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After being contacted by the IRS, you’re probably asking yourself “why did I get a 4883C letter?” You submitted your tax return on time, made sure all of your finances were properly recorded and you even enlisted the help of tax prep services to better organize your paperwork; everything was squared away.
What went wrong? The short answer is probably nothing! The IRS is not auditing or examining your return for an evasion-related concern, rather, they want to be certain the information you provided is completely verified. Ease your worries as we break down what that Letter 4883C means and how to mediate with the IRS.
What does Letter 4883C mean?
No one likes to receive any direct contact from the IRS Identity Verification department because it usually means being delivered bad or scary news. Fortunately recipients of the 4883C letter are not actually in any sort of trouble.
In a nutshell, the 4883C means the IRS just wants to talk. They received your tax return but require a little extra identity verification to accurately process your forms.
The Letter 4883C will only reach you in paper mail form, so if you have received mail from an online “IRS,” immediately report it to the IRS. The IRS never sends any notices through electronic mail or social media, it is likely the e-mail or text you received was fraudulent.
What did I do wrong?
To best understand your 4883C Letter, you should know that you are not in any form of trouble with the IRS. In order to be a recipient of a 4883C Letter, the IRS must have located small errors or questionable information on your return. They want to be absolutely sure that it was you who filed your return and not someone who may have stolen your identity. The IRS is constantly working to detect suspicious returns, and with the recent surge in tax-related identity theft, they’re doing their best to protect hard-working taxpayers like you.
Along with this surge in identity fraud has been a surge in issuance of 4883C Letters. So rest assured that it’s not just you who has been contacted by the IRS! You might even find that they actually help you. Do make note of the Letter 4883C’s issue date. You are given 30 days to contact the IRS Identity Verification department to resolve the issue. If you fail to do so, you could face penalties and delay the time in which you’d receive your tax refund.
IRS Letter 4883C FAQ’s
Receiving an IRS Letter 4883C can be an anxiety-inducing experience if you’ve never dealt with one. The good news is that Letter 4883C isn’t actually a very big deal. If you receive this letter from the IRS, it’s important that you know the steps to take to remedy the situation.
Why did I receive IRS letter 4883C in the mail?
Most of the time when you receive a letter from the IRS, it’s because you owe money or the refund you received was too large or too small. However, IRS Letter 4883C isn’t designed to deliver any bad news; instead, this letter is simply the IRS’s way of letting you know they need to talk to you.
Generally, the IRS will send you a Letter 4883C because there was some sort of problem with your tax return. This problem is typically minor and doesn’t greatly affect the outcome of your tax return. However, it’s important that the IRS has all the correct information on file so your taxes can be withheld properly in the coming years.
One of the primary reasons the IRS sends Letter 4883C is to prevent fraud. If the information on your tax return doesn’t seem right, the IRS may assume that somebody else filed a fraudulent tax return on your behalf. If you did file a tax return, that means the IRS found a small error or incorrect information on your tax return. A simple phone call to the ID verify phone number to verify or correct the information on your tax return is all it takes to get back on track.
How do I respond to a 4883C Letter And Contact The IRS Identity Verification department?
While it is true that the IRS can seem like an intimidating Big Brother financial force, it’s easy to contact them. In the event that you were sent a 4883C letter, you’ll be required to reach out to them to complete the tax return process.
Though you can count on a hired advocate or taw lawyer to help with taxes, they can’t do the calling for you. The toll free number will put you through to a representative who will walk you through the next steps. For guaranteed live assistance, you can call the IRS Identity Verification department at 1-800-830-5084 from 7AM to 7PM, Monday through Friday. Before calling, make sure you have the following documentation handy:
- Your 4883C Letter
- Your Social Security Number
- The tax return corresponding to the letter
- A tax return from a prior year
- Any relevant tax documentation for each year, this can include a W-2 , Schedule F, Form 1099, Schedule D, etc.
Be aware that while on the phone with an IRS representative, they will not be able to answer any other tax related inquiries you may have. Like you, the IRS wants to handle the situation promptly and accurately. During the call, the IRS representative will ask you a series of questions pertaining to your personal information and tax history. We highly recommend having the above listed documents in front of you before picking up the phone to dial- it will make the call smoother and less intimidating. If the IRS representative feels as though you have provided satisfactory enough information to prove your identity, they will give your return the go-ahead to finish processing. However if the information provided is not sufficient enough, then you may need to speak with a tax lawyer to mediate.
Can I respond to an IRS letter 4883C online?
Dealing with the IRS can feel overwhelming, especially if you don’t like talking on the phone. While you might not like talking on the phone and using the ID verify phone number, the IRS communicates via paper mail and phone calls to help protect your identity.
When you receive a Letter 4883C from the IRS, the first thing you should do is call the IRS. Unfortunately, you cannot pay somebody to call the IRS for you, even if you give them power of attorney. The IRS will want to speak with you to verify the information on your tax return and make sure you’re the one who filed the return. Fortunately, this verification process doesn’t take long in most cases since the errors are typically minor. It could be that you missed a digit in one field or accidentally marked the wrong box, but the chances are you didn’t make a serious mistake.
If you receive an online notification from somebody claiming to be the IRS, call the IRS and report the sender right away. The IRS will not contact you online or via email, so any such contact is an attempt to steal your identity.
What happens after I call the IRS?
You did it—you called the IRS, listened to many minutes of hold music and finally spoke to a representative. What’s next with IRS letter 488c3? If your call to the IRS ended painlessly and you were informed that your return and refund would be processed, you will need to wait up to nine weeks to receive the funds. If you’ve passed the nine week mark and haven’t yet received your refund, it may be helpful to reach out to the IRS again. It’s possible that there was just a simple delay in getting your refund back to you. It is also possible that you may need to restart the process. Again, this is an absolute worst case scenario- allow the IRS the full nine week span to handle your case. In essence, when the IRS rep completes your verification process, they put your tax return back into the queue of all tax returns. This process has reportedly taken some taxpayers three weeks to see a refund appear while others reported nine weeks.
Final Notes
Dealing with the IRS is no small feat and it takes lots of research and documentation, but knowing it is possible to resolve authentication issues makes a world of a difference. Don’t panic if a Letter 4338C finds its way into your mailbox, just be prepared to prove who you are and wait for the IRS to complete their verification process.
Contact Community Tax today for more information on tax refund advice, tax resolution services, free consultations and more. Not the tax form you were looking for? Head over to our tax form library for more explanations and tips to help you respond to IRS tax forms.