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If a paid preparer filed or changed your individual Form 1040-series return without your consent, use two IRS routes: Form 14157-A to ask the IRS to correct your individual tax account, and Form 14157 to report the preparer. Preserve the filed-return differences, refund records, communications, and preparer identification before you submit anything. The IRS may reject a claim that does not establish the misconduct, and a rejected claim can leave you responsible for additional tax, penalties, or interest.
Act first: find out exactly what was filed
Compare the preparer’s copy with IRS records
Obtain the return the preparer gave you and compare it with the return information shown in your IRS online account or transcript, if available. Check income, filing status, dependents, credits, deductions, withholding, bank-routing information, and the refund amount. A transcript that does not match the signed return you intended to file can indicate preparer fraud, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS).
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Save every IRS notice or letter about the return. Note the tax year, the date you discovered the discrepancy, and whether any refund was deposited, mailed, diverted, or never received. Do not alter the original documents while you are gathering evidence.
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Secure your records and accounts
Download or copy records from your bank, preserve emails and text messages, and change passwords if the preparer had access to your tax, email, or financial accounts. Keep the original files and work from copies. If you believe personal tax information was stolen rather than merely misreported by a preparer, use the identity-theft route described below.
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Choose the correct IRS route
| Situation | IRS route | Purpose and scope |
|---|---|---|
| An individual Form 1040-series return was filed or altered without your knowledge or consent, and you want the IRS account corrected | Form 14157-A, Tax Return Preparer Fraud or Misconduct Affidavit | Requests a change to the individual tax account so it reflects the information you intended to file; September 2026 revision |
| You need to report the preparer’s conduct, including filing without authorization or taking a refund | Form 14157, Complaint: Tax Return Preparer | Reports preparer misconduct to the IRS; August 2026 revision |
| Your personal or business tax identity information was stolen | Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit | Identity-theft reporting route identified by the IRS |
| No third party prepared or filed the return and you have only an individual account question | IRS individual-account contact option | For account assistance when the issue is not preparer misconduct |
Form 14157-A is not the route for a business tax account. The IRS describes it as applying to individual Form 1040-series returns. A business return or business tax account requires a different response based on the notice and tax form involved.
Prepare the evidence packet
Submit a clear, factual record. Include the documents that establish what you authorized, what the preparer filed, and what happened to the refund.
- The return supplied by the preparer and, if available, a signed copy showing the return as you intended it to be filed.
- IRS notices or letters concerning the return. If you are responding to a notice, attach it to the Form 14157-A submission as the IRS directs.
- A bank statement showing a refund deposit or a copy of a mailed refund check, when applicable.
- Emails, text messages, engagement letters, invoices, and other communications with the preparer.
- The preparer’s identifying information, such as the business name, address, phone number, business card, flyer, listing, and paid preparer tax identification number (PTIN) if known.
- A signed and dated statement explaining what you authorized, what you did not authorize, how you discovered the discrepancy, and the tax year involved.
- If you received no refund or only part of it, the official law-enforcement documentation required for that circumstance.
TAS advises filing with the information you have even if one or two items on the Form 14157-A list are unavailable. The IRS may still consider the claim. That flexibility does not remove a specific requirement stated on the current IRS page, including the law-enforcement documentation condition for a missing or partial refund.
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Request an individual account correction with Form 14157-A
1. Use the current form and instructions
Complete the September 2026 revision of Form 14157-A, Tax Return Preparer Fraud or Misconduct Affidavit. Read the current instructions before signing. The form is for an individual taxpayer seeking an account change after a preparer filed or altered a Form 1040-series return without the taxpayer’s knowledge or consent.
2. Describe the intended and filed returns
State the tax year, what you gave or signed, what the preparer filed, and the specific changes you found. Identify altered income, deductions, credits, filing status, dependents, direct-deposit details, or other data. Explain when you discovered the problem and whether you received all, part, or none of the expected refund. Use dates and document names rather than conclusions that you cannot support.
3. Attach the notice and supporting records
If the IRS sent a notice and you are submitting the affidavit in response, attach the notice. Add the return comparison, refund evidence, communications, identification of the preparer, signed statement, and any law-enforcement report that applies. Arrange the material in a logical order and keep an identical copy for yourself.
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4. Submit it as the current IRS instructions specify
Do not rely on an old mailing address or an outdated edition of the form. Follow the submission method and address in the current Form 14157-A instructions and the IRS preparer-misconduct guidance. Retain proof of delivery or electronic submission when available.
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The affidavit is a request for review, not an automatic reversal of the account. Read every IRS response, meet the deadline on each notice, and send copies rather than originals unless the IRS specifically requires an original. Keep a timeline of submissions, delivery confirmation, and follow-up correspondence.
Report the preparer separately with Form 14157
Form 14157, Complaint: Tax Return Preparer, is the IRS complaint route for the preparer’s conduct. The August 2026 revision includes categories for filing without authorization, refund theft, and other preparer misconduct. Complete the complaint with the preparer’s identifying details, the affected tax year, the return involved, the refund or account impact, and the documents that support your description.
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The IRS asks for specific and credible information and warns taxpayers not to submit AI-generated, unsupported, or purely speculative reports. Write what you personally know, identify the records that prove it, and label anything you learned from a notice, transcript, bank record, or another person. A complaint about the preparer does not by itself correct your tax account; when an account change is needed, submit Form 14157-A as well.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What changes when the refund was missing or only partly received
The IRS adds a law-enforcement-report requirement when you received no refund or only part of the refund. The report must be official, signed by an officer, or demonstrably accepted by the law-enforcement agency. It must identify:
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- The preparer’s first and last name and address.
- A description of the misconduct and the refund theft.
A bank record showing that money did not reach you is useful evidence, but it does not replace the official documentation when the IRS requires that report. Include the report with the applicable submission and keep proof that the agency accepted it.
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Distinguish preparer misconduct from identity theft
Use Form 14039 for stolen tax identity information
If someone stole your personal or business tax information and used it to file or change a return, the IRS identifies Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, as the appropriate route. Identity theft can overlap with a dishonest preparer, but the form choice depends on the underlying problem: preparer filing or alteration calls for the preparer-misconduct process, while stolen identity information calls for the identity-theft process.
Do not use Form 14157-A for a business account
The individual-account affidavit is limited to Form 1040-series returns. If the affected account belongs to a corporation, partnership, employer, or other business, review the relevant IRS notice and use the route applicable to that business return. Filing the individual affidavit for a business account can send the complaint to the wrong process and delay correction.
Use the individual-account contact route for a non-misconduct question
When no third party filed or changed the return and you simply need help understanding an individual account, the IRS directs taxpayers to its individual-account contact option rather than a preparer complaint.
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TAS cautions that the taxpayer must establish the preparer’s misconduct. The IRS is not required to accept every affidavit or change an account merely because a taxpayer disputes a return. If the claim is rejected, the account may continue to show additional tax, penalties, or interest. Continue complying with response dates on IRS notices while the misconduct issue is pending; do not assume that filing Form 14157-A automatically pauses collection or other deadlines.
If the amount is substantial, the return is complex, or the IRS challenges your explanation, consider obtaining independent advice from a qualified tax professional who is not connected with the preparer involved. Give that adviser the complete evidence packet and your IRS correspondence.
Prevent a repeat problem with the next return
- Review the completed return line by line before authorizing filing. Confirm names, addresses, Social Security numbers, filing status, dependents, income, withholding, credits, deductions, and bank-routing and account numbers.
- Never sign a blank or incomplete return.
- Keep a complete copy of the final signed return, every schedule, and the e-file authorization or filing confirmation.
- Verify the paid preparer’s name, signature, and valid PTIN. IRS guidance says paid preparers must have a valid PTIN and include it on returns prepared for payment.
- Ask where the refund will go and refuse any arrangement that directs it to an account controlled by the preparer.
- Obtain a written fee arrangement and retain communications about what you authorized the preparer to do.
- After filing, compare the IRS acknowledgment, account information, and refund activity with your retained copy.
The safest workflow is simple: approve the exact return you reviewed, retain the full file, and make sure the refund destination belongs to you. Those records make an unauthorized change easier to identify and document.
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