Some taxpayers will receive a letter from the IRS this summer. First, don’t panic and remember that taxpayers have fundamental rights when interacting with the agency. These rights are in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Among other things, these rights dictate that letters from the IRS must include: Details about what is owed such as tax, interest, and penalties. An explanation about why the taxes are owed. Specific reasons about why the IRS may have denied a refund claim. If yo

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

Recently, there have been several scams where criminals pretend to be from the IRS and try to get taxpayers to give them money. The IRS wants you to know how they actually contact people so you can spot a scam. When the IRS needs to contact a taxpayer, the first contact is normally by letter delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. The IRS doesn't normally initiate contact with taxpayers by email. They also don’t send text messages or contact taxpayers through social media. Depe

Taxpayer beware, the scammers are still out there. The IRS recently warned people to watch out for a new scam linked to the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), where fraudsters call to demand an immediate tax payment through a prepaid debit card. EFTPS is an automated system for paying federal taxes electronically using the internet or by phone using the EFTPS Voice Response System. This scam is being reported across the country. In the latest twist, the scammer cl

This is an important topic that we want to revisit as it is that time of year when the IRS and Iowa Department of Revenue are sending out letters. And while getting one of these letters may be stressful, it isn’t always a reason to worry. Here are some things you need to know if you do receive that letter. Don’t panic. You can usually deal with a notice with a simple response. Most of these notices are about federal tax returns or tax accounts. Each notice has specific instru

The IRS has a specific way of contacting taxpayers. And sometimes, this is done in person. But the IRS wants you to know what you should expect if you are contacted in person by an IRS agent so that you can avoid being the target of a scam. Types of IRS Contact With continuing phone scams and in-person scams rampant, the IRS wants taxpayers to understand how and when they contact taxpayers and to help them determine whether a contact is truly from an IRS employee. While the I

The IRS says older individuals need to remain alert to aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents. The callers claim to be IRS employees, but they are not. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. The victims are told they owe money to the IRS and m

Are you ready to get your tax refund? The IRS has an online tool to help you find out how soon you'll get it back. To check the status of your federal refund, click here to use the IRS's “Where’s My Refund?” tool or copy and paste https://www.irs.gov/refunds into your web browser. Iowa also has a “Where’s My Refund?” tool that you can use to find out the status of your Iowa individual refund. Click here to use the tool or copy and paste https://tax.iowa.gov/where-my-refund in

The IRS recently issued a warning to taxpayers to watch out for fake emails or websites looking to steal personal information. In these email schemes, criminals pose as a person or organization the taxpayer trusts or recognizes. They may hack an email account and send mass emails under another person’s name. They may pose as a bank, credit card company, tax software provider or government agency. Criminals go to great lengths to create websites that appear legitimate but con

The IRS is urging taxpayers to check their withholding because of some new factors this year that could affect the timing of their refunds in 2017. A major change will affect some early tax filers claiming two key credits who won't see their refunds until after February 15th. Beginning in 2017, a new law requires the IRS to hold refunds on tax returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until mid-February. Under the change re