Over 1 million fewer Ohio taxpayers asked to take ID quiz

More experience fighting tax fraud and better targeting of suspicious income tax returns made for a safer and smoother filing season for Ohio taxpayers this year. About 1 million fewer taxpayers were directed to take the Identity Confirmation Quiz to verify the legitimacy of their tax return before a refund would be issued. Last year, nearly 1.7 million taxpayers were asked to take the ID Quiz; this season that number was reduced by nearly two-thirds, to about 665,000 taxpayers.

Ohio Tax Commissioner Joe Testa said the knowledge gained over the past two years in defending against cybercrime was instrumental in improving the income tax process. The result: fewer taxpayers were subjected to the extra scrutiny while security was enhanced to prevent the theft of tax refunds.

“The analysis we’ve done and modifications we’ve made have allowed us to dramatically reduce the number of taxpayers being asked to take the quiz and still remain among national leaders in aggressively combatting these fraud schemes,” said Testa. “We will continue to refine our defenses to keep the state treasury safe and work to make the process more user-friendly.”

Testa says the ID Quiz received positive feedback this year from taxpayers who reported it was quick and easy to take, which is reflected in the 98.8% passage rate. In addition, as identity theft and attempted tax fraud have become more prevalent issues taxpayers said they understood and appreciated the extra steps the Ohio Department of Taxation has taken to protect their identity and tax dollars.

“Thank you to the millions of Ohioans receiving refunds who have supported our efforts in this on-going fight,” said Testa. “Even though fewer taxpayers are taking it, the ID Quiz is still an extremely beneficial tool.”

Since 2014 more than $526 million in fraudulent income tax refund claims have been blocked, and that number will increase. The Ohio Department of Taxation will be processing tax returns throughout 2016 so final data for the recent filing season is not yet available.