A new scam is making the rounds – a caller impersonates an IRS agent and demands payment in the form of a gift card. Here’s what to look out for.
tax scams
Tips for Tax Time
Given that it the start of tax season and individuals will be gathering and preparing their 2015 tax return information, I’d thought I’d put together some basic tax tips. Individuals may consider thinking about these items in order to have a smooth and (hopefully) stress-free 2015 tax season. Additionally, I’ve included a link to our 2015 Tax organizer. Please feel free to use it at your convenience to get your “tax ducks in a row”. Furthermore, please let us know if you’d like us to prepare and file your taxes for you. Many current clients have found Blankenship Financial to be cost effective and efficient compared to other big-named tax preparation services. As Enrolled Agents both Jim and I are well qualified to handle most tax matters and returns. And now with the tax tips… Beware the non-tax man cometh! Each year we field calls from clients and prospective clients […]
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What to Do if You’re a Victim of Tax Fraud
Hopefully this will never happen to you but in the unfortunate event you become of victim of tax fraud there are some steps that you can take to help alleviate the concern that someone has stolen your identity to file a fraudulent tax return in order to receive the refund. Generally, the first sign of fraud appears when you try to file our return electronically. Most e-file providers receive acknowledgements from the IRS that the return was successfully e-filed. If a return is rejected, a code will return with the rejection indicating what the issue is. For example, a sign of fraud will indicate that the Social Security numbers used to file your return were previously used in the same tax year for another return. If you know you didn’t previously file, then fraud is likely. If you feel you’re the victim of fraud, here’s what you can do: Contact […]
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Looking for a tax preparer? IRS can help
Although there are literally tax preparers standing on the street corners (sometimes in ridiculous costumes), it can be tough to find a qualified income tax preparer near you. Of course, word of mouth is a good way to find a preparer, by way of your family or friends – but what if you still can’t find a qualified tax preparer that you can trust?
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IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2015
The IRS produces a list each year of the “dirty dozen” tax scams that they and taxpayers deal with. I’ve kept track of these over the past several years, so I’ve included the changes to rankings from 2012 to this year for those items in the list that continue to be listed. Topping the list this year is phone scams, which was first listed in the dirty dozen in 2014, at #2.
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And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.