First a Victim of Tax Return Identity Theft, Then a 2-Year Wait for a Refund

Federal income tax refunds usually appear in bank accounts less than three weeks after the government accepts a return — unless you’re the victim of tax return identity theft. In that case, it often takes about two years.

That’s right. If a thief files a fraudulent return using your tax information and pilfers your refund, you’ll have to wait an average of 675 days to get the money rightfully owed to you, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, a group within the Internal Revenue Service that works on behalf of taxpayers.

“That period of time is just ridiculous,” Erin M. Collins, who leads the service, said in an interview.

For reasons not yet clear, Ms. Collins noted, many of those affected are lower-income tax filers, who often depend on tax refunds to cover basic living costs. Those filers often qualify for tax breaks for working families, like the earned-income tax credit, that can result in significant refunds.

“These are true victims,” Ms. Collins said. “The I.R.S. should be helping these people.”

About half a million tax returns are in limbo at the I.R.S. because of identity theft fraud, a spokesman for the Taxpayer Advocate Service said.

Here’s how tax identity fraud works: Criminals use tax filers’ personal information, including their Social Security number, to file a fraudulent return and then ask that it be sent to their own bank account. The thieves usually file early in the tax season, often before the legitimate filer has submitted a return.