Don't Fall For Tax Season Scams

Get a call, text or email from the IRS? It's probably a scam. Take these steps to avoid tax season scams.

Know if and when the IRS contacts taxpayers.

It's rare for the IRS to contact taxpayers. When they do, they'll start by sending a letter. They will keep sending letters if you ignore them. After you ignore several letter sent over time, they'll call. Not email. Not text. When the actual IRS calls, they don't make scary, aggressive threats, and they don't demand immediate payment.

Learn about how the IRS contact taxpayers here.

Ignore immediate demands for tax payments.

Scammers present creative reasons for why you need to pay your taxes right now. They might threaten to take legal hold of your property, or contact your employer. They might even tell you they'll stay on the phone with you while you go gather your money at the bank. There's a good chance they'll ask for your tax payment via via gift card or wire transfer. Don't fall for it.

Learn more about how the IRS accepts payments here.

Don't click phony links. 

We get it - sometimes it's hard to know it's a phony link. Just make a habit of being cautious with all links. But when it comes to the IRS, here's how you know it's a phony link:  the IRS doesn't email or text taxpayers about debt they owe, so any link the "IRS' sends you is phony. Just. Don't. Click. It. 

Report tax scams with phony links to the IRS here.

Don't wait to file.

If scammers have enough information on you, they can file your return on your behalf and steal your refund. All it takes is finding your W2 in the mail. The best way to make sure this never happens is to file early, and to setup a PIN (that's not 1234 or the year you were born) with the IRS that you'll have to use in order to file. 

Setup a PIN with the IRS here.

File with an IRS-verified tax preparer.

Scammers pose as tax preparers who file your return for you, then steal it. Not to mention, they get all your confidential information and could turn you into a victim of identity theft. If you don't file with a major tax filing company (like TurboTax, H&R Block, etc.), make sure they're an IRS-verified tax preparer.

Check the IRS' list of IRS-verified tax preparers here.