Tax Tip of the Week | No. 370 | IRS Warns of New Scam - The Federal Student Tax

Tax Tip of the Week | August 31, 2016 | No. 370 | IRS Warns of New Scam - The Federal Student Tax

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a warning to taxpayers about bogus phone calls from IRS impersonators demanding payment for a non-existent tax, the “federal student tax.”Even though the tax deadline has come and gone, scammers continue to use varied strategies to trick people, in this case students. In this newest twist, they try to convince people to wire money immediately to the scammer. If the victim does not fall quickly enough for this fake “federal student tax,” the scammer threatens to report the student to the police.“These scams and schemes continue to evolve nationwide, and now they’re trying to trick students,” said IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen. “Taxpayers should remain vigilant and not fall prey to these aggressive calls demanding immediate payment of a tax supposedly owed.”Scam artists frequently masquerade as being from the IRS, a tax company, and sometimes even a state revenue department. Many scammers use threats to intimidate and bully people into paying a tax bill. They may even threaten to arrest, deport, or revoke the driver’s license of their victim if they don’t get the money.Some examples of the varied tactics seen this year are:• Demanding immediate tax payment for taxes owed on an iTunes gift card.• Soliciting Form W-2 information from payroll and human resource professionals.• “Verifying” tax return information over the phone• Pretending to be from the tax preparation industryThe IRS urges taxpayers to stay vigilant against these calls and to know the telltale signs of a scam demanding payment.The IRS will never:• Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed a bill.• Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have a taxpayer arrested for not paying.• Demand the taxpayer pay taxes without allowing them the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say is owed.• Require a taxpayer to use a specific payment method for taxes owed, such as a prepaid debit card.• Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.Please pass these tips along to everyone you know. These scams just keep getting worse every day.You can contact us in Dayton at 937-436-3133 and in Xenia at 937-372-3504.  Or visit our website.Rick Prewitt – the guy behind TTW...until next week.