Issue Number: Don’t Fall for Employee Retention Credit Scams
Here is a video tax tip from the IRS:
What the right to challenge the IRS’s position and be heard means for taxpayers
The IRS wants every taxpayer to be know and understand their rights in the event they need to work with the IRS on a personal tax matter. These 10 fundamental rights are collectively known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Included on this list is the right to challenge the IRS’s position and be heard. Here’s more about what this right means for taxpayers.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit helps businesses that hire from eligible groups
Finding work can be a hard for anybody and certain groups face even bigger challenges. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is extended through the end of 2025 to help employers that hire workers certified as members of these groups that face barriers to employment:
Every taxpayer has the right to pay no more than the correct amount of taxes
The IRS works to make sure taxpayers pay no more than the correct amount of tax.
Taxpayers have the right to pay only the amount of tax legally due, including interest and penalties, and to have the IRS apply all tax payments properly. This is one of 10 basic rights known collectively as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
Dirty Dozen: Watch out for Offer in Compromise ‘mills’ where promoters claim their services are needed to settle IRS debts
WASHINGTON – As part of the annual Dirty Dozen tax scams series, the Internal Revenue Service today renewed a warning about so-called Offer in Compromise “mills” that often mislead taxpayers into believing they can settle a tax debt for pennies on the dollar.
IRS opens 2023 Dirty Dozen with warning about Employee Retention Credit claims; increased scrutiny follows aggressive promoters making offers too good to be true
WASHINGTON — In a further warning to people and businesses, the Internal Revenue Service added widely circulating promoter claims involving Employee Retention Credits as a new entry in the annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams.
For the start of the annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams, the IRS spotlighted Employee Retention Credits following blatant attempts by promoters to con ineligible people to claim the credit. Renewing several earlier alerts, the IRS highlighted schemes from promoters who have been blasting ads on radio and the internet touting refunds involving Employee Retention Credits, also known as ERCs. These promotions can be based on inaccurate information related to eligibility for and computation of the credit.
Seeking a Discharge of the Federal Tax Lien
The case of Long v. United States, Dk. No. 2:22-cv-00176 (D. Utah 2023) examines the request for a discharge of the federal tax lien and declines to provide the relief requested. The factual background for the request for relief does not arise with great frequency but comes up often enough and always makes me feel bad for the spouse stuck with the tax liability of their ex-spouse because ex-spouse’s unpaid taxes have caused a lien to arise and attach to property now owned by the non-liable spouse who thought they had extricated themselves from their former partner’s financial shortcomings.
Don’t fall for these federal tax refund myths
Once people complete and file their tax return, many of them eagerly await any refund they may be owed. No matter how a taxpayer plans to use their tax refund, knowing fact from fiction can help manage expectations as they wait for their money. This tip dispels some federal tax refund myths that many people believe are fact, but they are pure fiction
Taxpayers should know that an extension to file is not an extension to pay taxes
Taxpayers who aren’t able to file by the April 18, 2023, deadline can request an extension before that deadline, but they should know that an extension to file is not an extension to pay taxes. If they owe taxes, they should pay them before the due date to avoid potential penalties and interest on the amount owed.
DUPTIN Electronic Return Rejections and Exceptions
To recap Part I, the IRS’s DUPTIN review procedure is aimed at preventing fraudulent tax returns and/or improper claims for tax credits. The IRS freezes refunds on returns where the primary or secondary SSN has already been used as a primary/secondary and rejects electronic returns claiming a child or dependent that has already been claimed.
