COLORADO SPRINGS — It’s almost tax filing season, and the Internal Revenue Service is warning of misinformation online surrounding filing your taxes.
Most people want higher refunds or tax credits, but if it’s done illegally, you could owe the IRS more money than you received.
“Even if you’re like ‘Oh, they’re never going to get me, whatever…’ If you have a tax refund in the next decade, they’ll take it to satisfy your debt. And it keeps accruing penalties, and interest until it’s paid off.” said Nate Tassler, adjunct accounting professor at Pikes Peak State College.
The IRS says it has seen an increase in the encouragement of these top five scams on social media:
- Self-employment tax credit
- Household employment taxes
- Fuel tax credit
- Inflated income and withholding
- Claim of right
You can learn more about IRS tax credits and deductions here. Tassler says a Certified Public Accountant may be able to identify and apply tax credits to your forms that you may not be aware of.
“Sometimes people don’t realize that other dependents can qualify, too," he said. "It’s not only your children. So let’s say you support your parents or your uncle or somebody like that. You can look into whether they might be a dependent.”
Taxpayers will be required to repay any funds received from the IRS and fines if they provide incorrect information on their tax forms. They could also face criminal charges and jail time. However, options are available to help you resolve the situation.
“If you’ve fallen victim to one of these scams and you need help, you can work with a tax professional and they can help you get out of it in the least costly way possible,” said Tassler.
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