Posts by Ruth Ann Michnay, P.A.

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #11:   The Internal Revenue Service cautioned taxpayers beware of promoters peddling bogus tax schemes aimed at reducing taxes or avoiding them altogether. (Part A) These schemes can take many shapes, ranging from abusive deals involving syndicated conservation easements and micro-captive insurance arrangements. They can also involve an international component,…

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #10:   The Internal Revenue Service cautioned taxpayers to resist questionable tax practitioners and independent promoters selling schemes aimed at wealthy taxpayers. (Part C) As part of the IRS annual Dirty Dozen, these potentially abusive arrangements involve things like Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts and monetized installment sales. Where appropriate, the IRS…

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #10:   The Internal Revenue Service cautioned taxpayers to resist questionable tax practitioners and independent promoters selling schemes aimed at wealthy taxpayers. (Part B) As part of the IRS annual Dirty Dozen, these potentially abusive arrangements involve things like Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts and monetized installment sales. These tools can be…

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #10:   The Internal Revenue Service cautioned taxpayers to resist questionable tax practitioners and independent promoters selling schemes aimed at wealthy taxpayers. (Part A) As part of the IRS annual Dirty Dozen, these potentially abusive arrangements involve things like Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts and monetized installment sales. These tools can be…

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #9: Watch out for Offer in Compromise ‘mills’ wherepromoters claim their services are needed to settle IRS debts (Part B) WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR: OFFER IN COMPROMISE MILLS An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is when the taxpayer works with the IRS to settle a taxdebt for less than…

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #9: Watch out for Offer in Compromise ‘mills’ wherepromoters claim their services are needed to settle IRS debts (Part A) IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #9: Watch out for Offer in Compromise ‘mills’ wherepromoters claim their services are needed to settle IRS debts (Part A)As part of the…

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #8: Spearphishing and Cybersecurity for TaxProfessionals and Businesses (Part D) MAKE A DIFFERENCE: REPORT FRAUD, SCAMS AND SCHEMES Individuals should never respond to tax-related phishing or spearfishing or click on theURL link. Instead, the scams should be reported by sending the email or a copy of thetext/SMS as an…

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #8: Spearphishing and Cybersecurity for TaxProfessionals and Businesses (Part C) CLIENT IMPERSONATION: SPEARPHISHING AIMED AT TAX PROSThe IRS and its Security Summit partners continue to see spearphishing attempts thatimpersonate a new potential client, known as the  “New Client” scam . If the tax preparerresponds, the scammer sends a malicious…

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #8: Spearphishing and Cybersecurity for TaxProfessionals and Businesses (Part B)SIDE-STEP SPEARPHISHING: CYBER SECURITY TIPS FOR TAX PROS AND BUSINESSESPhishing is a term given to emails or text messages designed to get users to providepersonal information, either directly or by clicking on a link or attachment. Spearphishingis a tailored phishing…

IRS 2023 Dirty Dozen – Scam #8:  Spearphishing and Cybersecurity for Tax Professionals and Businesses (Part A) The Internal Revenue Service warned tax professionals and businesses that they remain a top target for identity thieves and face threats from common scams on this year’s Dirty Dozen list. As part of the annual Dirty Dozen tax scams effort,…