The tax season is going on.
If you still have not recorded your return, you still have time. But the IRS wants consumers to be kept in mind while selecting the tax prepared. IRS criminal investigators participated in 1,409 tax crime cases and found more than $ 5.5 billion in fraud.
What do you see if tax scams are going to be there?
Fishing is one of the most common scams that IRS sees this time of the year. This is when a scammer inspires IRS to provide personal information or money to taxpayers. These scams can take many forms – email, phone calls, or even text messages.
The IRS has also seen an increase in dishonest taxes. They can claim that they can give you a big or better refund.
We spoke to Harry Chavis, a special agent of the IRS Criminal Investigation Unit in Boston.
He says that it is important to make a careful selection of a professional to prepare his return – some may not have the best intention.
“They are going to come out of woodwork-something that we see in addition to pop-up businesses that are working as a storefront. We are seeing an influx, of course, and people are reaching social media, trying to woo you to prepare your tax returns. ,
Chavis reminds consumers that IRS will reach taxpayers by the first mail instead of phone or email.
There are several steps that you can make to ensure that your tax return is accurately prepared and presented.
Prepare them and ask for PTIN. This is necessary for tax -preparations who charge their services and tell you that the preparation has registered with IRS. There is a directory of IRS where you can verify their PTIN and credentials.
Ask about the service fee and avoid the preparations who lay the basis of fees on the percentage of correspondence.
Never sign an empty return.
The most important thing is that the preparation signs the return and includes their tax ID number.
And remember, when you sign it, you are legally responsible for your tax return information – no matter who is helping you submit it.
Get referral from friends and family. Once you have some options, do some online research in the company or preparation and see reviews or complaints.
You can report to those who prepared the IRS abusive and suspected tax fraud.
If you have questions on an unwanted phone call, email, text message or letter that claim to be from IRS, you can call the agency on 1-800-829-1040 or by going to their website.