IRS’s 2010 Dirty Dozen
Posted on Tue, Mar 16, 2010
The Internal Revenue Service issued its 2010 “dirty dozen” list of tax scams, including schemes involving return preparer fraud, hiding income offshore and phishing.
“Taxpayers should be wary of anyone peddling scams that seem too good to be true,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “The IRS fights fraud by pursuing taxpayers who hide income abroad and by ensuring taxpayers get competent, ethical service from qualified professionals at home in the U.S.”
Tax schemes are illegal and can lead to imprisonment and fines for both scam artists and taxpayers. Taxpayers pulled into these schemes must repay unpaid taxes plus interest and penalties. The IRS urges taxpayers to avoid these common schemes:
- *Return Preparer Fraud
- *Hiding Income Offshore
- *Phishing
- *Filing False or Misleading Forms
- *Nontaxable Social Security Benefits with Exaggerated Withholding Credit
- *Abuse of Charitable Organizations and Deductions
- *Frivolous Arguments
- *Abusive Retirement Plans
- *Disguised Corporate Ownership
- *Zero Wages
- *Misuse of Trusts
- *Fuel Tax Credit Scams
Visit this IRS link to read a detailed description of these scams.
Suspected tax fraud can be reported to the IRS using Form 3949-A, Information Referral. The completed form or a letter detailing the alleged fraudulent activity should be addressed to the Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA 93888. The person filing the report is not required to self-identify, although it is helpful to do so. The identity of the person filing the report can be kept confidential.
Whistleblowers also may provide allegations of fraud to the IRS and may be eligible for a reward by filing Form 211, Application for Award for Original Information, and following the procedures outlined in Notice 2008-4, Claims Submitted to the IRS Whistleblower Office under Section 7623.