It’s tax season, which means you should be preparing your return or getting ready to do so, if only so an identity thief doesn’t get there first and file a fake return to swipe your refund. What you should remember as you file and if you encounter any problems with the IRS is that taxpayers have specific rights that apply to everyone. [More]
tax season
IRS: Email, Text Scams Targeting Taxpayers Up 400% This Year
By 2.19.16
It’s tax season, which means it’s the prime time for scammers to crawl out from underneath their scammy rocks and try to nab taxpayers’ personal info. So far, this year’s electronic tax scams are even more prevalent than before, the Internal Revenue Service says, surging 400%. [More]
IRS Hung Up On 8.1 Million Taxpayers Without Answering Phone
By 4.22.15
We knew going into this tax season that budget cuts to the Internal Revenue Service would result in less help for taxpayers and a likely increase in taxpayer fraud and errors, but today IRS Commissioner John Koskinen detailed exactly how badly things went this year. [More]
IRS Impersonation Scam Is Largest In History, Cost Consumers $15.5M
By 3.12.15
The 2015 tax season has been fraught with complications, from the fraudulent use of tax returns to the “dirty dozen” scams meant to tear consumers away from their money. During a Senate Finance Committee hearing exploring ways in which consumers could better be protected from such hustles, federal investigators divulged more information about one of the most prevalent tax-time scams in recent years, saying it has now targeted 366,000 taxpayers to the tune of $15.5 million. [More]
Video: Customer Head Butts Walmart Tax Worker During Argument In Store
By 2.10.15
No matter how unhappy you are with someone or something, violence is never the answer, people. A Walmart customer seen on video head-butting a Walmart employee during an argument, setting off an all out brawl, has been told by police not to come back to the store. [More]
IRS Says Thousands Have Been Scammed Into Paying Bogus Back Taxes
By 1.23.15
Let’s be honest for a moment and acknowledge that not everyone is 100% honest or accurate when filing their tax returns. There are lots of people out there who wouldn’t be shocked to hear from the IRS that they owe more or didn’t pay enough, which is why thousands of Americans have been scammed out of millions of dollars by con artists pretending to represent the IRS. [More]
More Than Half Of All Taxpayer Calls To The IRS Could Go Unanswered This Year
By 1.14.15
Seeking tax preparation help from the Internal Revenue Service this year might be a futile test of patience, as the agency’s taxpayer advocate predicts services for taxpayers are likely to drop to the worst levels in more than a decade. [More]
Before You Send Off Your Tax Return, Run It Through This Checklist
By 2.15.12
If you’ve got a tax refund coming and are eager to file your return to get the money flowing, your haste may end up causing errors that could hold things up. You should give your tax return a once-over before you send it off to make sure you haven’t screwed up some key areas. [More]
Survey: More Americans Will Blow Their Tax Refunds This Year
By 2.23.11
A retail trade industry survey finds more Americans plan to put the “fun” in “tax refund” this year. [More]
How To Get Free Tax-Prep Help
By 1.28.11 — Updated: 11.21.13
What many taxpayers don’t know when they step into H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt or go to some tax-preparation site is that there are several thousand IRS-approved volunteers out there willing to do the job for free if you qualify. [More]
Beware The Vanishing Hybrid Tax Credit
By 3.24.07
Consumer Reports cautions that buyers of popular hybrid vehicles may soon be ineligible to claim the Alternative Motor Vehicle tax credit. The credit sunsets when a manufacturer sells more than 60,000 qualifying vehicles, a figure Toyota has already reached.
The credit has already begun to phase out for Toyota and Lexus hybrids purchased after September 30, 2006, and others will follow suit as they reach the sales volume target. The 2006 Prius’ tax break, for instance, dropped in half to $1,575 if it was purchased after that date, and it will split again to $788 between April and the end of September, 2007. After that, the Prius rebate disappears altogether.
The IRS provides a list of models certified for credit. Available only to those not subject to the alternative minimum tax, the credit can be worth up to $3,150 for vehicles purchased after 2005. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
