After spending hours doing battle with piles of paperwork, you have finally compiled and organized them. You put them in a folder and drive to your favorite tax preparer. They complete your tax return and electronically file it with the IRS. So far it’s all as it has been in the past. It’s when they call you the next day to tell you that the IRS has not accepted your return because your Social Security number has already been used to file another return, that your world tilts. You realize this isn’t a joke. No matter how hard you try to reset the situation, nothing changes. Someone else has filed a tax return using your social security number!
OR
You attempt to file your return online and although in past years everything was fine, but for some reason this year, it just doesn’t work. Yes, it could be a technical glitch, but it also could mean that someone has already filed using your social.