Q. Taxpayers have been advised to file their taxes close to the April 15 due date this year. Has there been benefit to this advice and what advice may BBB offer for filing our taxes?
A. Tax season is in full swing. Tax identity theft reached near crisis levels in 2015. In an effort to fight identity theft, the IRS has partnered with state revenue departments, national tax professional groups, and software preparation companies to detect suspect tax returns. The good news is that tax fraud has decrease each year since.
Jim Winsett of the BBB. Many people get help filing their taxes, either from computer software or a professional tax preparer. But horror stories about tax service rip offs and scams have some consumers concerned about who they can trust with their financial data and private information.
BBB advises taxpayers to always be cautious when choosing a tax preparer, since that person or company will have access to your personally identifiable information (PII). Tax Collection was the scam with the second highest search rate in 2018.
A paid tax return preparer is primarily responsible for the overall, substantive accuracy of your tax return(s). If there is a problem with your return or you are audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the tax preparer can help you address the issue and can often represent you. The preparer is required to sign your tax forms (paper or electronic) and provide their preparer tax identification number (PTIN), a number assigned by the IRS.