BROOMFIELD, Colo. — A Broomfield man who has been fighting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for almost a year after mistakenly being declared dead is now officially alive (again).
Two months ago, Phil Anderson told Denver7 Investigates that the IRS mistakenly marked him as "deceased." He had been trying to get that changed for almost a year.
"Last time I checked, and in the immortal words of Monty Python, 'I'm not dead yet,'" said Anderson back in August.
Anderson said his state tax accounts were locked and he had not received his state tax refunds in two years. He learned that somehow his Social Security number was switched with his daughter, who had cystic fibrosis and died in 2022.
Denver7 Investigates found he is not alone. The Social Security Administration confirmed in a statement that approximately 10,000 people every year are mistakenly declared deceased, but it was not clear if that is what happened in Anderson's case.
When this issue comes up, though, it can affect everything from tax refunds to Medicare. U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen's office became involved, and two months later, Anderson finally had an answer.
"I'm not dead anymore. I've got a new handle on life," he said with a smile.
A spokesperson for Pettersen said they worked with the IRS and "successfully removed the erroneous 'deceased' marker." The representative's office is also working to make sure Anderson gets his state and federal tax returns.
"A big relief. A lot of weight off my shoulders," said Anderson. "And if I hadn't called you, I'd still be dealing with this."
Denver7 Investigates contacted the IRS to find out what happened and why the issue took so long to resolve. A spokesman said by law, they can't comment on specific taxpayer situations.
Anderson hopes that by shining a light on his case, he could help keep it from happening to others.
"As you know, I'm not dead. I think I'll go for a walk now," he said, quoting Monty Python.
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