IRS is creating unconscionable delays for a major issue, watchdog says. Here's what to know.

The IRS is far too slow in resolving a major problem for taxpayers, who must wait almost two years for the tax agency to clear up identity theft cases, according to a new report from the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent watchdog that's part of the IRS. 

In April 2024, the IRS took more than 22 months to resolve identity theft victims' assistance cases, up from 19 months earlier this year, the report said.

The IRS had about 500,000 unresolved cases of identity theft as of April, the NTA added. These occur when fraudsters file a tax return using a taxpayer's Social Security number with the goal of claiming their tax refund — an issue that is typically discovered when the actual taxpayer files their own return. In these cases, the IRS freezes the second return so it can figure out which taxpayer is the legitimate one.