Who this is for
- Individuals whose paid preparer filed a wrong, altered or unauthorized Form 1040
- Taxpayers whose preparer kept or redirected part of a refund, or never filed
- Self-employed people whose preparer invented or changed business items
Not covered here
- Business returns such as Forms 1065, 1120 and 1120-S
- State tax returns and state complaints about preparers
- Suing a preparer or recovering fees, which are legal claims
My tax preparer made a mistake: am I still responsible for the tax?
Generally yes. The IRS says the taxpayer is legally responsible for what is filed, and warns that dishonest preparers can disappear and leave clients with the penalties, interest and audits (IRS: preparer misconduct). If the preparer filed or changed your Form 1040 without your knowledge or consent, you can ask the IRS to change your account; the IRS decides after review. The fix depends on whether you approved what was filed.
| What happened | What fixes your account | Reporting the preparer |
|---|---|---|
| An error on a return you reviewed and signed | Form 1040-X | Optional, Form 14157 |
| Preparer filed, or changed, your Form 1040 without your knowledge or consent | Form 14157-A | The IRS passes Form 14157-A to its preparer office; a separate Form 14157 is optional |
| Preparer kept or redirected all or part of your refund | Form 14157-A, with a police report | The IRS passes Form 14157-A to its preparer office; a separate Form 14157 is optional |
| Preparer never filed | You file the return yourself | Optional, Form 14157 |
A case stops being simple when several years are involved, the IRS has already opened an examination, a refund went missing, the return was joint, or a business return is also wrong. Gather first:
- The copy of the return the preparer gave you, and the signed Form 8879 (e-file authorization), if any
- Your IRS account and return transcripts (free IRS printouts of what it has on file) for each year (IRS: get transcript)
- Receipts, bank or card records of the fee, and texts or emails with the preparer
- Every IRS letter or notice, and your own records of the correct income and expenses
Form 1040-X or Form 14157-A: which one fixes my return?
Use Form 1040-X when the return you approved has an error. Use Form 14157-A only when a preparer filed a Form 1040 series return, altered yours, or misdirected your refund, without your knowledge or consent, and you want the IRS to change your account (Form 14157-A).
Form 1040-X corrects a filed Form 1040; file one per year and leave interest and penalties off it, because the IRS adjusts them. To get a refund, it generally must be filed within 3 years after filing the original return or 2 years after paying the tax, whichever is later. Form 14157-A covers individual accounts only; business accounts are not eligible. Because the request changes your tax account, the IRS requires significant evidence, and incomplete packages are delayed or disallowed:
- Form 14157-A, signed under penalties of perjury (one spouse's signature is enough on a joint return)
- A signed copy of the return as you intended it to be filed (for business items, with the Schedule C you would have filed)
- The copy of the return the preparer gave you
- Proof the person was in the business of preparing returns (the preparer's copy naming them, business card, advertisement, letterhead) and proof of your dealings for that year (Form 8879, receipt, payment record, messages); the form's instructions ask for these in every case, not only when the preparer did not sign
- A copy of any IRS letter or notice you are answering
With a notice, mail everything to the address on the notice. Without one, mail it to where you would normally file your Form 1040 (IRS: preparer misconduct). If someone other than a preparer you hired filed in your name, that is identity theft, which uses Form 14039 instead.
Tax preparer stole my refund or sent it to another account: what does the IRS need?
File Form 14157-A with an official police report. The report must be signed by an officer or otherwise accepted by the agency, and show the tax years, the preparer's full name and address, and a description of the misconduct and the refund theft (Form 14157-A instructions).
The form asks how much refund you received, how much you expected, and whether you asked the preparer or bank about it. If the refund never arrived or was a different amount, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to ask whether a refund trace is needed; the trace helps the IRS process your claim. The form also asks your consent to share your identity and the bank accounts on the return with the bank, to check where the refund went. Unexplained "fast refunds" that were really loans against your refund are also listed misconduct.
How do I report a tax preparer to the IRS?
Report a preparer online at IRS.gov/SubmitATip, which the IRS asks the public to use for Form 14157, Return Preparer Complaint. A complaint asks the IRS to look at the preparer; it does not change your tax account. To correct your account, use Form 14157-A or Form 1040-X (Form 14157).
| Your goal | Form | Changes your account? |
|---|---|---|
| Report misconduct by any paid preparer | Form 14157 | No |
| Complain about excessive fees | A complaint to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration | No |
Give the preparer's name, business, address, phone, website, any identification numbers you know, the fee and how you paid, and attach copies of what the preparer gave you. The IRS generally cannot act on complaints about federal tax matters more than 3 years old, and it covers federal returns only; report state-return misconduct to your state tax agency (IRS: preparer misconduct). To choose a new preparer and check credentials, see CPA, enrolled agent or tax software.
Who pays the penalties and interest when my tax preparer made a mistake?
The IRS charges penalties and interest to you, the taxpayer. Whether relying on the preparer helps depends on the penalty: it generally does not excuse filing or paying late, but it can support relief from the accuracy-related penalty (IRS: reasonable cause).
| Charge | Rate | Does reliance on the preparer help? |
|---|---|---|
| Late filing | 5% of unpaid tax a month, up to 25%; more than 60 days late, at least $535 for this tax year's return (less for earlier years) or the full tax, if less | Generally no; you are expected to know what was filed and get proof it was sent on time |
| Late payment | 0.5% of unpaid tax a month, up to 25% | Generally no |
| Accuracy-related penalty | 20% of the underpayment | Can, if you gave the advisor all needed information and the advisor was competent for the issue |
| Interest | Charged on tax not paid by the due date | No; interest on a penalty falls away only when the penalty is removed |
Rates: failure to file, failure to pay, accuracy-related, interest. When both apply, the late-filing penalty is reduced by the late-payment penalty for the same month; it reaches its maximum after five months, while the late-payment penalty keeps running.
The IRS does list inability to get records as a possible reason for filing or paying late, so keep dated requests for documents the preparer holds. Interest runs until the balance is paid, so pay what you can now; if you cannot pay in full, ask for a payment plan (IRS: reasonable cause). If you gave the preparer money for tax due and the IRS shows no payment, you still owe the tax: pay it, keep proof of what you gave the preparer, and report the preparer on Form 14157 (IRS: preparer misconduct).
Administrative relief may cover late filing and late payment without any excuse. For Form 1040 returns from tax year 2025 on, the Automatic Exemption from Penalty applies when the original return is processed, if the prior 3-year history of the same return is clean and the return is filed within 3 years of its due date. Earlier years, and recent returns that missed automatic review, can still ask for First Time Abate, which ends for returns due on or after January 1, 2027 (IRS: administrative relief; IRM update). Neither covers the accuracy-related penalty or the tax itself. Getting money back from the preparer is a separate legal claim, outside the IRS process.
My accountant never filed my taxes and went silent: how do I file myself?
Check your IRS account first. If the transcript shows no return for the year, file it yourself or through a new preparer, from your own documents (IRS: get transcript).
- Before the April deadline: request your own extension by paying online and checking the extension box, or by filing Form 4868. It moves filing to October 15, but not payment; pay what you expect to owe by the April due date (IRS: extensions).
- Missing documents: your online account shows wage and income information reported to the IRS, which can stand in for slips the preparer kept.
- The preparer says it was filed but the IRS shows nothing: ask for the e-file acceptance and see proving a return was filed before sending it again.
- The year would have brought a refund: withheld tax generally can be recovered only within 3 years after the April 15 following the tax year (IRS: time to claim a refund).
- Several years were never filed: see catching up on unfiled returns.
Agreeing to file and not filing is listed preparer misconduct that you can report on Form 14157. To remove the old preparer's IRS authorizations and hand records to a new one, see switching accountants.
Can I get my records and a copy of my return back from my preparer?
If the preparer is an attorney, a CPA, an enrolled agent or another practitioner under the IRS practice rules (Circular 230), they must promptly return, on request, the records you need to meet your federal tax obligations, and a fee dispute generally does not change that (31 CFR 10.28; 31 CFR 10.3).
State law and an unpaid fee for documents the practitioner prepared can limit what comes back; see switching accountants for those limits and the handover. A preparer in the IRS Annual Filing Season Program has agreed to the same duties (IRS: Annual Filing Season Program). A preparer with no credential, and not in that program, may not be bound by this rule. Every paid preparer must still give you a completed copy of the return no later than when it is presented for your signature, and faces a penalty for each failure (26 USC 6107; 26 USC 6695). Refusing to give you that copy or your original records is misconduct you can report on Form 14157.
You do not need the preparer to see what was filed: your online account shows transcripts of past returns (IRS: get transcript), and Form 4506 orders a photocopy of the return for $30 per return.
The IRS is examining items my preparer added that I don't recognize: what do I send?
If the preparer added the items without your knowledge or consent, send Form 14157-A, its evidence and a copy of the IRS letter to the address on that letter. If you approved the return, answer the examination with records of the correct amounts, and ask for accuracy-penalty relief if you relied on the preparer in good faith (Form 14157-A; IRS: reasonable cause).
Letter 4733 or Letter 6623 means the IRS believes a "ghost" preparer, one who would not sign the return or give a preparer number, prepared your return; the IRS asks people who paid a preparer to report them on Form 14157. If the misconduct is more than 3 years old, give your information to the IRS employee handling your case (IRS: preparer misconduct). A CP2000 proposes changes from an income mismatch and is not a bill (IRS: CP2000); see answering a CP2000. After you file a Form 1040-X, see amended return status and timing.
Example
These examples are illustrative; all figures are in US dollars, and each outcome depends on the IRS's review.
A home day-care loss the client never had
A preparer, without telling the client, adds a US$12,000 home day-care loss to the client's Form 1040. The copy the client received shows no such loss. The client files Form 14157-A with the return as intended, the preparer's copy and the fee receipt. If the IRS accepts it, the tax the false loss had erased, say US$3,000, becomes due with interest from the original due date. This assumes the larger refund the loss produced reached the client; if the preparer routed it elsewhere, the client also follows the refund-theft steps above, and the IRS's trace decides what the client owes.
Part of the refund went to another account
The client expected a US$5,000 refund and received US$1,500; the preparer had routed US$3,500 through another account as a fee the client never agreed to. The client files a police report, calls the IRS about a refund trace, and sends Form 14157-A with the report. Filing Form 14157 against the preparer is a separate, optional step.
The accountant was paid but never filed
The client paid an accountant, but transcripts show no return for two recent years. The client asks the accountant for e-file acceptance, gets none, and files both returns.
- Year 1: US$2,000 was owed. The three earlier returns were filed and paid on time, so administrative relief can remove the late-filing and late-payment penalties if its other conditions are met: the Automatic Exemption from Penalty for newer returns, or First Time Abate on request for older ones. Interest still runs from the due date.
- Year 2: US$1,000 was owed. Year 1 was itself late, so the history is no longer clean. Reliance on the accountant generally is not reasonable cause, so late-filing and late-payment penalties are likely, plus interest.
Different for you?
- The IRS shows no record of a return the preparer says was filed: see proving a return was filed.
- Income was left off and you need to amend one or more years: see amending for income left off.
- You received a CP2000: see answering a CP2000.
- The preparer never filed several years: see catching up on unfiled returns.
- Your refund is held for an identity or return review: see refund stuck in review.
- A partnership or S corporation return was also filed wrong: see correcting a filed business return.
- You are changing preparers: see switching accountants and choosing a CPA, enrolled agent or software.
- Several years are wrong, the IRS is examining the return, or a refund was diverted: get individual tax help.
Figures on this page
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| General amended income tax refund claim window Under IRC section 6511(a), for a claim after an original return was filed. Payment look-back limits and specific exceptions can change the available refund. | 3 years after filing the original return or 2 years after paying the tax, whichever is later | IRS: Time you can claim a credit or refund Checked |
| General monthly failure-to-file penalty rate Of unpaid tax for each month or part month a required Form 1040 is late, before the concurrent failure-to-pay adjustment | 5% | IRS: Failure to file penalty Checked |
| General maximum failure-to-file penalty rate Maximum percentage of unpaid tax; a separate minimum can apply when a return is more than 60 days late | 25% | IRS: Failure to file penalty Checked |
| Late-return delay that triggers the minimum federal income-tax filing penalty More than this period after the return due date, including a valid filing extension; reasonable-cause relief can apply. | 60 days | 26 USC 6651(a) Checked |
| Minimum tax-based late-filing penalty for income tax returns due in 2027 Lesser of this amount or tax required on the return after timely payments and allowable credits, for a return more than 60 days late including extensions; includes Form 1040-NR and Form 1120-F. Reasonable-cause relief can apply. | $535 Tax year 2026 | IRS: Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.52 Checked |
| General monthly failure-to-pay penalty rate Of unpaid tax for each month or part month the tax remains unpaid; special rates can apply in some cases | 0.5% | IRS: Failure to pay penalty Checked |
| General maximum failure-to-pay penalty rate Maximum percentage of unpaid tax | 25% | IRS: Failure to pay penalty Checked |
| Accuracy-related penalty rate Share of an underpayment attributable to negligence, disregard of rules, or substantial understatement | 20% | IRS: Accuracy-related penalty Checked |
| First tax year of Form 1040 returns considered for Automatic Exemption from Penalty Original Form 1040 returns for this tax year and later; First Time Abate remains the route for earlier years and for returns that did not receive automatic consideration. | 2025 | IRS: Administrative penalty relief Checked |
| Compliance-history period for annual-return automatic penalty relief Qualifying filing and payment history for the same return type in the prior three years; no prior filing requirement can qualify. See IRM 20.1.1.3.3.2.5(8). | 3-year | IRS: Automatic Exemption from Penalty update Checked |
| Filing window for automatic penalty relief Eligible original return must be filed within three years of the original due date; IRM 20.1.1.3.3.2.5(7). | 3 years | IRS: Automatic Exemption from Penalty update Checked |
| Date from which First Time Abate is no longer available First Time Abate is no longer available for eligible returns with original due dates on or after this date; Automatic Exemption from Penalty replaces it. It remains available for tax year 2024 and earlier, and for tax year 2025 returns that did not receive automatic consideration. | January 1, 2027 | IRS: Procedural update on Automatic Exemption from Penalty (IRM 20.1.1.3.3.2.5, June 17, 2026) Checked |
| Regular calendar-year individual filing deadline with a timely automatic extension Following the tax year; weekend, holiday, overseas and disaster rules can alter the applicable deadline. | October 15 | IRS: Get an extension to file your tax return Checked |
| Window to file a late original return and still recover US income tax withheld from wages Wage withholding is deemed paid on the 15th day of the fourth month after the tax year (26 USC 6513(b)(1)); a refund cannot exceed tax paid within 3 years before the claim plus extensions (26 USC 6511(b)(2)(A)), and an original return is the claim | 3 years after the April 15 following the tax year | 26 USC 6513(b) and 6511 Checked |
| IRS fee for a photocopy of a filed tax return (Form 4506) Per return requested; full payment must be included or the request is rejected; refunded if the IRS cannot find the return. | $30 | IRS: Form 4506 (Rev. 4-2025), line 8 Checked |
Primary sources
- IRS: Tax return preparer misconduct
- IRS: Form 14157-A, Tax Return Preparer Fraud or Misconduct Affidavit (September 2026)
- IRS: Form 14157, Return Preparer Complaint (August 2026)
- IRS: Penalty relief for reasonable cause
- IRS: Administrative penalty relief
- IRS: Automatic Exemption from Penalty procedural update (IRM 20.1.1.3.3.2.5)
- IRS: Accuracy-related penalty
- IRS: Failure to file penalty
- IRS: Failure to pay penalty
- IRS: Interest
- IRS: Time you can claim a credit or refund
- IRS: Instructions for Form 1040-X
- IRS: Get your tax records and transcripts
- IRS: Get an extension to file your tax return
- 31 CFR 10.28, Return of client's records (govinfo)
- 31 CFR 10.3, Who may practice (govinfo)
- IRS: Annual Filing Season Program
- 26 USC 6107, Preparer must furnish a copy of the return (govinfo)
- 26 USC 6695, Penalties on preparers (govinfo)
- IRS: Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return (April 2025)
- IRS: Understanding your CP2000 notice
About this guide
Published by Cloud Accounting under standing professional approval. This version has no separately recorded personal review. It explains general rules for the tax year shown. It is not advice for your situation.
Changes
- : First published.