u/yagga_

After filing out my SF 86 I realized I have quite a few red flags. I’m wondering what my chances are of getting cleared. Appreciate any insight.

Red flags:

Finances -

- 2025 taxes paid late (resolved)

- 2023 taxes paid late (resolved)

- 2022 taxes not filed, no taxes owed (long story but after reviewing my taxes, I realized 2022 taxes were never filed. They have since been prepared by a tax preparer and mailed to the IRS. I am waiting on the IRS to review and file as of mid july 2026. I do not owe the IRS or state any money.

- medical debt around ~$1k went to collections (resolved)

- medical debt around $16 went to collections (resolved)

Foreign Contacts:

- 2 foreign contacts from Pakistan. Both are my aunts who attended my wedding in the US earlier this year. I also came in contact with them in 2024 when I visited Pakistan. I do not keep in continuous or close contact with them and have only ever talked to them in person. In fact, I hardly know anything about them and only have been in contact with them at my wedding and when I visited Pakistan.

Foreign travel:

- traveled to Pakistan in 2024 with my father as I wanted to experience what life was like there and visit the mountains. Also visited my dad’s family.

I'm currently completing my SF-86 for a Secret clearance and, while reviewing Section 26 (Financial Record), I discovered that my 2022 federal tax return apparently was never filed.

The return was prepared by a tax preparer, so I assumed everything had been taken care of. After digging into my IRS records, I found that my 2022 tax account transcript shows no return filed, and my tax return transcript contains several errors (including missing identification information and an invalid PIN), which makes me think something went wrong during the filing process.

I'm now trying to figure out the proper steps to get my 2022 return filed correctly. My Facility Security Officer (FSO) is going to review everything with me this week, but I'm also wondering how something like this could affect my Secret clearance background investigation.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? If so, how did you resolve it, and how did it impact your clearance process?

EDIT: Met with a tax accountant today and he found I’m owed a refund for that year at both a federal and state level. He says the irs are really slow at this time of year so won’t be for 6-12 weeks til this is resolved and filed correctly. Hoping my new company and FSO will understand and allow me to wait for this long to submit the FSO or if they’ll cut me loose.

On my resume I put that I have a degree in computer science when I actually have a degree in information systems. The job doesn’t require to have a degree in computer science. I am now going through a background check. Should I email my recruiter and let her know before the background check comes in. Really not sure what to do here.

I recently got extended an offer and am in the process of submitting my information for a background check through ADP. I am wondering what information do they validate against? I am only proving my Name, DOB, SSN, and addresses on the form. Does ADP match what they get back with the information I submitted on the job application or on my resume? How does that work? The reason I ask is because on my job application I put I graduated with a BA but I actually graduated with a BS and made a mistake on the application.