SSA Says Taxpayer Is Dead

[FDNY]

Never had this but Reject says;  The primary SSN in the Return Header has been locked b/c SSA records indicate the # belongs to a deceased person.  Now I know she's alive and well.  She owes so do we file paper if not rectified after the weekend?  She's only one on return.     She better not be dead because SSA is sending her monthly checks and she owes me money.

 

[Possi]

Wow, maybe she's BAAAAACK!

Won't she get the same response if she files paper? Still, that seems like the only option. File and pay, then carry your risen self to the SS office and scream "HALLELUJAH!"

[Evan S. Golar]

That's interesting - this tax season I had a situation where a credit card company issued a 1099-C for a person who deceased in 2016.

[Possi]

Just now, Evan S. Golar said:

That's interesting - this tax season I had a situation where a credit card company issued a 1099-C for a person who deceased in 2016.

Talk about "forgiven!"

 

[FDNY]

I spoke with client and she remembers getting a correspondence from SSA to confirm her appointment.  She had no appointment.   She also thinks it's her ex wishing her dead.

[JohnH]

Either somebody at SSA made a data entry error, or there is some sort of identity theft/scam taking place here.  If I were her, I'd pull my credit reports to see if something fishy is going on.  

[Catherine]

Good idea, @JohnH - but she also may need to go to the SSA (with an appt; they won't see walk-ins any more, at least not around here) with the reject notice etc and make sure they have not totally mucked up her account.  There could be other problems lying in wait - including cutting off her checks, because after all she's deceased - not.

It could also be that someone with a similar number did die, and the IRS managed to mess up entering that ssn. 

[Lee B]

Interesting, my local SS office will not make appointments.

You walk in take a number and wait.

[Christian]

I thought I was unique having this problem. A lady came to me this year because in 2016 the Service notified her she was deceased ! Her husband died in 2015 and on filing in 2016 as single someone made a typo or something and showed her as deceased. She had to go to the local SSA office to prove she was yet alive and it took months to straighten it all out. The Service must have belatedly notified Virginia of her deceased condition so now she is having trouble getting her state refund for this year !

[Catherine]

1 hour ago, Christian said:

now she is having trouble

I have heard that these snafus can take a VERY long time to fix.

[FDNY]

2 hours ago, JohnH said:

Either somebody at SSA made a data entry error, or there is some sort of identity theft/scam taking place here.  If I were her, I'd pull my credit reports to see if something fishy is going on.  

She will be calling SS on Monday.  I wanted her to do a walk-in but she does work, and walk ins are available in Pittsfield MA if she can make it.  I did consider ID theft too, but didn't mention it to her as I thought maybe SS # would be shut off, but your idea to pull the credit reports is a good idea so I will advise that.

As Catherine mentioned, I did have her check her bank account and last deposit went in on 3/21, so the 4/21 deposit is crucial to her being dead or alive.  My thought is also an input error somewhere in the SS bureaucracy.  After all, nobody's perfect.

My thanks to everyone for your responses, and for Possi making me laugh...more than once.

[Alex]

Almost choked on my coffee while reading @Possi's post. Thanks for the laughs! 

[Evan S. Golar]

6 hours ago, Christian said:

I thought I was unique having this problem. A lady came to me this year because in 2016 the Service notified her she was deceased ! Her husband died in 2015 and on filing in 2016 as single someone made a typo or something and showed her as deceased. She had to go to the local SSA office to prove she was yet alive and it took months to straighten it all out. The Service must have belatedly notified Virginia of her deceased condition so now she is having trouble getting her state refund for this year !

Does this presumably deceased taxpayer still have a valid driver license?

[JohnH]

So I think she can use Mark Twain's line in her opening conversation with SSA - "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

[SaraEA]

This week a client whose wife died in January got a refund check made out to her.  This happened in our office once before, and that time the IRS was quick to issue a new check.  This time the client called IRS and was told that the preparer messed up.  Excuse me, the return clearly shows the wife's date of death and has "filing as surviving spouse" in her signature area.  It was efiled, so why don't they blame the computer?  Looks like the reduced money IRS has for training is taking its toll.  I feel so bad for these people.  Both had recently lost their spouses and now had to go through this mess. 

[FDNY]

I decided to have client mail in an Extension with payment and instructed her to watch to see if it is cashed.   She will try rectifying this with SSA by phone as she is a busy professional.   May take awhile for her to get down to the SSA office.  She thinks this is really funny as we've had some back and forth banter (I've been calling her Casper and after I tried resubmitting I offered condolences).   I also told her what you guys said and she will use Mark Twain's quote, she loved that.   She doesn't think we have a sick sense of humor, she's a Psycho Analyst and has heard worse.  She did say there is a famous Freudian psychiatrist who summed up death pretty well, he said "You're alive until you're dead."  I think I learned that is Psych 101.

My curiosity now is if she gets her SS check, 3rd Wednesday every month, we'll soon find out.   If not I predict she will find the time to get down to the office.

[Abby Normal]

The check will be cashed because banks process those. That's why it's mailed to a PO box.

[jasdlm]

My TP just went to the social security office, and they told him he wasn't dead (which I had already figured out).  Seriously, I got a reject that SS has locked his SSN because he is deceased, but SS office does not show that.  They were willing to give the letter saying he wasn't dead, so I will send that with a paper file.

Any thoughts on what is going on?

Thanks.

[FDNY]

21 minutes ago, jasdlm said:

My TP just went to the social security office, and they told him he wasn't dead (which I had already figured out).  Seriously, I got a reject that SS has locked his SSN because he is deceased, but SS office does not show that.  They were willing to give the letter saying he wasn't dead, so I will send that with a paper file.

Any thoughts on what is going on?

Thanks.

This is strange.  I have no idea other than some computer or human malfunction.   I'll let you know what my client finds out.

Also, to correct the quote from the famous shrink, should be "Be Alive, until you're dead."

[FDNY]

My client spoke to SSA and they confirmed that she was not deceased.  SSA said they would send an alert to IRS and I will try e filing again in a few weeks.