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IRS Publishes Top Errors

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 1999. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

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The IRS recently listed the most common errors professional tax preparers made on returns. The list reflects 1040 form information received by the IRS through May 19, 1999.

  • Taxpayer identification numbers or names for dependents on returns didn’t match the IRS or Social Security (SS) records. (The IRS didn’t allow the exemptions or didn’t allow all or part of the child tax credit.)
  • Primary Social Security numbers or names of dependents didn’t match IRS or SS records. (The IRS made the corrections.)
  • The tax preparer incorrectly entered or calculated the earned income credit.
  • The Social Security number for children who qualified the taxpayer for an earned income credit didn’t match SS records. (The IRS changed the earned income credit.)
  • A dependent’s last name was incorrectly entered on the return.
  • The return didn’t include nontaxable earned income from form W-2. (The IRS changed the earned income credit.)
  • The child tax credit was figured incorrectly.
  • The tax preparer failed to mark the box(es) for the qualifying child tax credit, line 6c(4).