The IRS “Dirty Dozen” tax scams.

Last week we talked about the first half of the IRS Dirty Dozen tax scams. Today I’ll list the last 6. 7. Fake Charities – Scammers pretend to be collecting money for a charity, usually after a disaster. You can determine if the charity is legitimate by going to www.irs.gov. 8. Padded tax deductions – This is a part of the fraudulent tax preparers scam. Again the unsuspecting taxpayer is left with a large tax bill after the IRS audits. 9. Excessive claims for business credits – This is like Number 8. 10. Falsifying income to claim credits – Scammers will convince the taxpayer to claim higher income than he has to get certain credits. It looks good but does not work. 11. Abusive tax shelters – This one has been around for many years. The promoter promises that if you buy into his scheme, you will avoid taxes. 12. Frivolous tax arguments – This one has also been around forever. The most common is the promoter who sells you his book that “proves” that taxes are illegal and only apply to corporations.