IRS & Pennsylvania Identity Verification Letters
As technological advancements march forward, identity fraud criminals are becoming more creative, more skilled and more numerous. As a result, taxing authorities are taking additional steps to protect the identity of taxpayers. Recently,some clients have been receiving mailed letter correspondence from both the IRS and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue asking them to verify their identity.
These letters ARE legitimate and require action to process your tax returns.
More importantly, this is no cause for panic – it is simply a routine protective measure to protect the public.
We will outline below how to identify such correspondence, and how to address:
IRS/Department of the Treasury
1. The “Letter number” will read “4883C”
2. The letter will ask you to call the Taxpayer Protection Program hotline at 800-830-5084.
3. You should call this number and provide the IRS with the information for which they are asking.
Before your call, gather:
1. Prior year’s tax return
2. Current year’s tax return
3. Current year tax documents – most notably W-2’s & 1099’s.
4. If you need a copy of these documents – BSC will gladly provide them.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
This letter will ask you to navigate to mypath.pa.gov
1. This is the legitimate PA DOR site we recommend using to address this letter.
2. Follow the letter’s instructions to navigate to the “Respond to a Letter” prompt and enter your Letter ID/SSN; accordingly, once the site provides confirmation it has identified your letter, you should upload copies of:
a. Photo ID (Driver’s License/passport)
b. A piece of mail with your name & address listed such as a utility bill or bank statement.
c. The last 4 digits of bank account number you used to direct deposit any refunds due, if applicable.
d. Any PA tax forms reflecting PA tax withheld. This is usually limited to W-2’s but CAN include RK-1’s and 1099’s -again, BSC can provide copies of these).
Remember, the IRS will NEVER call, email, text, etc. demanding immediate payment or personal data.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact our firm if you are unsure the correspondence you received is legitimate, or if you need assistance addressing legitimate correspondence such as those mentioned above.
Likewise, if a friend or family member received similar correspondence, we would be grateful for the opportunity to serve them as well!