IRS Completes List of 2016's "Dirty Dozen" Tax Scams
- Identity theft, which remains an ongoing problem with the IRS.
- Calls from people impersonating IRS agents, which has been a growing trend over the last few years.
- Phishing, which is the use of fake websites and emails to trick people into revealing personal information.
- Return preparer fraud, where dishonest preparers set up shop to steal people's refunds.
- Hiding money or income offshore so as to reduce or eliminate tax liabilities.
- Inflated refund claims that try to get more money from the government than is appropriate.
- Fake charities that try to scam people into giving them donations.
- Falsely padding deductions to underpay tax and claim larger refunds.
- Excessive claims for business credits, seen in things like fuel tax and R&D credit scams.
- Falsifying income to claim credits for which taxpayers otherwise wouldn't qualify.
- Using abusive tax shelters like improper private annuity trusts and captive insurance companies.
- Using frivolous tax arguments like "The IRS is not a legitimate government agency" or "income tax violates the 5th amendment."
While the IRS notes that these scams can occur anytime, they tend to peak during the tax season.