IRS warns public against tax filing scams

With the tax-filing deadline now about two weeks away, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is warning against getting one’s tax advice from social media and the broader internet.

As part of its annual “Dirty Dozen” tax scam line-up, the government agency named several widely-circulating online “tax hacks” that range from the misguided to the flat-out illegal — these include telling people to fill out the “secret” Form 8944 for economic hardship (in reality, this form can only be used by accountants and other tax professionals) and filling out a W-2 form with an inflated balance to get a larger tax refund.

Another type of scammer identified by the IRS invents fake charities and very vocally advertises “tax deductions” for those who give to them. (This is actually a double scam since any money goes to the scammer while a fraudulent charity is not eligible for write-offs.)

According to the IRS, the way to weed out scammers and find a true professionals has to do with three things: reading up on and knowing the credentials required to call oneself an accountant, checking for Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) and avoiding those who aggressively market huge refunds or “invent false income to try to get their clients more tax credits.”

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