TAX FRAUD- DON'T GET CAUGHT UP
TAX FRAUD- DON’T GET CAUGHT UP
I know the thought process:
“Times are tough” and “this one time won’t hurt” or maybe even, “I don’t make
enough for the IRS to come after me”, but before you move forward with that
“too-good-to- be- true” tax preparer please read this and think, is it really
worth it? Here are some red flags you
should look out for when a tax preparer is trying to get your business:
GUARANTEED REFUND AMOUNT- Unless the
tax preparer is clairvoyant, there is no way that he/she can tell you how much
you are getting back before you open your mouth to tell them how much you get
paid. Even if you did tell them how much
you get paid, your tax refund relies on various other factors. I know during these tough times it’s music to
your ears to hear that you are getting back thousands of dollars that you can
absolutely use right now, but don’t be greedy.
Tax refunds are 100% a reflection on what YOU do. A good tax preparer should be able to dig
enough to find legitimate deductions and then offer legitimate tips for the
future.
OUTRAGEOUS TAXPREPARER FEES- Please be advised that it is illegal for tax return
preparers to charge you a percentage of your refund. Standard practice is for the tax preparer to
charge either on an hourly basis or for a flat fee. The fee should also not go up as your refund
goes up. I have heard stories of people charging $1000 - $2000 to prepare
taxes. I never would have thought anyone
would agree to that, but apparently there are people that will in desperate
times. It’s for that reason you want to
look for a tax professional as certain professional tax return software, such
as mine, investigate tax preparers for charging individuals more than
$400.
YOUR REFUND BEING DEPOSITED IN TAX PREPARERS ACCOUNT- I never really thought I would have to put this one
out there, however, it has come to my attention that tax return preparers have
been doing this. It is 100% illegal for
any tax preparer to have your refund deposited into their account. You should run in the opposite direction if
this is presented to you as an option. Besides, if the tax return preparer is
clearly committing illegal acts to get you a huge return, how can you be so
positive that they won’t run with your refund? A real tax professional’s
software will not allow for them to ever deposit any return for two different
people into the same account.
CREATING FALSE BUSINESSES TO GET YOU MORE OF A RETURN- I have heard many stories about this one. There are many tax preparers whose business
thrives off of creating false businesses for higher refunds. For some people it results in higher tax
refunds and for others it results in higher Earned Income Tax Credit. This right here is clear cut tax fraud and
punishable by jail time and/or hefty penalties.
These are just a few of the flags that I wanted to touch on,
as these most recently came to my attention from my tax clients who are
extremely happy with my work. What
people fail to understand that it may seem cool to do this because you may have
gotten away with it for 3 years and maybe even 5, but understand this: The IRS will catch up with you at some
point. If they catch up with you 7 years
later the amount of money received as a result of fraud is just adding up and
so will your jail time. Think twice before
you give in to the quick money and think to yourself is it worth the 3-5 years
jail time (per occurrence).
