Individual taxpayers reported less identity theft in 2017 versus the 2016 tax filing season. But the opposite is true for businesses, according to the IRS. The IRS is asking tax professionals to acquire more information on their business return clients to help authenticate returns and prevent identity theft. All of this data helps IRS determine that the tax return being submitted is the legitimate return filing and not an identity theft return. Some of the new information peo

With cases of tax related identity theft becoming more common, it can be hard to know if the phone call, e-mail, or letter you received about your Iowa taxes is actually from the Iowa Department of Revenue. Here are some important facts to help you figure it out: The department does not initiate contact with taxpayers by e-mail to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media. The Iowa Dep

As tax season begins and you gather your records and receive your return, it is crucial that you store these documents securely. Identity theft is a major problem. But there are simple ways you can keep your information safe. Because of the sensitive data, the loss or theft of these documents could lead to identity theft. These documents contain the Social Security numbers of you, your spouse and dependents, old W-2 income, and bank account information. A burglar could easily

Today I would like to pass along a couple of important and timely reminders. 1. Don’t forget, Monday, June 15th is the due date for federal individual tax estimates. 2. Here’s a popular question I get from quite a few clients – should they put their social security number on their check when they pay any tax due with their return or when paying their quarterly estimates? The answer - no. While the IRS says you should, I recommend never doing that. With tax identity theft beco

Identity theft continues to be a very large problem. Even the Internal Revenue Service has been hacked. The IRS said their Get Transcript Online service was hacked. Hackers obtained past tax return data of 104,000 people and also attempted to access the data of over 200,000 people. The IRS has a multi-step authentication process to make it difficult for hackers, but hackers had enough information from an outside source to clear that process. The information they obtained from

Tomorrow is the due date for your 2014 individual tax return. Do not forget to file or extend your return. I have had quite a few clients ask me lately if they should put their social security number on their check when they pay any tax due with their return or when paying their quarterly estimates. The IRS says yes, but I say don’t include it on the check. Do, however, include the voucher or quarterly estimate coupon with the check. With tax identity theft becoming a huge p