March Madness
March Madness is the name of a basketball tournament, but it can also describe the stress you experience when gathering, calculating, and completing your tax returns before the filing deadline.
Whether you are preparing your taxes by hand, using tax preparation software, or working with a CPA, it can be…”taxing” for lack of a better word.
In the haste of getting your return done on time here are some pointers.
Tax Scams
Beware of the lunacy of tax scams! Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars to tax scams. Scammers will use regular mail, email, or telephone to trick businesses, individuals, and tax professionals.
Many times, you are contacted with an email scam asking for you to fill out a separate IRS form asking for personal and financial information. Furthermore, there have been many email scams that use pandemic related themes to steal your information. If you receive one of these emails, it is madness, and mark it as spam immediately! The IRS will not contact you this way.
Furthermore, tax season is also an opportune time for nefarious characters to make aggressive phone calls positioning themselves as IRS agents with the hope of stealing your sensitive information. Hang up immediately! Don’t get caught up in the madness.
The IRS Does Not Do The Following
Don’t fall victim to this insanity.
- The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by email, social media, or text messages. Mark these messages as spam and delete them. Anyone who contacts you claiming to be from a government agency asking you about personal financial information is not legit.
- Additionally, the IRS does not demand immediate payment using a specific method such as a wire transfer or prepaid debit card. Usually, the IRS will first mail a bill via snail mail if a taxpayer owes taxes.
- The IRS does not demand that you pay taxes without the opportunity to address the amount that owed. There is a time period for you to file an appeal on the amount due.
- Finally, the IRS will not threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers, or other law enforcement to have you arrested for not paying your taxes. The IRS cannot revoke your business licenses, driver’s license, or immigration status.
What To Do About the Mania
Perhaps you think that you are a scam target, you can contact the following agencies.
- Report an unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS, using [email protected].
- Also, you can report phone scams to the Federal Trade Commission with the FTC Complaint Assistant.
- Last, contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report a phone scam.
If It Really Is The IRS
If an IRS representative does visit you, they will provide two forms of official credentials called an HSPD-12 card and a pocket commission. It’s your right to see these credentials and you can verify the representative’s credentials with the IRS to confirm the tax information and the representative’s identity.
When To File to Avoid the Madness
Taxpayers should file early to get ahead of the line and ahead of the mania. There will be a delay for tax refunds this year. There were long delays in tax return processing in 2021. Some 2020 returns are still being processed!
If you are receiving a refund, the IRS usually issues 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. To track the status of your return, you can use the “Where’s My Refund” feature on the IRS website.
Be Patient
Please don’t let the haste of completing your taxes allow you to fall victim to a scam. If you receive a suspicious phone call, hang up, and if you receive a questionable email, mark it as spam. Be vigilant and stay away from the madness!