More than half a million Americans are currently waiting for the IRS to resolve their tax identity theft cases — and the agency is taking roughly 20 months to close them, according to a new report from the federal government's internal tax watchdog.
The findings come from a recent report published by the National Taxpayer Advocate. The report calls the delays "unconscionable" and warns that the backlog is growing, not shrinking — even as the problem of tax-related identity theft worsens nationwide (1).
"For many low- and middle-income taxpayers, waiting nearly two years for a refund is not merely an inconvenience — it can mean falling behind on rent, utilities, transportation costs, and other basic living expenses," National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins wrote in the report (1).
Tax-related identity theft occurs when a criminal uses a stolen Social Security number to file a fraudulent tax return and claim a refund before the real taxpayer has a chance to file their own return.
In 2025, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported receiving more than 1,000 complaints about this type of crime in one year alone — a 26% jump from the prior year. Stolen refunds are typically redirected to bank accounts, prepaid debit cards or mail drops controlled by the criminals (2).