How can I find if my accountant filed my tax report or not?

Question

It was second year I filed my tax, for the first year I did that online by myself and It was perfect and I got my refund without any problem. One month later I tried to file my FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form and I got connected to the IRS and retrieved my information from there without problem.

This year I paid money to an accountant to do that for me, and after one week he told me he did that. After one month I received a letter from IRS and they told me you didn't file your insurance. Then I asked my accountant and he told me just send the letter that insurance just sent you, I did that but after that I didn't receive any letter or refund from IRS.

I want to know how can I follow up that with IRS because last week I was trying to fill out the FAFSA form again and it connected to IRS but they told me there is not tax report for this SSN. I tried http://www.irs.gov/Refunds and http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript but they didn't find any information for my tax also.

I don't know what to do now. The Accountant tells me he did his job and he is not going to do anything for me and IRS doesn't find any information about me in its database. How can I follow up that?

Answer 1

The accountant must provide you a signed copy of your return, and the e-file authorization form for you to sign which should show the amount you're supposed to get refunded. Once you sign the authorization, the accountant must e-file your return, and provide you the receipt of filing (usually an email from the accountant's software provider).

If any of these steps didn't happen - your accountant is lying to you, and is likely to have misused your information.

If your return was supposed to be filed on paper - then it was you who was supposed to mail it, via USPS certified mail. Usually, if a professional prepares a return, it would be e-filed unless there's a specific reason not to, or you explicitly requested paper filing (any of that would also be documented on a specific IRS form which you would sign).

If your accountant is lying to you, then you should use form 14157 to complain about him to the IRS.

Read carefully the letter you've got from the IRS. They're probably asking about the ACA insurance coverage information. It should have been reported on your tax return. See here for more details about what reporting you were supposed to do, depending on your situation.

I suggest you go to a (different) tax preparer, make sure he is in fact licensed (I.e.: has EA or CPA credentials), and ask him to sort it out. If indeed the original preparer didn't file your return, you can also (in addition to the form 14157) file a complaint with your State regulatory agency that oversees tax preparers, if there's such. If the original preparer made a mistake, it is your right to sue for damages (including the costs of sorting it out, and penalties that you might have incurred due to that mistake).