Policy on Job-Related ID Theft Changed by IRS

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to begin sending notifications to victims of job-related identity theft in a policy shift made in response to criticisms from the Congress. While the details of the policy change are yet to be defined, the agency will advise individuals about the possible misuse of their Social Security numbers.

The criticism came during a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, where Indiana Senator Dan Coats (R) expressed his concerns about the fact that the tax agency does not inform taxpayers when illegal immigrants use their Social Security numbers to get jobs, putting this false information on their W-2 tax forms.

According to John Koskinen, IRS Commissioner, the IRS does not “go after” illegal immigrants who use other people’s SSNs this way to get a job and file tax returns using their own IRS-issued taxpayer identification numbers. He said that everyone has an interest in having undocumented workers pay the taxes they owe.

However, one day after the hearing, the IRS told Coats that it would begin notifying new victims of employment-related identity theft in January 2017.