IrS even though I really don’t owe them anything.
Thanks,
Taxgirl says:
The first thing I would do is obtain a copy of the form 1099 (I’m assuming you don’t have one). The easiest way to do this is to order a tax transcript/tax history from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). There are a few different kinds of transcripts available. You’re going to want the Wage and Income Transcript since it will show your information returns, including any forms 1099 filed by third parties reporting income supposedly paid to you. Remember that you’ll have to request your transcript via form 4506-T, Request of Transcript For Tax Return (downloads as a pdf) or by using the Get Transcript tool since the IRS has halted delivery online due to fraud concerns: expect to receive a transcript in the mail within five to 10 days from the time the IRS receives the request.
When you have access to the form 1099 (or equivalent using the transcript feature) I’d reach out to the company directly using the contact information on the form 1099 (it should be on the top left of the form) and ask for further clarification. If it’s a mistake, the company should be pretty quick to fix the damage. If they refuse – and you’re sure that you’re in the right – write a letter to the IRS and with an explanation using the address in your notice/letter.
Three additional notes:
- You didn’t indicate what kind of notice you received from IRS. Pay attention to the information and deadlines in the notice: deadlines for taking action are not generally extendable. For example, if it’s a Notice of Deficiency (CP3219A), which is what I’m guessing, you have 90 days from the date of issue to respond or to file a petition with the U.S. Tax Court. Your deadline to respond should be clearly noted o the form: since that deadline is fixed, you can limit your right to relief if you don’t act in a timely fashion.
- If the amount in question is significant, you might want to consider reaching out to a tax professional for assistance.
- If, after contacting the issuer, you have concerns that your identity might have been stolen, contact the IRS immediately. For more, check out the IRS Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft.
Before you go: be sure to read my disclaimer. Remember, I’m a lawyer and we love disclaimers.
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