{"id":28101,"date":"2017-09-15T19:40:48","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T19:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?p=28101"},"modified":"2023-02-13T17:32:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T23:32:26","slug":"tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax Identity Theft"},"content":{"rendered":"

IRS Definition:<\/h2>\n

Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses your stolen Social Security Number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund.<\/p>\n

More from H&R Block:<\/h2>\n

Tax identity thieves steal taxpayers’ names and Taxpayer Identification Numbers (like Social Security Numbers or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers) for one of two reasons:<\/p>\n

To file a return to get your refund.<\/strong> This is the most common type of tax identity theft. You find out about it when you try to file a return, but the IRS rejects it because someone already filed a return using your information.\u00a0If you file a paper return, the IRS will send you a notice telling you the same thing. Chances are, you\u2019re the victim of tax identity theft.<\/p>\n

To get a job and report the income under your Social Security Number.<\/strong> This type of fraud is an even bigger headache to resolve than a stolen refund. If this happens, you\u2019ll find out about it later in the year, when the IRS sends you a notice about income that you didn’t report or pay taxes on. In fact, the income isn’t yours at all, but was earned by a thief and reported under your identity. Now, the IRS is auditing you or trying to collect taxes from you. These cases can take about a year to resolve. During that time, you’ll receive IRS notices and may even have your refunds frozen until the issue is resolved.<\/p>\n

Learn what you can do about tax refund fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IRS Definition: Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses your stolen Social Security Number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund. More from H&R Block: Tax identity thieves steal taxpayers’ names and Taxpayer Identification Numbers (like Social Security Numbers or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers) for one of two reasons: To file a return […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":605,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-irs","category-audits-and-tax-notices"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"Tax Dictionary - Tax Identity Theft | H&R Block<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about the two types of tax identity theft: refund fraud and employment-related theft. Get the IRS definition and read more insight from H&R Block.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tax Identity Theft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn about the two types of tax identity theft: refund fraud and employment-related theft. Get the IRS definition and read more insight from H&R Block.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"H&R Block\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-15T19:40:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-13T23:32:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elyce Luegers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elyce Luegers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elyce Luegers\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449\"},\"headline\":\"Tax Identity Theft\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-15T19:40:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-13T23:32:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":258,\"articleSection\":[\"IRS\",\"Audits and tax notices\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tax Dictionary - Tax Identity Theft | H&R Block\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-15T19:40:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-13T23:32:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449\"},\"description\":\"Learn about the two types of tax identity theft: refund fraud and employment-related theft. Get the IRS definition and read more insight from H&R Block.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/irs\\\/audits-and-tax-notices\\\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tax Identity Theft\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"H&R Block\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449\",\"name\":\"Elyce Luegers\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elyce Luegers\"}}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tax Dictionary - Tax Identity Theft | H&R Block","description":"Learn about the two types of tax identity theft: refund fraud and employment-related theft. Get the IRS definition and read more insight from H&R Block.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tax Identity Theft","og_description":"Learn about the two types of tax identity theft: refund fraud and employment-related theft. Get the IRS definition and read more insight from H&R Block.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/","og_site_name":"H&R Block","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock","article_published_time":"2017-09-15T19:40:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-13T23:32:26+00:00","author":"Elyce Luegers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@hrblock","twitter_site":"@hrblock","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elyce Luegers","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/"},"author":{"name":"Elyce Luegers","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449"},"headline":"Tax Identity Theft","datePublished":"2017-09-15T19:40:48+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-13T23:32:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/"},"wordCount":258,"articleSection":["IRS","Audits and tax notices"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/","name":"Tax Dictionary - Tax Identity Theft | H&R Block","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-09-15T19:40:48+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-13T23:32:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449"},"description":"Learn about the two types of tax identity theft: refund fraud and employment-related theft. Get the IRS definition and read more insight from H&R Block.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/irs\/audits-and-tax-notices\/tax-dictionary-tax-identity-theft\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tax Identity Theft"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/","name":"H&R Block","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#\/schema\/person\/91512e91ae00a37478a4f91b90022449","name":"Elyce Luegers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f00afad2c139e11049696685997b274ab85ac39af90c8f8bc5497183b023f35c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elyce Luegers"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/605"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28101\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}