The GAO has recommended that the IRS expand checks on returns before sending out a refund. The goal is to correct errors and reduce identity theft.

The IRS processed 107 million refunds in 2010. Of those, 8.4 million had math errors. There are also errors with incorrectly claiming credits. There were 7.7 million errors from the Making Work Pay credit alone. A correction benefited the tax payer roughly 60% of the time.

The GAO also recommends that checks are made to detect systematic identity theft from individuals or tax preparers.