Blogs

The Internal Revenue Service spotted $961 million in fraudulent refund claims on tax returns through early March, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in a report released April 7. The report provides interim results of the 2017 tax filing season and is available here.

"This period is critical for the IRS, because during this time, most individuals file their income tax returns and contact the IRS if they have questions about specific laws or filing procedures," TIGTA said.

The IRS confirmed identity theft cases involving 14,068 fraudulent tax returns as of March 2. Overall, the agency has received fewer returns at this point in the 2017 filing season than it did in 2016 because of fewer processing days, TIGTA said.