A California woman says her estranged husband filed a joint federal tax return using her Social Security number without her consent, redirected more than $14,000 in refunds to his own bank account, and left her dealing with the fallout while navigating divorce and custody proceedings.
The woman shared her story in Reddit’s r/tax forum, where she detailed what she described as a long pattern of financial deception and control during the breakdown of their marriage.
‘He Filed Anyway’
According to the post, the woman said her estranged husband asked for her W-2 in March, but she refused to provide it. She said she repeatedly told him she would not make any tax decisions until speaking with an attorney.
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“I told him at least 10 times – through our court-ordered co-parenting app (TalkingParents), text messages, and in person – that I would not make any tax decisions until I spoke with an attorney,” she wrote. “He acknowledged it. He filed anyway.”
The woman said the return omitted more than $15,000 of her income while directing the entire refund into his personal bank account.
“My refund alone should have been over $7,000,” she wrote. “He received $4,000. By filing without my consent he took money my daughter and I desperately needed.”
She also said he used an address where she had never lived and falsely listed it as her residence on the return.
The post drew attention from people familiar with tax disputes, identity theft cases and divorce-related financial battles. Many commenters encouraged her to continue documenting every communication and interaction connected to the case.
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The woman said she has already filed IRS Form 14039 for identity theft and Form 8857 for innocent spouse relief, submitted her own tax return by mail, filed a police report and reported the situation to both the Federal Trade Commission and California’s Franchise Tax Board.
Still, she expressed frustration over how much of the burden appeared to fall on her.
“Why am I the one fixing this?” she asked. “He used my SSN without permission. He filed without my signature. He pocketed a refund that was never his.”
Credit Freeze And IRS PIN Protection
Many of the most-upvoted responses focused on preventing future misuse of her SSN and protecting her child’s identity.
Several people encouraged her to get an IRS Identity Protection PIN, which prevents anyone from electronically filing a tax return without the assigned code.
Others advised her to freeze her credit and her child’s credit to prevent additional forms of identity theft.
“If your ex will steal your identity for a tax return, he may be inclined to use kids’ SSNs to obtain lines of credit,” another commenter warned.
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Multiple people also recommended contacting the Taxpayer Advocate Service because the case involves alleged identity theft, financial hardship and an already-blocked electronic filing.
Although many commenters said the IRS process can move …
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