he IRS is still digging out of a pandemic-fueled backlog of identity theft claims in which it takes the tax agency an average of 20 months to process a case, according to a new watchdog report.
Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person’s name and Taxpayer Identification Number to file a false tax return and then claim that fraudulent refund.
According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, case receipts with the agency’s Identity Theft Victim Assistance (IDTVA) unit almost quadrupled in volume in fiscal 2021, due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Five years later, the IRS is still dealing with “significantly elevated” case receipts “due to the increased prevalence and sophistication” of identity theft fraud, per the report. The beginning inventory of cases in fiscal 2025 was 473,608, and the agency finished the year at 315,740.
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