CT: Tax forms for 27,000 people contain the personal info of others

Ah, the reports of printing and mailing errors on tax forms are starting a bit early this year. Rob Polansky reports:

The Connecticut Department of Labor said Friday that tax forms mailed to 27,000 individuals contained information related to other taxpayers.

The department admitted the printing error on the 1099-G forms for people who collected unemployment compensation.

It said the department is required to report unemployment compensation payments of $10 or more on form 1099-G and that an error in the printing process caused the forms to contain correct information on the top portion of the form but pertinent information like names and addresses for someone else on the bottom.

“It was somebody else’s name, with their Social Security number and information on it,” said Pamela Richards of East Hampton.

Read more on WFSB.

A statement posted today on the department’s web site and linked from their home page says:

The Connecticut Department of Labor has determined that approximately 27,000 of the 250,000 tax forms mailed out to individuals who collected unemployment compensation payments in 2013 contain a printing error.

The Labor Department is required to report unemployment compensation payments of $10 or more on form UC-1099G. Due to an error in the printing process, the forms contain the correct information on the top portion of the form, while the bottom half of the document contains information pertinent to another individual.

Because the forms are printed in order of zip code, the agency is in the process of determining which towns are associated with the printing error so staff will be able to better identify those claimants potentially affected by the error. Because the forms contain social security numbers, the agency will also contact claimants that received incorrect forms to offer credit protection.

The Department is currently re-printing the forms and will mail them out again. The new mailing will contain the corrected 1099-G and an addressed, pre-paid envelope so the incorrect form can be mailed back to the Connecticut Department of Labor.

“We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause people who are in the process of filing their tax returns and we want to make sure individuals are aware of a possible error,” said Labor Commissioner Sharon M. Palmer. “Individuals receiving a 1099-G for unemployment compensation benefits are asked to check their forms for accuracy. Although the Department will be mailing corrected forms out by the end of the month, claimants needing their corrected form immediately can download a correct 1099-G by going to the Department of Labor website, www.ct.gov/dol and clicking on the blue button on the upper right hand corner labeled Unemployment Tax Form-1099G.”