Tax Strategies to Avoid & How to Negotiate with the IRS
On this week’s episode, Casey Smith is joined by Jordan Sute, CPA from Sute CPAs to talk about tax strategies to avoid and how to negotiate with the IRS.
Listen on Apple Podcasts or watch on YouTube:
SUMMARY:
Here’s helpful info and tips about the IRS Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2020.
Phishing Scams
The IRS is never going to reach out to you via phone or email first. They will likely never even reach out via email. The first way they will try to contact you is via mail. The only time they will call you is if you arrange a call with them.
Fake Charities
The IRS does not recognize GoFundMe donations because GoFundMe is not a 501c3. These donations are still helpful, but IRS will not let you claim them on your tax return. Click here to see what 501c3s are tax deductible.
Threatening Impersonator Phone Calls
The IRS is not going to call you unless you have scheduled a call with them. If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, never give them any personal information and simply hang up.
Social Media Scams
There is a large amount of misinformation spread via social media that causes panic. Do your research before believing everything you read.
Refund Theft
This happens more than you’d think, especially this year with stimulus payments. Be weary about who has or knows enough information to file on your behalf.
Senior Fraud
Nursing homes are claiming that they are owed stimulus money, but that money belongs to the tax payer first.
Scams Targeting Non-English Speakers
These people are often targeted because they might not be as knowledgable about laws in the United States.
Unscrupulous Return Preparers
You have to be careful with tax return preparers, especially if they are not a CPA. There are unfortunately some shady tax preparers. Always check online reviews, or do a quick Google search to look up a preparer if it is the first time you are using them.
Offer in Compromise Mills
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Here is a link to a calculator on the IRS website, it will tell you if you are eligible. There are 54,000 offers in compromise submitted to the IRS, and they accepted 18,000.
Fake Payments with Repayment Demands
There are people who will file a fake return, deposit the refund into someone else’s bank account, and call that person to say that was an error on the IRS’s part. Then, they try to get you to repay that fake refund by making you do odd things, such as buy gift cards.
Payroll and HR Scams
This can be similar to the fake repayment, as it commonly has to do with getting personal information and hanging it over your head. If it sounds like a scam, it probably is.
Ransomware
What happened with the colonial pipeline is a prime example of this. They ended up having to pay a ton of money to fix the situation.
TIMESTAMPS:
1:09 Phishing Scams
2:30 Fake Charities
5:00 Threatening Impersonator Phone Calls
8:48 Social Media Scams
11:56 Refund Theft
12:40 Senior Fraud
13:40 Scams Targeting Non-English Speakers
14:10 Unscrupulous Return Preparers
16:04 Offer in Compromise Mills
17:35 Fake Payments with Repayment Demands
18:15 Payroll and HR Scams
20:59 Ransomware
24:00 Negotiating with the IRS
LINKS:
Learn more about Casey Smith and connect with him on Twitter.
Learn more about Brad Lyons.
Learn more about Matthews Barnett.
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Learn more about the Wiser Wealth Management Roundtable podcast and access previous episodes.